Amenaprkich Monastery was an Armenian monastery in Gazanchy village (
Julfa District
Julfa District ( az, Culfa rayonu) is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Ordubad, Babek, Shahbuz, as well as the Syunik Province of Armenia and the East Azerbaijan ...
) of the
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic ( az, Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası, ), is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a popula ...
of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
.
The monastery was located in the center of the village.
[Ayvazyan, Argam. ''The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan.'' Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 85.]
History
The monastery was founded in the 12–13th centuries and was rebuilt in 1654, according to an Armenian inscription on a ''
khachkar
A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...
'' set above the
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
of the doorway.
[Ayvazyan, Argam. ''Nakhijevani ISSH haykakan hushardzannery. Hamahavak tsutsak''. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1986, pp. 72–73.]
Architecture
In the late Soviet years, the outer walls of the monastery complex, the porch attached to the church, and other associated buildings were in ruins. It was a basilica structure consisting of a nave with two aisles, an apse and two vestries. The western facade bore an Armenian inscription while interior walls had fragments of wall painting.
Destruction
The monastery was razed to ground at some point between 1997 and November 11, 2009, as documented by investigation of the Caucasus Heritage Watch.
References
{{coord missing, Azerbaijan
Destroyed Armenian monasteries in Nakhchivan