Vahramashen Church
Encyclopedia
The Vahramashen Church also commonly referred to as Surb Astvatsatsin or the Church of Amberd) was built for Prince Vahram Pahlavuni of the Pahlavuni
family. An inscription on the inside lintel of the north portal to the church dates its completion to the year 1026. It sits along the slopes of Mount Aragats
in the Aragatsotn
province of Armenia
, between the fortress of Amberd
and near a wall along the promontory with the Arkashian River in the canyon below.
type church with four two-story chambers in the corners. A large circular twelve-faceted drum
sits on top of the church, with pairs of thin decorative column
s standing at the edge of each facet. A conical
umbrella type dome
rests above. The exterior of the church is simply decorated with edging around the portal and saddles of some small windows, layers of cornice
work just above the thin columns on the drum and dome, and some cross relief designs carved into the façades.
Pahlavuni
Pahlavuni was an Armenian noble family that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy.-Origins:...
family. An inscription on the inside lintel of the north portal to the church dates its completion to the year 1026. It sits along the slopes of Mount Aragats
Mount Aragats
Mount Aragats , Alagoz - is a large andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcano in NW Armenia about 40 km NW of the capital city of Yerevan. It is the highest point in Armenia, located in the province of Aragatsotn, northwest from Yerevan. Located on its slopes are the Byurakan Observatory and the...
in the Aragatsotn
Aragatsotn
Aragatsotn is a province of Armenia. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Ashtarak. The name means "a foot of Aragats" . During the Arsacid Dynasty of the Kingdom of Armenia, the region was part of the Ayrarat province...
province of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, between the fortress of Amberd
Amberd
Amberd is the name given to the 7th century Armenian fortress located above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn, Armenia. The name translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is also the name...
and near a wall along the promontory with the Arkashian River in the canyon below.
Architecture
S. Astvatsatsin is a cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
type church with four two-story chambers in the corners. A large circular twelve-faceted drum
Tholobate
A tholobate or drum, in architecture, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism....
sits on top of the church, with pairs of thin decorative column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s standing at the edge of each facet. A conical
Cone (geometry)
A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
umbrella type dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
rests above. The exterior of the church is simply decorated with edging around the portal and saddles of some small windows, layers of cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
work just above the thin columns on the drum and dome, and some cross relief designs carved into the façades.