Zvartnots

Temple of Zvartnots, Temple of Vigilant Forces, Temple of Heavenly Angels, Zvartnots Temple

Armenia, Vagharshapat

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Categories: Story Vagharshapat, architecture Vagharshapat, religion Vagharshapat

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Rating 10.0

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Zvartnots

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GPS: 40.1604, 44.3371

Zvartnots

Temple of Zvartnots, Temple of Vigilant Forces, Temple of Heavenly Angels, Zvartnots Temple

Armenia, Vagharshapat

Zvartnots Temple is one of the main treasures of Armenian architecture. Translated from ancient Armenian means "Temple of Vigilant Forces." It is located near the city of Vagharshapat (Echmiadzin), literally 5 km. from Etchmiadzin Cathedral.
Zvartnots, like most of the ancient temples in Armenia, has survived to this day in ruins.
The construction of the temple began under the Catholicos Nerses III, in 641-650. He invited craftsmen from the ancient city of Dvin to create the temple. The consecration of Zvartnots was attended by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine III. The temple impressed him so much with its beauty that he wanted to build the same one in Constantinople.
In 930, the temple was destroyed by a strong earthquake. At the beginning of the 20th century, the ruins of the temple were excavated. During excavations, archaeologists discovered a medieval layout of Zvartnots, according to which they partially reconstructed the ancient temple.
Today, there is an archaeological reserve and a museum on the territory of Zvartnots, opened in 1937. In the museum, you can see models of the reconstruction of the temple, as well as an ancient slab found by archaeologists among the ruins of Zvartnots, on which a brief Greek inscription is visible: “Narses built. Remember."

In 2000, the excavations were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

REVIEWS

All reviews (1)

Hotline_Karina

Traveled 16 years ago

Rating 10

Ruins of an ancient temple and excavations

If you went on an excursion to Vagharshapat, be sure to visit the archaeological reserve, on the territory of which the Zvartnots temple is located. Rather, there are ruins and reconstructed parts of the once majestic ancient Armenian temple. Looking at the models of this truly unique building, you understand how developed the architecture was in antiquity. Zvartnots consisted of three decreasing cylindrical parts placed on top of each other, crowned with a spherical cone. The walls of the building were multifaceted on the outside, and completely round on the inside.→

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