Vanevan Monastery (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Վանեվան) is a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

located along a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

south of the village of

Artsvanist Artsvanist ( hy, Արծվանիստ) is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, located to the south of Lake Sevan. In the gorge south of the village is the important early 10th century monastery of Vanevan and a large but broken mediev ...

, southeast of

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

in the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik ( hy, Գեղարքունիք, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. It includes the exclave of Artsvas ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. The main church of Saint Grigor, was built in 903 by Prince Shapuh Bagratuni and his sister Mariam, siblings of King

Smbat I Smbat I (; c. 850–912/14) was the second king of the medieval Kingdom of Armenia of the Bagratuni dynasty, and son of Ashot I. He is the father of Ashot II (known as Ashot Yerkat) and Abas I. Rule Smbat I was crowned king in 892 in Shiraka ...

. The church located on the southern end may have been built around the same time, while the

gavit A ''gavit'' (Armenian ) or ''zhamatun'' (Armenian: ) is often contiguous to the west of a church in a Medieval Armenian monastery. It served as narthex (entrance to the church), mausoleum and assembly room. History The ''gavit'', the distinctive ...

between the two was added at a later point in time. Saint Grigor was renovated and restored by King Gagik I of the Bagratid dynasty in the late 10th century. During this restoration a surrounding wall was built. King Smbat I of Armenia was buried in Vanevan Monastery in 914.

Architecture

The church has four central

arche ''Arche'' (; grc, ἀρχή; sometimes also transcribed as ''arkhé'') is a Greek word with primary senses "beginning", "origin" or "source of action" (: from the beginning, οr : the original argument), and later "first principle" or "element". ...

s that widen progressively. An addition of a corner course between the arch bands allows this to occur. Vanevan and

Tatev The Tatev Monastery ( hy, Տաթևի վանք, Tat'evi vank') is a 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the village of Tatev in the Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refe ...

are the earliest such examples of this. Saint Grigor's

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

from the interior and exterior with an inscription on the latter that dates the church. The drums of both churches have an identical decorative molded band, leading to the belief that they were contemporaneous with one another. Only the

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

on the main church has survived, while the drum and dome of the other have since collapsed. Behind the monastery is a spring and cave which leads out to the top of the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.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 ...

monument. Also in the vicinity just south of Artsvanist is an early cemetery and remains of a church. Approximately three kilometers south of this is Kolataki Saint Astvatsatsin Church from the late 9th - early 10th century and

Hnevank Hnevank ( hy, Հնեվանք; meaning "Old Monastery") is a 7th-12th century Armenian Apostolic Church monastery, located near the village of Kurtan in the Lori Province of Armenia. The monastery is situated on a hill within a gorge, near where ...

from the 10th century. Nearby is also the

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

fortress Bruti Berd.

Gallery

Image: Vanevan Monastery Front.JPG, Front view of the monastery. Image:Vanevan Drum Inscriptions.JPG, Inscriptions upon the drum. Image:Vanevan Monastery Rear.JPG, Rear side view File:Vanevank Monastery4.jpg, Vanevan Monastery File:Vanevank Monastery3.jpg, Vanevan Monastery File:Vanevank Monastery2.jpg, Vanevan Monastery

References

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External links

Armenian Architectural Studies
{{Armenian Churches Christian monasteries in Armenia Tourist attractions in Gegharkunik Province Buildings and structures in Gegharkunik Province