Anchiskhati Basilica (Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary) is one of the oldest buildings and the oldest surviving to the present day churches in Tbilisi. Built in the VI Art. The church is a basilica with apses made in the shape of a horseshoe, which also testifies to the antiquity of the building.

Initially, the church was built from blocks of yellow tuff, but in 1958-1964, during the restoration use ordinary bricks. The temple has three outputs from different angles, while only one is being used. All religious icons dating back to the XIX century., Except for the altarpiece, which was created in 1683 by order of the Catholicos Nikoloz VI.

According to the ancient Georgian chronicles, the king built a temple Iberia Villas Udzharmeli (522-534 gg.), Who made his capital Tbilisi.
  Dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Temple was the second name Anchiskhati after 1664 in honor of the Savior, which was moved from Anchian Cathedral. In this way, the priests tried to save valuable icon from the Ottoman Turks. In the XII century. goldsmith B. Opizari did for ancient icons silver frame with gold accents. The icon was kept Anchiskhati church about 200 years. Then she was transferred to the Art Museum of Georgia.

From XV to XVII century. due to frequent wars with Georgia, Turks and Persians temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. In the second half of the XVII century. church building was thoroughly redone. Restoration work led Kartli Catholicos Domenti. In 1870-ies. We added to the church vault. In the XIX century. on the western side of the Basilica Anchiskhati it was added adjacent to it and the bell tower built on a dome. As for the paintings, they also belong to the XIX century.

In Soviet times, the church converted into a museum of handicrafts, since it housed the art workshop. During the 1958-1964 biennium. We held in the temple restoration work, which was returned to it original appearance. He supervised the work of architect R. Gverdtsiteli. In 1989, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary once again opened its doors to worshipers.