Bardzrakash Monastery
Bardzrakash Monastery is a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the northern Armenian province of Lori , which was consecrated to St. Gregory . Because of its white color, the monastery was also called Tchermak Vank (White Monastery or Snow Monastery). In the Middle Ages, the Bardzrakash Monastery was a spiritual and educational center of Armenia. Many members of the mamiconic princely family received an education there. Today it is abandoned. Most of the buildings have been destroyed and the area is overgrown.
location
The monastery is located in the middle of dense forests about 2 kilometers northeast of the village of Dsegh on the edge of a deep gorge on the bank of the Saghudzor River. Desgh is the birthplace of the Armenian writer and poet Howhannes Tumanjan .
Building description
The monastery complex consists of two churches, a gawit, a bell tower, a chapel and the cemetery of the Armenian royal family Mamikonian . All buildings were constructed from tuff , rockite and basalt stone from the 10th to the 13th centuries . The main church Surb Astwazazin Catoghike ( Armenian Սուրբ Աստվածածին , "Holy Mother of God ", western Armenian Surp Asdwadsadsin , other romanizations Surb Astvatsatsin, Surp Astvatsatsin, Surb Astuacacin ) had the son of Prince Sargis Mamikonian built in 1221. The cross-domed church has two-storey side chapels on its east side.
The Gawit with its four columns was built in front of the church in 1259 to the south.
The bell tower to the south of it was built in 1259. There is another church north of the main church. It has a square floor plan and was built in the 10th century. South of the monastery is the St. Harutyun Chapel from 1204, which Hovhannes Vardapet had built together with his brother Sargis. Prince Aslanbek, son of Marzpan Mamikonian , had two chapels built in 1254 and gave the monastery a valuable gospel adorned with gold and pearls.
All buildings of the monastery are richly decorated with ornamental reliefs and inscriptions. The oldest surviving inscription on the monastery is dated to the time of the Zakarids, an Armenian princely dynasty under the rule of Georgian kings in the early 1200s. The last inscription dates from 1247. The monastery was probably abandoned when the Mongols invaded Armenia and destroyed the existing social order.
Around the monastery there is a spring and several khachkars (artistically hewn memorial stones with a relief cross in the middle, which is surrounded by geometric and plant motifs). The construction of the bridge over the river belonging to the monastery was commissioned by Hamik, the son of Smbat Mamikonian, together with his wife in the 13th century. It is partially destroyed today. The ruins of an oil press built by Gevorg Vardapet in 1266 still remain on the monastery grounds.
The monastery was partially restored in 1939. Excavations were carried out in 1969.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Baghdasaryan Brothers: Bardzrakash St.Grigor monastery. Retrieved November 27, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Bardzrakash St. Gregory Monastery . In: World Monuments Fund . ( wmf.org [accessed November 27, 2017]).
- ↑ a b Bardzrakash St. Grigor Monastery, Dsegh, Armenia | World Building Directory | Buildings. Retrieved November 27, 2017 .
Coordinates: 40 ° 57 ′ 48 ″ N , 44 ° 39 ′ 6 ″ E