Church > Berdahonj Church of Taghavard

Berdahonj Church of Taghavard

Location

The church is located about 600 meters east of Berdahonj fortress, on an elevated place in a forested area, on the edge of the old road leading to Shekher.

Historical overview

Makar Barkhutaryants mentions this church, but does not provide any information about the construction period (Barkhutaryants 1895, 90).

Fig. 1 The general view of the church from the south: photo from the Database of monuments of the MESCS.

Architectural-compositional description

 The church is a single-nave vaulted hall with a semicircular altar and adjacent vestries (Figs. 1, 2). The vault of the hall is fortified with two hewn, light, sagittal blind arcades, which rest on the pylons of the southern and northern walls (Fig. 3). The dimensions of the structure are 11.0 m long and 6.51 m wide. The entrance is from the south. It is built of rough stones and lime mortar. It is plastered inwardly and decorated with khachkars embedded into the walls. The probable time of construction is the 17th century.

According to Makar Barkhutaryants, it is possible that there once used to be a monastery in the area (Barkhutaryants 1895, 90).

Fig. 2 The general view of the church from the east: photo from the Database of monuments of the MESCS.

Fig. 3 The interior of the church from the west: photo from the Database of monuments of the MESCS.

The condition before, during and after the war

Before the war the church was mostly standing. During the war active battles took place in the vicinities of Taghavard village, but no information is known about the monument either during or after the war.

Bibliographic examination

Though the church has not been newly built, it has often been left out of the attention of researchers. Our description is based on the information provided by Makar Barkhutaryants and the data on the monument certificate issued by the MESCS of the Artsakh Republic.

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutaryants 1895 – Barkhutaryants M., Artsakh, Baku, Aror.
Berdahonj Church of Taghavard
Berdahonj Church of Taghavard
Berdahonj Church of Taghavard
Artsakh