Tsaghats Kar
Tsakhats Kar Monastery ( Armenian Ցախաց քար Zaghaz kar ), other transcriptions Tsakhats Kar Monastery, Tsakhatskar, C'ałac'k'ar ( Tsakhats Kar Monastery Vank , Ցախաց քար Վանք) is a former convent of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the south Armenian province of Vayots Dzor Province . The well-preserved Anabaptist Church ( Surb Karapet ) from the 11th century, the Holy Cross Grave Church ( Surb Nshan ) from the 10th century a few meters to the east and a crumbling group of buildings 200 meters west of the two churches refer to the church that dates back to the 15th century. The monastery, which is located on a mountain slope at an altitude of 2052 meters, has endured special significance in the 19th century.
location
Coordinates: 39 ° 53 ′ 42 " N , 45 ° 21 ′ 24.8" E
Tsaghats Kar is located north of the provincial capital Yeghegnadsor and can be reached via the M10 pass road , which branches off the M2 between Areni and Yeghegnadsor to the north to Lake Sevan and crosses the Selim Pass. After ten kilometers in the village of Schatin, a side road turns northeast to the village of Jeghegis in the valley of the river of the same name, six kilometers away . The Shativank monastery ruins in the mountains can be reached from Schatin on a path . Two kilometers after Shatin, the road forks in front of the foothills of a ridge on which the ruins of the medieval fortress Smbataberd have been preserved. The road in a side valley on the north side of the hill runs after one kilometer through the elongated village of Artabuynk and then follows a tributary of the Jeghegis in a narrowing valley to the hamlet of Horbategh. About one kilometer behind the last houses of Artabuynk, a road begins to the right of the road at a ford and a pedestrian bridge over the stream, on which in an easterly direction you can reach Tsaghats Kar after five kilometers, or halfway along a junction to the south, Smbataberd .
The ruins of the monastery stand on the slope above a wide hollow and are dominated by mountain ranges over 3000 meters high in the north and east. Smbataberd and the footpath to it can be seen in the distance from here. From the highlands overgrown with grass and isolated bushes protrude individual rocks and scree areas made of basalt rock , which was also used for the construction of the eastern buildings. There is spring water nearby.
history
According to the historian Bishop Stepanos in the 13th century, a member of the ruling Orbelian family, the monastery was founded in the 5th century. A burial church is said to have been built here for the Armenian rebels who died in the battle of Avarayr against the Sassanids in 451. This battle was the culmination of several disputes over the religious freedom of the Armenian Christians, which was finally granted to them despite the defeat. Four battles had taken place in the Vayots Dzor region, one of them in the surrounding area.
The next historical record concerns the reconstruction of the monastery by another bishop named Stepanos (Stepanos Taronetsi, also called " Asoghik " because he performed songs with his beautiful voice) during the reign of the Bagratid king Abbas I (r. 930-950 ). The buildings and ruins preserved today date back to the end of the 10th century or the 11th century, when the existing complex was also expanded to include a refectory , a gawit and ancillary buildings. In the 15th century, Tsaghats Kar had a manuscript department in which hundreds of manuscripts were copied.
Monastery complex
The two restored church buildings are a few meters apart and can be seen from the valley, while the group of western buildings is hidden behind a hilltop.
Surb karapet
The western of the two surviving churches is the Church of St. John the Baptist, Surb Karapet , a rectangular cross- domed church dated 1041 , the central dome of which is supported by the four inner wall corners of the cruciform base plan. Surb Nshan belongs to the group of cross-shaped monocons, in which the apse on the east side is designed with a semicircular rear wall ( cone ) and the other side arms with rectangular walls. Forerunners from the 7th century are the small monocons of Lmbatavank and the Karmravor Church of Ashtarak . Other small central buildings from this period have three cones (small Surb Astvatsatsin church from Talin ) or, ideally, four cones, which are symmetrical . This stock of forms of the early Christian churches was resumed after a phase with little building activity from the 9th century.
