Goshavank Monastery, Armenia

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In the upper reaches of the Agstev river, there are Haghartsin and Goshavank, the monastery ensembles of the Dilijan district. They are situated in dense oak woods, in the gorges of small but turbulent mountain rivers. The local terrain and scenery determined the compositional peculiarities of these ensembles. Neither Haghardzin, nor Goshavank have walls, and their structures are surrounded with verdure and peasants' homes, some being a rather long distance away from the main temples of the ensembles.

The main churches belong to the types widespread in the tenth to the thirteenth centuries — the domed tall or the cross-winged domed building with four annexes in the corners of the central crossing. The small chapels are vaulted, with a semi-circular apse on the eastern side. The Bagratids’ burial vault in Haghardzin has two isolated chapels. The only exceptions are two of Goshavanks churches — Grigor Lusavorich, which is a small vaulted structure, and St. Hripsime chapel (1254), situated south-west of the main group — a domed building, square in the plan, of an original composition.

The vestries of the monasteries belong to the most common type of premises square in the plan, with roofing supported by four internal abutments. Both buildings have squat octahedral tents above the central sections, which bring these two structure close to the Armenian peasant home of the "glkhatun" type. Goshavank's vestry has small annexes in the corners of the eastern side of the building, while Haghardzin vestry has ornamented corner sections. Decorated with various rosettes, these sections contain sculptures of human figures in monks' attires, carrying crosses, staffs, and birds. The framing of the central window of HaghardzinÂ’s vestry is cross-shaped. Placed right above the portal of the main entrance, it emphasizes the central part of the facade.

Among the memorial khachkars of Haghardzin and Goshavank there are unique and highly artistic ones. Of interest is the ornamental carving of a thirteenth-century khachkar placed next to the southern door of St. Astvatsatsin church in Haghardzin. The khachkars created by the carver Pavgos in Goshavank stand out among the rest. The best of them is a 1291 khachkar with the maker’s name carved in the bottom left star. This is a unique and highly artistic work. The finely carved lacy ornaments are arranged in layers in which the basic elements of the composition — a cross on a shield-shaped rosette and eight-pointed Starr filling the corners of the middle-cross section—show clearly. The intricate openwork ornaments vary — a clear-cut geometrical pattern constitutes the background, and the accentuating elements form a complicated combination of a floral and geometrical ornament which never repeats itself.

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