Sanahin Monastery

Sanahin Monastery is a monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church near the town of the same name in the province of Lori in northern Armenia , which was founded in 966. Just like the Haghpat Monastery, just under four kilometers to the northeast, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996 . There are numerous khachkars and several graves of bishops on the site . In the center of the complex is the largest building, the Church of the Redeemer. The oldest building is the Church of Our Lady from the second quarter of the 10th century. In 1063 a library was built on the site. The complex was expanded until the 13th century. Today it is considered to be the best preserved medieval monastery complex in Armenia.

location

Sanahin Monastery was built near an existing village like the other monasteries in northern Armenia and not like those in the arid regions of Armenia remote from settlements. In order to symbolize the seclusion from the world, the builders built the monastery in a slightly elevated position on a slope of the Tchantinler mountain as a fortified structure above the village of Sanahin. From the monastery you can see the valley of the river Debed . Sanahin is located about 170 kilometers from the Armenian capital Yerevan and two kilometers northwest of the city of Alaverdi.

Building description

Plan of the monastery area

In Sanahin there was probably a pre-Christian cult site with a temple. The monastery was founded there between the 4th and 10th centuries.

The entire monastery complex is surrounded by a wall and consists of five churches, two gavits , a school, a library, the Academy of the Magister , a cemetery and a bell tower. The main buildings are grouped around the main church and are structurally connected to it.

The Surb Hakop Church is a cross-domed church with four (half-ruined) apses. It was built in the second half of the 10th century, making it one of the oldest structures in the monastery complex.

In the center of the complex is the Surb Astvatsatsin Church ( Armenian Սուրբ Աստվածածին , "Holy Mother of God ", western Armenian Surp Asdwadsadsin , other romanizations Surp Astvatsatsin, Surb Astuacacin, Surb Astwazazin ), construction of which began between the years 928 and 944. It is a cross-domed church . The central church space is crowned by a dome with a tambour . Both parts are younger than the church and were added in the 18th century. According to one of the surviving inscriptions, this happened in 1652 during the reconstruction of the complex under the supervision of Sargis Oustah and his students. Because of their shape and their decoration with four animal sculptures, the meaning of which has not yet been clarified, the trumpets are considered extraordinary. Equally unusual is the small model of the church under the entrance arch of a side chapel.

The group of figures of Princes Smbat and Gurgen on the east facade is the oldest Armenian relief representation of human figures with a church model

Immediately next to this relatively small church, Queen Khosrovanuysh had the much larger Church of the Redeemer built in 966. She supported her husband, King Ashot III. (the Merciful) from the Armenian Bagratid dynasty . After completion, the couple had the building, which is also a cross-domed church, dedicated to their sons Smbat and Gurgen. Both are depicted on a tympanum on the east facade on a bas-relief, which is considered to be the oldest relief representation of human figures with a church model of Armenia . Smbat later became king of Ani and Kuirike reigned in Lori. Four two-story side chapels form the arms of the cross. The dome was completely rebuilt in 1184. In the east and south facades, the building has blind arcades , which are among the oldest examples of this type of decoration in Armenia. Slightly more recent examples can be found in the Cathedral of Ani .

The interiors of both churches were decorated with frescoes, which have now been almost completely destroyed.

Both churches are connected to a building, the Academy of Magistros , which previously served as a training facility. It was created in two stages at the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century. It is named after the Armenian philosopher, writer and scientist Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni (* 990; † 1059). His writings are considered an important source for medieval theology, literature, mythology, politics, science and medicine of Armenia. In the walls, the building has niches that are closely spaced, which the students presumably used as seating during the lectures. Its barrel vault is supported by so-called belt arches and massive supporting pillars. There was a kind of division of labor between the two monasteries: while Sanahin concentrated on the human sciences , Haghpat put his emphasis on scientific treatises , medieval miniature painting and miniature painting, calligraphy and philosophy .

The small chapel of St. Gregory has a circular floor plan. Your year of construction is unclear. It is known that it was rebuilt in 1061. Its round dome rests on wedge-like projections between the wall niches .

About 20 meters east of the Surb Hakop Church is the 13th century Surb Harutiun Church. Your nave is closed at the top with a vault. In terms of art history, it is considered interesting because of its two identical eastern altar apses.

The library was built in 1063 and also served as a repository for relics. Queen H'ranush, daughter of David Anhoghin, financed its construction. The building has a square floor plan. The large octahedral tent roof is supported by diagonal arches, which in turn rest on four half-columns in the middle of the four outer walls.

Gawit the Church of the Redeemer from 1181

Gawit of the Surb Astvatsatsin Church

The two gawites are built in front of the churches to the west. They were used as a space for lectures, meetings and as an additional church space at larger masses.

