Noravank (Նորավանք)

Noravank is a medieval monastic and royal funerary complex located in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia near the town of Yeghegnadzor above the Amaghu gorge. The site is comprised of several medieval ecclesiastical and smaller civil buildings. The walls surrounded the primary site were an 18th century addition. Noravank is still a functioning ecclesiastical site offering religious services to the local community, as well as a major tourist destination for the region. Today the site also houses a small museum complex, showcasing archaeological finds from the site and several interpretive panels. The most notable structures at Noravank are its two standing churches: Surb Karapet and Surb Astvatsatsin. Surb Karapet (Church of the Holy Precurser, Saint John the Baptist) was built in 1216-1227 as a comission by Prince Liparit Orbelian, after an earlier church with the same dedication was destroyed in an earthquake. The ruins of the original Surb Karapet can be found just south of the present church. The church features a domed cross-in-square floorplan. The cupola and roof have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times due to regional seismic events. The addition of a large Gavit (narthex) was constructed in 1261, commissioned by Smbat Orbelian for whom the Gavit also serves as a burial vault. The Gavit features a number of elaborately carved khachkars, and the tympanum depicts the Virgin and Child seated on a rug adorned with floral, vegetal and geometric patterns – including stylized pomegranates, and the Holy Mother and Child are flanked by Isaiah and John the Baptist. Other scenes within the Gavit include a Crucifixion scene and the Ancient of Days. Adjoining the church is a rectangular side chapel with vaulted ceilings and circular apse dedicated to Saint Grigor (The Illuminator). The chapel was built by the architect Siranes in 1275, and also serves a funerary function - housing the resting places of a number of Orbelian family members. Surb Astvatsatsin (Church of the Holy Mother of God), completed construction in 1339 and served as the Syunik royal funerary church for Prince Burtegh Orbelian and several members of his family. The building itself was designed and sculpted by the Armenian Cilician architect and artist Momik, who died prior to the buildings completion in 1333 and he is entombed near the entrance of the church. It is among the most recognizable Armenian churches today for its unique two-story design and narrow cantilevered exterior double staircase along its west façade. The lower funerary vault features a rectangular plan, atop which sits a cross-in-square oratory with a colonnaded central dome. Relief carvings adorn both the church's façade and dome. The lower tympanum features the Virgin and Child enthroned, flanked by Gabriel and Michael and the upper tympanum features Christ flanked by Apostles Peter and Paul. An array of floral, vegetal, geometric, and figural reliefs adorns the buildings facades. Noteworthy are the images of crowned sirens and doves. The columns which support the conical dome depict the Virgin and Child alongside two donor portraits, one of whom holds a model of the church, representing the buildings Orbelian patronage.