Zvartnots Cathedral

Armenia


Catholicos Nerses III (known as 'the Builder') sponsored construction of the 'Celestial Angels Cathedral' in the 7th century. Destroyed in the 10th century, its evocative ruins now stand in a semi-industrial landscape near Zvartnots Airport and were included on Unesco's World Heritage List in 2000. It was originally dedicated to – and housed relics of – Surp Grigor Lusavorich, the first Catholicos of the Armenian Church. A model in the on-site museum shows what it may have originally looked like.

The ruins lay buried until the 20th century when they were excavated and the cathedral was partially reconstructed in a polygonal form with plenty of columns supporting carved arches. There are interesting sculptural remnants surrounding the main structure – look out for the carved eagle capital in particular.

The museum in the southwest corner of the site displays artefacts found during the excavation. It also has a series of informative panels about medieval Armenian architecture. Entry is included in the overall ticket price.

Around the cathedral are the ruins of the palace of the Catholicos and the wine press and stone tanks of a medieval winery.

Zvartnots is on the Vagharshapat–Yerevan Hwy, near the delightfully named village of Ptghunk, 17km from Yerevan and 4km from Vagharshapat. To get here, take bus 111 (AMD200, 30 minutes) from Yerevan's Kilikya Avtokayan and look out for a pillar topped with an eagle on the left-hand side of the highway. This was created by noted Armenian sculptor Ervand Kochar and marks the entrance to the site.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Armenia attractions

1. Surp Hripsime

1.5 MILES

Constructed in 618, this church is on the site where St Hripsime was slain after she refused to marry the pagan King Trdat III, choosing instead to stay…

2. Surp Shogahat

1.77 MILES

Slightly less interesting than Vagharashapat's other churches but still worth a visit is Surp Shogahat, a sturdy stone structure with simple, elegant…

3. Surp Gayane

2.39 MILES

A short walk from Komitas Sq past the main gate of the Holy See, St Gayane was the prioress of the 32 virtuous maidens who accompanied St Hripsime to…

4. Cathedral Museum

2.42 MILES

Etchmiadzin's main museum houses precious objects and relics, including the Holy Lance (Surp Geghard), the weapon allegedly used by a Roman soldier to…

5. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

2.47 MILES

Etchmiadzin is the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the place where Surp Grigor Lusavorich saw a beam of light in a divine vision, and where he…

6. Rouben Sevak Museum

2.53 MILES

In the grounds of Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, this museum displays paintings collected by Mr Sevak. It's poorly lit and not particularly noteworthy.

7. Karmir Blur

5.46 MILES

The Urartian king Rusa II moved his capital from Erebuni to this nearby site in the 7th century. Sadly, few traces of his fortified citadel remain.

8. Armenian Genocide Memorial & Museum

8.2 MILES

Commemorating the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1922, this institution uses photographs, documents, reports and films to…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "armenia/vagharshapat/attractions/zvartnots-cathedral/a/poi-sig/1468707/1342766",
      "destination": "Armenia",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Armenia",
      "position": "superzone"
    }