The Broken Bridge

The Broken Bridge

Location

The bridge is located on the Hakari River southwest of Meghvadzor village, in the Kashatagh region of the Republic of Artsakh (Fig. 1).

Following the 44-day Artsakh war, it was occupied by Azerbaijan.

Fig. 1 The general view of the bridge, photo by Karapetyan S., Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, page 33, fig. 26.

Historical overview

In late-nineteenth-century travelogues, we read: "Sngh-Qeorpi is currently completely broken. Only one wall (with no inscription) is intact, implying that it was most likely an enormous bridge. The bridge was strong and magnificent, but still couldn't endure the raging waves of the Hakari River. It was constructed of black polished stones." (Ter-Gaspariants 1885, 3).

According to S. Karapetyan, the compositional and structural elements of this bridge are typical of the 12th–14th centuries (Karapetyan 2009, 32).

Architectural-compositional examination

It is a multi-span bridge (Fig. 2), but only the right edge span (Fig. 3) is standing; its length is 7.77 meters and its width is 3.25 meters (Karapetyan 2009, 32).

The condition before, during, and after the war

The monument was half-ruined prior to the war, with only the span on the right side intact. There is no information available regarding the bridge during or after the war.

Fig. 2 The measurements and sections of the bridge, Karapetyan S., Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, page 34, fig. 5.

Fig. 3 The Bridge’s preserved right edge, photo. S. Karapetyan, Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, page 32, fig. 25.

Bibliography

  1. Karapetyan, 2009– Karapetyan S., Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan.
  2. Ter-Gaspariants, 1885-Ter-Gaspariants, A., Journey to Ghapan, "Bee of Armenia", No. 101, page 3.
The Broken Bridge
The Broken Bridge
The Broken Bridge
Artsakh