Zvartnots (Զվարթնոց in Armenian, meaning celestial angels) is a town located in Armenian province of Armavir, about 10 km west from Yerevan, approximately half the way to Echmiadzin.

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 IV and Gregory the Illuminator was supposed to take place. In 930 the church was ruined by an earthquake, and remained buried until its rediscovery in the early 20^th 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 aisles, 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 frescoes 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

• Cilicia.com
• Unesco
• Armenian Architecture
• World 66
• Armenian Highland

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