Church > The “Kkven buyn” church

The “Kkven buyn” church

Location

The church, known as "Kkven buyn" (Kkvi buyn, or the cuckoo's nest), is located 1.5 kilometers north-west of Avetaranots village in Artsakh's Askeran region. It is situated on the top of a forested hill on the eastern edge of the old rural settlement.

Historical overview    

The Avetaranots settlement has a rich cultural- historical heritage and served as the center of Varanda province as well as Varanda's rule. The "Kkven buyn" church is one of the village's many cultural-historical monuments (Fig. 1). Traces of medieval rural settlements can be seen in the church's western-eastern foothills. There is no historical data regarding the church or the dwellings. The architectural features, as well as the khachkars and rock crosses on the site, allow the ancient monument to be dated to the 12th–14th centuries.

For centuries, the chapel served as a place of pilgrimage for residents of neighboring settlements.

Fig. 1 The church and cemetery from the south-west. This photo is from the database of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Artsakh.

Architectural- compositional examination

The church is a single-nave vaulted hall with a 5.5x4.5-meter rectangular layout. It is built from local split stones and lime mortar (Fig. 2). The vault of the church has crumbled (Fig. 3). The entrance is on the east side. The entrance lintel and curbstones are missing. A small east-facing window provided lighting. The church does not have an accentuated tabernacle. It is divided from the main hall by small niches in the wall that run from north to south and are used to store church objects.

The medieval cemetery surrounds the church and contains many khachkars and tombstones (Fig. 4). The majority of cemetery monuments are weather-beaten or fragmented. On the flat surface of one of the rocks in the area, two cross sculptures have been preserved (Fig. 5).

Fig. 2 The church from the south-east. This photo is from the database of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Artsakh.

Fig. 4 The fragmented khachkar in the area of the cemetery. This photo is from the database of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Artsakh.

Fig. 3 The inner part of the church from the west. This photo is from the database of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Artsakh.

Fig. 5 The Cross rocks. This photo is from the database of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Artsakh.

The condition before, during, and after the war

The church was undamaged throughout the first Artsakh war. During the 2020 hostilities, the site was a hotspot of warfare. After the war, nothing is known about the monument.

The “Kkven buyn” church
The "Kkven buyn" church
The "Kkven buyn" church
Artsakh