The 1679 Armenia earthquake (also called Yerevan earthquake or Garni earthquake) took place on June 4 in the

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

region of

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 ' ...

, then part of the Safavid Iran. Numerous buildings were destroyed as a result of the earthquake. In

most notable structures were damaged. The

Yerevan Fortress Erivan Fortress ( hy, Երևանի բերդը; ''Yerevani berdë''; fa, قلعه ایروان, ''Ghaleh-ye Iravân''; russian: Эриванская крепость ''E'rivanskaya krepost' '') was a 16th-century fortress in Yerevan. History ...

was destroyed, so were the following churches: Poghos-Petros, Katoghike, Zoravor and the

Gethsemane Chapel Gethsemane Chapel ( hy, Գեթսեմանի Մատուռ, ''Get'semani Matur'') was a small Armenian Apostolic church in the historic ''Shahar'' district of Yerevan, Armenia, that was destroyed during the 1920s to make way for the construction of t ...

. Furthermore, the nearby

Kanaker Kanaker ( hy, Քանաքեռ; also Romanized as K’anak’err, Kenaker, Kanaker, and Qanaqer) was a town in Armenia to the north-east of the capital Yerevan. With the urban development, the village was gradually absorbed by the capital Yerevan t ...

village was destroyed. The classical Hellenistic Temple of Garni also collapsed. Among many churches and monasteries that were reduced to ruins were

Havuts Tar Havuts Tar ( hy, Հավուց Թառ Վանք; also Havuts Tar Vank; translates to the "All Savior Monastery") is an 11th to 13th century walled monastery, situated upon a promontory along the Azat River Valley across from the villages of Goght a ...

, Saint Sargis Monastery of Ushi, Hovhannavank,

Geghard Geghard ( hy, Գեղարդ, meaning "spear") is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with enhanced protec ...

, and

Khor Virap Khor Virap ( hy, Խոր Վիրապ, lit=deep dungeon) is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about south of Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monaster ...

See also

References

Further reading