Mshkavank

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Mshkavank Monastery

Mshkavank ( Armenian Մշկավանք Mother Monastery ) is a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the northeast Armenian province of Tavush . It was founded in the 12th century. Today it is abandoned. The buildings have been largely destroyed and the area is overgrown.

location

The monastery is surrounded by dense forests on a high plateau six kilometers west of the village of Koghb, about 120 kilometers from the Armenian capital Yerevan . There it was built on a slope.

Building description

The east facade

The monastery complex consists of the restored Astwazazin Church with a pre-built Gawit, the Zghachatsch Church from the 5th to 6th centuries, the Twarageghzi Church from the 6th century and a cemetery from the 12th and 13th centuries.

The exact year of construction of the main church Surb Astwazazin ( Armenian Սուրբ Աստվածածին , "Holy Mother of God ", western Armenian Surp Asdwadsadsin , other transcriptions Surb Astvatsatsin, Surp Astvatsatsin, Surb Astuacacin ) is unknown. In 1219 it is mentioned as a fully built church. It has a square floor plan and is closed at the top with a semi-cylindrical vault. The east facade in particular is richly decorated. A geometric pattern from which a cross rises rises above the finely crafted central window. This is decorated with a bull's head in its upper arm. A bird can be seen above.

The only entrance to the church is on the west. The Gawit from the 13th century is also built there. It almost towers over the small main church. The west entrance of the anteroom is richly decorated with colored stones. The roof is supported by two interlaced pairs of arches.

There is a small cemetery on the monastery grounds. On the site there are some khachkars (artistically hewn memorial stones with a relief cross in the middle, which is surrounded by geometric and plant motifs).

From 1955 to 1960 restoration work took place in Mshkavank.

Web links

Commons : Mschkawank  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mshkavank Monastery - Armeniapedia.org. Retrieved November 21, 2017 .
  2. ^ A b Holding, Deirdre: Armenia with Nagorno Karabagh: the Bradt travel guide . Fourth ed. Chalfont St. Peter 2014, ISBN 978-1-84162-555-3 , pp. 272 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Baghdasaryan Brothers: Mshkavank monastery. Retrieved November 21, 2017 .

Coordinates: 41 ° 9 ′ 51.3 "  N , 44 ° 58 ′ 16.4"  E