Haghpat Monastery

Haghpat Monastery
Հաղպատավանք
A view of Haghpat Monastery
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
RiteArmenian Apostolic Church
Location
Locationnear Haghpat, Lori Province, Armenia
Haghpat Monastery is located in Armenia
Haghpat Monastery
Shown within Armenia
Haghpat Monastery is located in Continental Asia
Haghpat Monastery
Haghpat Monastery (Continental Asia)
Geographic coordinates41°05′38″N 44°42′43″E / 41.093889°N 44.711944°E / 41.093889; 44.711944
Architecture
StyleArmenian
Groundbreaking10th century
Official name: Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin
TypeCultural
Criteriaii, iv
Designated1996 (20th session)
Reference no.777-001
UNESCO RegionWestern Asia

Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank (Armenian: Հաղպատավանք), is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century.

Location

Road map of the Haghpat-Sanahin area

The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River in northern Armenia's Lori region. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment from prying eyes and also in response to a kind of monastic humility. It is built on a verdant promontory located in the middle of a mountain cirque, which is often wreathed in clouds. A peak on the opposite side of the river is over 2,500 meters high. The monasteries of northern Armenia are not isolated, unlike their counterparts in the country's arid regions. They were built in a village environment and Haghpat is surrounded by many hamlets.

History and description

Plan of Haghpat

The monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III, probably in 976. The nearby monastery at Sanahin was built around the same time.

Cathedral of Surb Nshan

The largest church in the complex, the Cathedral of Surb Nshan, probably begun in 976, was completed in 991 by king Smbat. It is a typical example of tenth-century Armenian architecture, its central dome rests on the four imposing pillars[dubious ] of the lateral walls. The outside walls are dotted with triangular recesses. A fresco in the apse depicts Christ Pantocrator. Its donor, the Armenian Prince Khutulukhaga, is depicted in the south transept (a transversal nave intersecting the main nave). The sons of the church's founder, Princes Smbat and Kurike, are shown with Queen Khosravanuysh in a bas-relief on the east gable. Apart from one or two minor restorations carried out in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the church has retained its original character.

Other structures

There are several other structures at the site as well. There is the small domed Church of Sourb Grigor (St. Gregory) from 1005. Two side chapels were added to the original church; the larger one built in the beginning of the 13th century and the smaller, known as "Hamazasp House", built in 1257. In 1245, a three-story tall free-standing belltower was constructed. Other 13th-century additions include the chapel of Sourb Astvatsatsin, a library and scriptorium (later converted into a storeroom), and a large refectory, which is outside the monastery limits.

There are also a number of splendid khachkars (cross-stones) of the 11th-13th centuries standing on the territory of the monastery, the best known among them is the "Amenaprkich" (All-Savior) khachkar which has been standing since 1273.

Crusades

In 1260, Prosh Khaghbakian, with his Armenian Zakarid suzerains Avag and Shahnshah, led a large force of Georgians and Armenians to support a much smaller force of Mongol troops of Hulegu in the Siege of Mayyāfāriqīn (Diyarbakır), which was defended by its last Ayyubid ruler Al-Kamil Muhammad. The Armenian Prince Sevata of Kachen was killed in the conflict. When the city was captured at last after a siege of two years, the Muslims were massacred, but the Christians were spared. Christian relics were collected and brought back to Armenia, particularly to the Haghpat Monastery, which received the hand of the Apostle St Bartholomew.

Survival throughout history

The monastery has been damaged many times. Sometime around 1130, an earthquake destroyed parts of Haghpat Monastery and it was not restored until fifty years later. It also suffered numerous attacks by armed forces in the many centuries of its existence and from a major earthquake in 1988. Nevertheless, much of the complex is still intact and stands today without substantial alterations.

Significance, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Described as a "masterpiece of religious architecture and a major center of learning in the Middle Ages", Haghpat monastery, together with Sanahin Monastery, was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996. The monasteries at Haghpat and Sanahin were chosen as UNESCO World Heritage Sites because:

The two monastic complexes represent the highest flowering of Armenian religious architecture, whose unique style developed from a blending of elements of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and the traditional vernacular architecture of the Caucasian region.

Today the area is an increasingly popular tourist site.

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