The village Tsvirmi comprises several painted churches, among them the church of the Archangels located in the Zagar district. The single nave two -storied church is dated to the 9th c. It is one of the oldest churches in Upper Svaneti. The interior of the ground floor is covered with murals and displays a rather developed program of the painting.

A remarkable Georgian enlightener of the late feudal period, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was born in 1658 in the village of Tandzia. His father, Vakhtang Orbeliani, served as the secretary of the King of Kartli, and his mother, Tamar, was the daughter of Zaal, Eristavi of Aragvi, who ruled over the mountainous region of Kartli. Sulkhan spent his childhood in Tandzia, where he was raised with his brothers. Later, he lived mainly in Dmanisi. From childhood, Sulkhan was particularly close to the sons of King Vakhtang V Shahnavaz (r. 1658-1675), especially Giorgi (the future King Giorgi XI of Kartli).

In 2001, an exceptionally valuable Georgian artefact, which had been considered lost since 1991, unexpectedly appeared at a Christie’s auction in Geneva. This outstanding ivory work, known as the Okoni Triptych Icon, had disappeared from the Tskhinvali Museum. At that time, Georgian jurisdiction no longer extended over the territory, and the loss was not officially reported by the museum.