Medieval Christian architecture. Part 2
You can see the route map here. Beginning - in part 1
Hovhanavank Monastery [1] (Hovhanavank village north of Ashtarak). According to legend, the founder and first priest of this monastery was Gregory the Illuminator. The complex consists of compactly standing ruins of the church of the first Christians of the 4th century; single-nave basilica of St. Gregory (5th century, later rebuilt); main cross-domed with two-storey limits in all corners of the church of St. John the Baptist (XIII century), built by order of Prince Vachutyan; belfries (XIII century); common porch. The main temple, which was damaged by an earthquake at the beginning of the 20th century, was restored at the end of the 20th century. I mentioned https://www.turpravda.com/am/blog-245117.html, a bas-relief on tympanum and khachkars on the wall to be seen in the porch. They also say (because we were not inside, we had no opportunity to make sure) that there is an iconostasis here, which is not typical for Armenia. The belfry-rotunda is considered the largest in diameter. An underground passage departed from the altar in the gorge. He saved the villagers during the invasions. Somewhere in the area there are also the remains of a fortress of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. We looked from the highway, but found nothing.
Hovhannavank Monastery
Saghmosavank Monastery [2] (Saghmosavan village). According to legend, this monastery was also built by Gregory the Illuminator. The complex consists of the main cross-domed church with two-story borders in all corners of the church of St. Zion (erected in the 13th century by order of Prince Vachutyan on the site of the desert of the early Christians); Church of Our Lady; common vestibule and book depository (XII century); belfry. On the left side of the altar of the main church, there are khachkars on the wall, the remains of a fresco. On the dome there is a rotunda with a light lantern. In the apse of the Church of Our Lady there is an image of the prince's coat of arms (an eagle holding a lamb in its claws) under the sun and an angel, but I did not see it. In the former book depository today there is a sacristy. You can find several beautiful khachkars around.
Saghmosavank Monastery
Church of Our Lady in Odzun [6]. In the village there are several churches, cemeteries with khachkars, Horomayr Monastery. According to legend, the Apostle Thomas reached Odzun in the 1st century. and on the site of the future Church of Our Lady, he anointed the priests. Some suggest that the name "Odzun" comes from the word "ocel", meaning this rite. Thomas brought with him the veil of Christ, which was buried under the altar of the first church. The church was erected in the IV century. Gregory the Illuminator and Tsar Trdat, who made Christianity the state religion. Then it was a single-nave basilica. In the 5th century destroyed by the earthquake. In the VI century. it was rebuilt into a three-nave. Adjacent to the church is a rare outdoor gallery in the country. It contains carvings from the 4th century. from the first church. Nearby is a monument of unusual shape, which I mentioned https://www.turpravda.com/am/blog-245117.html - the so-called "Bats Horan" ("open-air altar"). Not far away is another church Tsiranavor (Orange), today almost destroyed. Previously, the two churches were connected by an underground passage. In addition, in the middle of the complex there is a monument of the Soviet times, repeating in general terms the architecture of khachkars.
Church of Our Lady of Odzuna
Sanahin Monastery[7]. According to legend, the first church in these places was founded by Gregory the Illuminator in the 4th century. The current monastery, like Haghpat, was founded by King Ashot III the Merciful Bagratuni and his wife in the 10th century. The name is translated “this one is older than that one”, i. e. Sanahin is older than neighboring Haghpat. Once upon a time there was a rich library where medieval manuscripts decorated with miniatures were found (today in Matenadaran).
Sanain's plan
The complex includes: a single-nave cruciform church with four corners at the corners of the Church of Our Lady (X century); the main church of the Savior with a high relief depicting the royal sons (the dome was remade in the 12th century); gallery-academy, founded by the scientist Pahlavuni (X century); one of the oldest vestibule of the Church of the Savior with a hemispherical dome; the vestibule of the Church of the Mother of God with a conical vault (XIII century, built by Prince Vachutyan); bell tower (XIII century); book depository (XI century); Church of Gregory the Illuminator; tombs of the Zakaryan and Kyurikyan dynasties; Church of St. Jacob (Hakop, X century); Church of the Resurrection (Harutyun, XIII century); refectory.
