Saghmosavank Monastery

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Saghmosavank Monastery near Saghmossavank village.
Saghmosavank Monastery near Saghmossavank village.

The monastery complexes of Hovhannavank and Saghmosavank are five kilometers apart and situated in the villages of the same names of the Ashtarak district. Their silhouettes dominate the adjacent villages and rise sharp against the background of the mountains crowned by Mount Aragats. [1]

The monastery complexes of Hovhannavank and Saghmosavank are five kilometers apart and situated in the villages of the same names of the Ashtarak district. Both monuments perch on the edge of the precipitous gorge of the Kasakh river. Their silhouettes dominate the adjacent villages and rise sharp against the background of the mountains crowned by Mt. Aragats.

The main temples of the monasteries erected by Prince Vache Vachutyan - the Church of Zion in Saghmosavank (1215) and the Church of Karapet in Hovhannavank (1216-1221) belong to the same type of cross-winged domed structure with two-floor annexes in all the corners of the building. Subcupola space predominates in the interiors of both churches, which is reflected in the exterior shapes of these structures.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Architectural Ensembles of Armenia"O. Khalpakhchian, published in Moscow by Iskusstvo Publishers in 1980.

[edit] External links