The Gawit in front of the Church of the Redeemer was created in 1181 on behalf of Prince Kurd and Abbot Grigor Tutevordi. The executive architect was Zhamhair. Four massive pillars support the yerdik (a dome with a central opening). The construction of the Yerdik is similar to the traditional Armenian houses with the difference that stone slabs are used instead of wooden beams. Sanahin is considered to be an early example of the use of this type of construction in sacred buildings. The columns, whose bases and capitals are decorated with reliefs and engravings, also divide the interior into several parts.

Prince Vacheh Vachutian had the gawit in front of the Surb Astvatsatsin church built in 1211. The three-aisled hall is covered with vaults and two gable roofs. Two rows, each with three differently decorated columns, divide the hall into three naves.

The Sanahin Bell Tower is a three-story building with a square floor plan. It was built between 1211 and 1235. The sound arcade formed by pillars and crowned by a conical roof rises above it . The outer walls are decorated with finely carved windows, crosses and patterns made of yellow sandstone. A large red tuff stone cross that is richly decorated with ornaments was incorporated into the west facade. Together with the Haghpat bell tower, it is considered to be the oldest structure of this type in Armenia.

The fountain on the north wall was built in 1831. Older is a well in the village, which dates from the 12th or 13th century and is covered with a vaulted hall.

Tsiranavor -Chatschkar on the monastery area

Several tombs belong to the monastery. The mausoleums of princes Kiurikeh and David Kiurikian are directly adjacent to the Surb Astvatsatsin Church. The vaulted rooms were added to the church at the end of the 10th century and in the middle of the 11th century. in the southeastern area of the tomb there is a semi-underground crypt with a vaulted ceiling and partially preserved chapels above. They are similar in their construction to the small chapel of St. Gregory.

In the 19th century, the Argutinski-Dolgoruki family had another burial place built in Sanahin. The Argutinski-Dolgoruki (Arghutian-Yerkainabazuk) are a younger line of the Zakarids, a princely dynasty who ruled from their capital Ani between 1201 and 1260 as vassals of Georgian kings . Tsar Peter I raised the families to the Russian nobility in 1800.

Among the Khachkars , the memorial stone erected near the river bank by Queen Vaninenin in memory of her deceased husband, King Abbas II, is considered the most important. According to his inscription, Wanenin ordered the construction of the Sanahin Bridge out of grief over the death of her husband. The gift to the monastery was intended to increase the reputation of the late king and the founder. Another important Khachkar is known as Tsiranavor . It stands east of the main building. According to its inscription, Father Hovhannes had it built by Master David to commemorate the construction of an inn. The early chaktars from the 10th and 11th centuries are usually decorated in the center with a cross, stylized fennel seeds and branches of the tree of life. They are generally more simply decorated than works from the 12th and 13th centuries.

history

The Magister’s Academy

The bell tower

The exact founding date of Sanahin is unknown. It is generally assumed that the monastery emerged in the 4th century from a memorial cross ( Surp Nschan = holy sign ), which St. Gregory the Illuminator, who brought Christianity to the Armenians, built on the site of a pre-Christian cult site with a temple. Sanahin is older than Haghpat Monastery. This is also expressed by the name, which means this (monastery) is older than that . According to tradition, Armenians who returned to their homeland from the Byzantine Empire because they rejected the decisions made at the Council of Chalcedon , founded the monastery. The monastery is first mentioned in 930 during the reign of King Abbas from the Armenian Bagratid dynasty . According to this tradition, it was built over the ruins of a 4th or 5th century church. In the eleventh century, the construction activity came to a virtual standstill when the Seljuks invaded the area .

Later Sanahin became the residence of the Kiurikid dynasty (a side branch of the Bagratids), who had their grave there until the middle of the 12th century and the seat of a diocese until the middle of the 11th century. This led to a new building boom on the monastery grounds and the surrounding area. Between Sanahin and Haghpat as well as on both monastery areas, more than 20 churches and chapels, outbuildings, graves, bell towers, a teaching institution (the Academy of Magistros ), libraries, refectories, galleries, bridges and other monumental structures as well as numerous residential and commercial buildings were built. Many of the buildings that are preserved today date from this period. At the same time, the monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat became the spiritual and scientific center of the Kiurikid kingdoms.

In both monasteries, especially in Sanahin, humanitarian sciences, music and medicine were taught, scientific treatises were written and works of art (mostly miniatures) were painted.

In the 13th century, the Kajan fortress could not prevent the conquest of the area. When the Mongolian Golden Horde invaded Armenia in the late 13th century, Sanahin was abandoned.

In 2000, at the 24th meeting of the World Heritage Committee, Sanahin was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List with the Sanahin Bridge and the name of the existing Haghpat World Heritage site was changed to Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries .