Kavakavank monastery

 church, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage, Armenian Apostolic church

Kavakavank (Կավաքավանք) is a medieval Armenian monastery located in the center of the narrow undulating steppe of the Artsakh plain, on the top of a high conical hill. The main church is a three-aisled basilica measuring 12.8 by 9.8 meters. It was built, or rather, rebuilt in 1742 by the hand of Grigor, a bricklayer from Dizak, with donations from believers from the Armenian villages of Gyumush, Chiman and Hogher. Long before this, the monastery complex was plundered and destroyed to the ground by foreigners. The monastery also served as a center of education for the Dizak Armenians. This is evidenced by numerous fragments of cultural value. Only this church from the former monastery complex has been completely preserved. The demolished walls of other buildings were mostly abandoned at the foot of the hill. However, in the vicinity, especially in the immediate vicinity of the church, there are parts of the foundation walls, wooden parts, fragments of stones, khachkars and tombstones rich in ornamental sculpture. Water was supplied to the inaccessible monastery through clay pipes from springs at the foot of Mount Vnesa in the southwest. To this day, the water supply system has been preserved, the length of which reaches about 6 km. The entrance is crowned with sculptures in the medieval Armenian style. The frame surrounding the entrance is decorated with stalactite motifs. There is an inscription engraved on the gravestone here.