While the cruciform floor plan remains visible on the outer walls of the earlier examples mentioned, the clad churches have adjoining rooms enclosed in the four outer corners. The exterior of the Surb Nshan Church resembles the Areni Church, dated 1321 . The eastern side rooms with semicircular apses are not accessible from the altar apse raised by a bema (podium), but via the side arms in the north and south. The four inner wall corners emphasized by half-columns are connected to one another by means of belt arches . The transition to the circular basic shape of the drum , which consists of a protruding cornice with a surrounding braided band, is made via pendentives . The most conspicuous decorative motif inside is a series of sculptural clay jugs in arched niches on the wall of the Bema.
The drum, which is also circular on the outside, only has narrow window openings on the west and east sides and is surmounted by a conical roof. The only entrance is in the south wall. It is flanked by two triangular niches and carries a lintel stone with an inscription and a field with foliage, grapes and pomegranates. The gable window on the west facade is emphasized by a double bulge. The field between the inner and outer frame is filled with a small-scale geometric motif made up of circles and swastikas. The central window on the east wall is framed even more elaborately. There, two triangular niches extend up to the height of the eaves. According to the common view, such deep niches have been found in Armenian architecture since the 7th century as a vertical structure on outer walls (including Aruchavank , Cathedral of Ani , Monastery Church of Ptghni ). On the gable to the left above the door, an eagle with a lamb in its claws depicts the coat of arms of the Proschian family. A relief of a lion fighting a bull, which fills almost the entire north gable, was probably the coat of arms of the Orbelian family, to which the founder belonged.
Surb Nshan
The Holy Cross Church, Surb Nshan ("Holy Sign"), a few meters to the east, served as a mausoleum church. Its original building, which according to some sources dates to the year 939, was restored or rebuilt at the same time as the Surb Karapet . The narrow building consists of a church hall with a barrel vault , which is covered on the outside by a gable roof. A low entrance leads in from the west. The semicircular altar apse is raised by an unadorned bema on its front. In front of the church hall is a two-story room, in front of whose west wall two huge chatschkars are set up at the level of the upper floor . Together with a false window in the middle, these form a uniform facade design. The arched portal below was lowered by a lintel stone, which is part of the substructure for the khachkars.
Both churches are in good condition after their most recent restoration in 2010.
Western group
The center of the monastery was far to the west and was once surrounded by a defensive wall, of which some remains on the east side and a gate have been preserved. An inscription on the east gate is dedicated to E'achi Proschian because he donated land to the monastery and planted it himself. He was a grandson of Prince Prosch Khaghbakian, who built the fortress Boloraberd (Proschaberd) near Spitakawor Monastery north of Wernaschen in the 11th century .
In addition to monk cells in a row on the west side and outbuildings, the spacious building complex in the middle also included a church of Our Lady ( Surb Astvatsatsin ) with a dome, of which half-height walls and belt arches have been preserved. To the south was a portico used for meetings, which was closed to the east by a small room with a semicircular east apse. Adjacent to this in the south was the large single-nave St. John's Church ( Surb Hovhannes ) with a barrel vault. It bears an inscription of 999. Again directly to the south was a narrow single-nave chapel. There was a large gawit in front of the west side of the Church of Our Lady . A stone tub west of the portico was used for ritual purposes. Many khachkars are set up in the area.
literature
- Paolo Cuneo: Architettura Armena dal quarto al diciannovesimo secolo. Volume 1. De Luca Editore, Rome 1988, pp. 396f
Web links
- Rick Ney: Vayot's Dzor. (PDF; 1.7 MB) TourArmenia, 2009, p. 20
- Tsaghats Kar. Armenian Heritage
- Tsakhats Kar Monastery. Armeniapedia
Individual evidence
- ^ Ulrich Bock: Armenian architecture. History and problems of their research. (25th publication of the architecture department of the Art History Institute of the University of Cologne) Cologne 1983, p. 191
- ^ Tsaghats Kar 5: Eastern Complex. Armenian Heritage; Rick Ney, p. 20
- ^ Marie Felicité Brosset : Reports sur un voyage archéologique dans la Géorgie et dans l'Arménie: exécuté en 1847–1848. St. Petersburg 1851, sixième rapport, p. 141 (Armenian inscription with French translation; online at Google Books )
- ↑ Tsaghats Kar 6: Western Complex . Armenian Heritage