Monastery · Akhtala, Lori
Akhtala Monastery
Ախթալայի վանք · Pghindzavank
A fortified monastery on high ground above Akhtala, bordered by rocky canyons on three sides, whose domed basilica of Saint Astvatsatsin preserves frescoes including a Last Judgment on its west wall.
Where it is
41.1506, 44.7641
Why go
Go for the paintings. Inside the church, frescoes of the Mother of God, the Holy Communion and the Last Judgment survive, and they are important for the study of Chalcedonian church iconography. Outside, stretches of the bluish basalt fortress wall remain with a three-storey tower beside the entrance, alongside a single-nave church and the ruins of a two-storey monastic building. The Zakaryan princes added buildings during their rule. Akhtala rewards anyone with an interest in medieval wall painting and is best combined with other Lori monasteries such as Haghpat.
Near Akhtala Monastery
Monastery
Haghpat Monastery
A 10th-century monastery founded by Queen Khosrovanush on a promontory above the Debed River in Lori, grouped around the Cathedral of Surb Nshan.
8 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Kayan Fortress
Ruined walls and towers on a hill at the edge of the Debed gorge between the monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, rebuilt in 1233 by Bishop Hovhannes of Haghpat.
8 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Sanahin Monastery
Sanahin's 10th-century monastery in Lori's Alaverdi community, where a library building of 1063 and an academy hall stand among churches, gavits and khachkars.
11 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Church
Odzun Church
A domed basilica in the Lori village of Odzun, first built in the 6th century, with a separate early medieval memorial beside it where tall carved stelae stand in arched openings on a stepped plinth.
17 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