Noravank Monastery
Thirteenth-century monastery under red cliffs, with Momik's two-storey Burtelashen church and carved reliefs.
Noravank, the new monastery, sits at the head of a narrow gorge of the Amaghu river, ringed by brick-red limestone cliffs. It was founded in 1205 by Bishop Hovhannes and became the residence of the bishops of Syunik and the burial place of the Orbelian princes. The oldest surviving building is the church of Saint Karapet with its adjoining gavit of 1261, whose two carved tympana show the Virgin and Child with the prophets and an unusual God the Father with the head of Adam.
The best-known building is Surb Astvatsatsin, also called Burtelashen after its patron Prince Burtel Orbelian, completed in 1339. It is a two-storey memorial church whose upper chapel is reached by narrow cantilevered stairs set into the west front, and it is attributed to the sculptor, architect and manuscript illuminator Momik, who is buried nearby. Earthquakes damaged the complex repeatedly and the drum and dome were rebuilt in the twentieth century. Khachkars and Orbelian tombstones stand throughout the enclosure.
Highlights
- Surb Astvatsatsin of 1339, a two-storey church with cantilevered stairs
- Carved tympana of the Saint Karapet gavit, dated 1261
- Work of the sculptor and illuminator Momik, buried at the site
- Orbelian family tombstones and khachkars in the enclosure
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