Royal sons with a model of Sanahin
book depository (in the center) and the chapel of St. Gregory (right)
Hahpat Monastery [8] (Hahpat village). It was founded by King Ashot the Merciful Bagratuni and his wife Khosrovanush. The name translates as "strong wall". The complex includes: the main domed church of the Holy Sign (Nshan, X century); Church of Our Lady (XI century); chapel of Gregory the Illuminator (XI century); vestibule (XIII century); the building of the zhamatun Amazaspa (XIII century); bell tower (XIII century) with a rotunda; school; book depository (XI century); refectory (XIII century); spring (XIII century, in the Armenian tradition, this is also an architectural structure).
plan of Haghpat Monastery
There used to be frescoes in the church of Surb Nshan, now almost lost (the All-Savior is in the altar apse).
remains of frescoes in the Church of the Sign
The sons of the founders of the church are depicted on the facade, the queen is buried somewhere opposite (there is a high relief on her tomb, but we did not see her, perhaps because it was not possible to approach the facade due to repair work).
bas-relief depicting a model of Haghpat in the hands of the king's sons
Councils of the secular and spiritual authorities of the principality met in Amazasp. A high three-tiered bell tower with a belfry at the top is the earliest example of a structure of this type. I wrote about the book depository https://www.turpravda.com/am/blog-220067.html. The columns of the book depository are different and decorated with carved ornaments. In addition, there is a rare for Armenia khachkar All-Savior and a tomb with khachkars (XIII century) above the chapels (see https://www.turpravda.com/am/blog-245117.html).
Several years in a monastery in the 18th century. the poet Sayat-Nova lived (see https://www.turpravda.com/am/blog-234377.html).
Sayat-Nova lived in a house with a sign in the foreground; on the right - the building of Amazasp
There is a legend about the founding of the Sanahin and Haghpat monasteries, which are called "brothers" (both on the UNESCO World Heritage List).
When the architect built Sanahin, one of his students said that if he had been an architect, he would have built better. The teacher drove the student out of the monastery, calling him a windbag. He went to Haghpat and started building another monastery. A month later, the teacher went to see what his student had managed to build. He carefully examined the masonry for a long time, shed a tear, and forgave the student. And he called the walls of the new monastery “precious” or “strong” (“ahpat”). They say that when they laid stones, erecting the walls of a new monastery, they read the Scriptures, and therefore, if you keep your hand on the wall for a long time, you can hear the ancient psalms.
The same legend says that the disciple's name was Hovhannes the Wise. He was a historiographer, philosopher, poet and theologian, a reformer of the Armenian calendar. He had such a passion for reading that he spent days and nights in his cell reading, lost the sense of time, forgot to eat and drink.
Akhtala Monastery-Fortress[9]. The fortress was built in the X century. during the reign of the Kyurikid. The fortress defended the north-east of Armenia (almost next to the current border with Georgia).
view of the Akhtala fortress
The complex includes: the main rectangular cross-domed church of the Virgin (XIII century); two more churches; bell tower.
Church of the Mother of God
The church is unusual for Armenian architecture in that the inside of the walls is almost completely covered with frescoes on the subjects of the Old and New Testaments, images of saints. The temple was transferred from the Armenian Apostolic Church to the Orthodox Chalcedonites and rebuilt. It was at that period in the history of Armenia, when independence was practically lost, architects worked outside the country, in Byzantium, Georgia. In the XVIII century. handed over to the Greek community, which was engaged in the extraction of gold and silver. In the 19th century passed to the Melikov family. Which church now owns the complex, I will not say. But with its frescoes, it is strikingly different from others, where frescoes either did not exist, or they were practically lost. Here, in the north of the country, the Georgian tradition is strong and there are much more frescoes. Parajanov filmed his film "The Color of Pomegranate" here.
Akhtala frescoes
