Handzta Monastery (ხანძთის მონასტერი)
Handzta Monastery or Hantsta Monastery (Georgian: ხანძთა or ხანნცთა; pronunciation: "h'andzta" or "h'antsta") is a medieval Georgian Orthodox monastery in the historic Klarceti region in the village of Pırnallı, formerly Porta, in the central district of the present-day Artvin province. It is also known as Porta Monastery or Pırnallı Monastery, after the old and new names of the village.
Hantsta Monastery was founded in the 780s by Grigol Hantsteli. Hantsteli first built a wooden church and cells. Later a large hall was built for the refectory. At the beginning of the 9th century, with financial contributions from a local rich man, Gabriel Dapanchuli, Grigol Hantsteli built a stone church. The third ordinary church of the Hantsta Monastery, which today is the main structure of the monastery, was built by the architect Amona in the first half of the 10th century, during the reign of the princes Ashot Kuhi and Gurgen the Great. The monastery was abandoned at the end of the 16th century, after the region fell to the Ottomans. Under the influence of the spelling in the Life of Giorgi Merchule, published by Nikolai Marr, the name of the monastery became Handzta. In the hagiography itself, however, with a few exceptions, the monastery is called Hantsta throughout, even in the titles.
