Country - Georgia
Region - Kakheti
Municipality - Sighnaghi
District - Kvemo Machkhaani
Coordinates - 41°31′57″ N. G. 46°05′33″ E. G.
Population - 359 people (2014)
National composition: Georgians 71.3%, Armenians 10.0%, Russians 9.2%, others 9.5%
Time zone - UTC+4
Distance from Sighnaghi - 25 km.
Distance - from Tbilisi - 130 km.
The village of Khirsa is located on the Alazani Plain, folk etymology connects the name of Khirsa with the visits of King Erekle and Queen Tamar to these areas, as well as the records of Bishop Kirion.
History
B.C. In the first third of the millennium BC, a large settlement of the town type arose. Ceramic production was developed there. This is confirmed by the artifacts discovered by archaeologists and the Bronze Age burial mound found in 1962. During the period of the emergence and development of urban handicraft production in the 6th-4th centuries BC, Khirsa gradually declined.
In the 6th century, one of the preachers of the Christian religion in Georgia, Stephane Kizikeli (Stephane Khirseli), founded a monastery here. According to historical tradition, he is buried here. St. Stephen's Monastery played a major role in the religious life of Kakheti, in particular its southeastern part. Today, a domed church has been preserved, built on the site of a 6th-century basilica. The monument has been rebuilt many times (VIII-IX centuries, XI centuries, XVI centuries).
During the tsarist period, the Khirsi colony was used to house people who were dangerous to the country. This is how the Decembrists ended up here.
According to legend, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Griboyedov, and Mikhail Lermontov visited the settlement.
In 1932, the Khirsi Soviet Farm was established here.
During the Patriotic War, German prisoners of war who settled in the colony built residential buildings that still attract the attention of visitors with their architecture.
On the initiative of Lavrentiy Beria, a demonstration dendrological park was built in Khirsi, where unique and rare plants were planted, some of which have survived to this day.