Monastery of Geghard And The Upper Azat Valley (World Heritage Site in Armenia)

Monastery of Geghard And The Upper Azat Valley

Short Report

The monastery of Geghard contains a number of churches and graves, most of them are built into the rocks, which illustrate the highlight of Armenian medieval architecture. The complex of medieval buildings in a landscape of great natural beauty, surrounded by towering cliffs at the entrance of the Upper azat Valley.

Wide Report

The Geghard complex is a very complete and well-preserved example of a medieval Armenian a monastic foundation in a secluded area of great natural beauty on the head of the Upper azat valley, surrounded by towering cliffs. It contains a large number of churches and graves, most of them built in the rocks, which illustrate the highlight of Armenian medieval architecture and decorative arts, with many innovative features that had a great influence on the developments in the region. It was founded in the 4th century, according to the surrender of St Gregory the illuminator. The first monastery was destroyed by Arabs in the 9th century, but was flourishing again by the 13th century. The monastery is famous for the remains housed there, the most celebrated the spear injured that Christ on the cross. Remains of the Apostles Andrew and John were donated in the 12th century, and the pious visitors has numerous gifts of land, money, manuscripts and through the following centuries.

The oldest part of the monastery complex of Haghpat is the small chapel of St Gregory, that is located to the east of and outside the main group. It is dug directly into the rocks of the mountain and is incomplete. The oldest of the markings on the wall is from 1177. The ornate decoration of crosses on the facade of the wall built on the rock. Built according to an inscription in 1215, the Kathoghikè (large church) is in the classical Armenian form, an equal weapons cross engraved in a square and covered with a dome on a square foot. It is connected to the bottom with vaults. The eastern arm of the cross ends in a apse, the rest are square. In the corners there are small barrel-vaulted two-storey chapels. On the walls there are many inscriptions record donations. The masonry of the walls is a pretty finished and equipped. A gavit (hall) links with the first stone-carved church.

As usual in the medieval Armenian architecture, the structure of this building is the same as that of the peasant hut, where four massive detached columns in the center support a roof of wooden beams with a hole in the middle to be lit. The canonical version, in stone, is an imposing structure. The peripheral areas resulting from the location of the columns are repeatedly covered, while the central space is crowned by a dome with stalactites, the most perfect example of this technique anywhere in Armenia. The gavit was used for education and meetings, and for those pilgrims and visitors.

The first stone-carved church was built in 1250, completely excavated in the rock and on an equal-armed late Gothic cruciform basilica plan. To the east a more or less square chamber built into the rock face was one of the princely graves (zamatoun ) of the Proshyan dynasty. This gives access to the second stone-carved church built in 1283. The second zamatoun , accessible via an external staircase, contains the graves of the prinsen Merik and grigor. The monastery complex is surrounded by a defensive wall in the 12th to the 13th century. The majority of the monks lived in the cells excavated in the rock outside the main enceinte was partly retained, which have been preserved, together with a few simple oratories.

Historical Data

The monastery is situated at the head of the Upper azat valley, surrounded by towering cliffs. It was founded in the 4th century, according to the surrender of St Gregory the illuminator. The site is a spring which is in a cave, which were sacred in pre-Christian times, so one of the names by which he was known, Ayvirank (the Monastery of the Cave). The first monastery was destroyed by Arabs in the 9th century, but it was restored and is alive and kicking by the 13th century under the patronage of the Proshyan princes, who are buried. They provided it with an irrigation system in 1200, as well as for the construction and repair of most of the churches in the complex. At this time, also known as the Monastery of the Seven churches and the monastery of the forty altars.

The monastery is famous for the remains there housed. The most famous of these was the spear which injured Christ on the cross would be charged by the Apostle Thaddeus, of which the current name, Geghardavank (the Monastery of the Spear), first mentioned in a document of 1250. This made it a popular pilgrimage site for Armenian Christians for centuries. Remains of the Apostles Andrew and John were donated in the 12th century, and the pious visitors has numerous gifts of land, money, manuscripts, etc over the subsequent centuries.

Source:whc/unesco