GTCHAVANK MONASTRY

Gtchavank (Գտչավանք) is a 13th-century Armenian monastery near the village of Togh.

According to historical sources, Gtchavank has been one of the centers of Artsakh since ancient times. As a diocesan center, the monastery was under the auspices of the Aranshahiks, then, from the 8th century, under the patronage of the Dizak branch of the same family. The neighboring fortress of Ktish was the residence of Esai abu Musa in the 9th century. In the 10th century, the fortress became the center of the Dizak kingdom founded here.

In the middle of the 13th century, Gtchavank expanded, and during the time of the Dizak meliks, especially during the reign of the melik Avan, or Yegan, it became one of the famous monastic complexes throughout Armenia.

The main building of the monastery dates back to 1241-1246 and is a cross-domed church with corner rooms, which is stylistically similar to other Armenian monasteries of this period – Dadivank and Gandasar. It was restored after the earthquake in 1868. The main church has a cylindrical sheaf with an umbrella roof, a pictorial form widespread in Armenia since the 11th century. The gavit adjoins the western end of the main church and is a vaulted rectangular building with a single free-standing column at the north side. A single-nave church with a rectangular apse adjoins the northern side of the main aisle and the vestibule.

From the northwest, the second church, which is a tomb, adjoins the main church. Only the outer walls remain of it. It was a single-nave building with a rectangular altar and a cylindrical vault, reinforced with two belt arches. The church had two side vaults. On its walls stands a khachkar with the year 1000.