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Zvartnots
 

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Zvartnots




Yerevan International Airport is located near the town Zvartnots.


THE ZVARTNOTS CATHEDRAL


Between 643 and 652 the Katholikos Nerses III (nicknamed
''the builder'') built a majestic St. George cathedral at the place where a meeting between king Trdat III and Gregory The Illuminator was supposed to have taken place. In 930 the church was ruined by an Earthquake , and
remained buried until its rediscovery in the early 20th century. The site was excavated between 1900 and 1907, uncovering the foundations of the cathedral as well as the remains of the katholikos's palace and a winery.

The interior of the Fresco -decorated church had the shape of a
Greek Cross with three Aisle s, while the exterior was a 32-sided Polygon which appeared circular from a distance. Modern scholars accept the conclusion of Toros Toramanian , who worked on the original excavations, that the building had three floors.

Some sources claim that the Zvartnots cathedral is depicted upon Mount Ararat in
one of Fresco es of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris . This is not very likely,
however, as the fresco was painted more than 300 years after destruction of the church.

Together with churches in Echmiadzin , Zvartnots was inscribed into UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000 .

A drawing of the cathedral was depicted on the first issue of 100 AMD banknotes and its model can be seen in the history museum in Yerevan .


EXTERNAL LINKS



REFERENCES

  • ''Armenia: Landscape and Architecture'', Karoly Gink and Karoly Gombos, Corvina Press, 1974

  • ''Medieval Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation'', Christina Maranci, Peeters, 2001