KAPTAVANK

Location. The monument stands in a glade on the right bank of the river Hakhum, 5 km south-west of Chinchin Village, Tavush Region, Republic of Armenia (Tuchkatak (Tuz Kutak) District, Armenia Maior), at an altitude of 1,378 metres above sea level (N 40°52´58.56´´; E 045°18´57.60´´).

Name Origin. Presumably, the name of the monastery may be explained by the fact that it is built of bluish stone (Kaptavank is literally translated as Blue Monastery - translator).

An Architectural Description. The only surviving structure of the monastic complex is its church with some vestiges of the narthex and annexes preserved near its southern and western facades.

The exact year of the foundation of the church remains obscure, but its building and composition peculiarities trace it back to the 12th century.

It represents a domed structure (exterior dimensions: 11.40 x 9.46 metres) which is rectangular outwardly and cruciform inwardly. In the east, the semi-circular sanctuary is found with vestries in the 4 corners of the church. The arches, rising from the angles of the cross wings, bear the weight of the tambour, which is cylindrical inwardly, octahedral outwardly and ends with a pointed spire. The passage from the underdome square to the dome is realised by means of pendentives. The church has two entrances opening from the west and south. Each of its four facades has a window widening inwardly. Apart from them, it is also illuminated through the 4 windows of the tambour. The church is built of undressed and hewn bluish stone, with the exception of its cornice and the row of masonry beneath the tambour cornice, which are laid with finely-finished stone. At present the covering slabs of the dome and roof have fallen, and the wall sections adjoining the pediments have collapsed.

The church retains 9 inscriptions of the 13th to 14th centuries, which commemorate different acts of donation (only two of them are dated: 1234 and 1243).

The church grounds also preserve some medieval cross-stone fragments.

A little south-east of the church, the remnants of a medieval cemetery can be seen.

The composition of the church of Kaptavank is quite typical of the Armenian architecture of the High Middle Ages so that it is more remarkable for its artistic image, which is a perfect manifestation of ingenious harmony. It shows how the masters succeeded in emphasizing what is most important and essential through only some meagre amount of finely-finished stone.