Zvartnots Cathedral

Zvartnots is the ruin of a round three-tiered church built in the middle of the 7th century under Catholicos Nerses the Builder, on the plain between Yerevan and Vagharshapat. The name is translated as the temple of the vigilant forces, and it was dedicated to Gregory the Illuminator. The building, about forty-nine metres high, stood on a round base almost thirty-six metres in diameter and was constructed of volcanic tuff. Inside, a ring of massive columns carried the dome, while an arcade encircled the structure on the outside. Around the 10th century the church collapsed, most probably in an earthquake, and lay under the ground for almost a thousand years; it was excavated only at the beginning of the 20th century. Today what remains of the cathedral is the lower tier of the walls, a restored section of the arcade and numerous capitals with relief eagles, and it is these eagles that have become the emblem of the monument. The site lies out in the open, without trees, so in clear weather Mount Ararat can be seen from it, and next to it are the surviving foundations of the patriarchal palace with a grape press. Together with the churches of Echmiadzin, Zvartnots is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Address

Ostrovsky street, Vagharshapat

On the map