Harichavank

Harichavank has fabric from the seventh century onwards, with the small early church of Surb Grigor, a larger domed church of 1201 and a gavit joining them, and it served as a summer residence of the catholicos in the nineteenth century, which is why there are extra buildings around the yard. The best-known feature is a chapel on a spike of rock that has separated from the cliff, reached across a gap, which is a striking piece of siting.

History

Excavations in 1966 showed that Harich already existed in the 2nd century BC as a well-known fortress town, and the oldest part of the monastery, the church of St Gregory the Enlightener in the Mastara style, dates probably from the 7th century. The Kipchaks held and altered it from 1120 to 1191, and after the Zakarians restored Armenian rule, Zakare Zakarian, who had bought Harich from the Pahlavuni family, built the cathedral of the Holy Mother of God, completed in 1201, with a gavit added before 1219 by his vassal Vahram; the monastery was famous for its school and scriptorium (Wikipedia, Harich Monastery).

The main sights

• The seventh-century church - Surb Grigor, the oldest surviving part of the complex.
• The 1201 church - the larger domed building with carved reliefs on the drum.
• The rock chapel - a chapel on a detached pillar of rock beside the monastery.
• The gavit - the vaulted hall linking the two churches.

When to go

May to October is the season; the Shirak plateau is cold and snowy in winter. Spring and early summer are the greenest. The complex is generally open.

Before you go

The rock chapel is viewed from across a gap rather than entered. Nineteenth-century additions clutter the medieval core. The village has no facilities.

Nearby

Gyumri is northwest, and Artik is nearby on the Shirak plateau.

Key facts