Foundation: 13th century

Location: near to Vank Village of Martakert Province in Artsakh 

Distance from Yerevan: 300km / 5 hours

Gandzasar Monastery is considered to be one of the pearls of Armenian medieval architecture. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Artsakh appointed by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The monastery holds relics believed to belong to St. John the Baptist and his father St Zechariah.

The complex:

• The complex walls surrounding the Complex with high vine-covered stone walls, with two arched entrances.
• The Gavit or narthex (built in 1261 – 1266), serves as a burial site for Hasan Jalal Vahtangian and other Khachen princes and bishops of his lineage.
• The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (built between 1216 and 1238), a large church with a cupola in the inscribed cross plan. It is the main building of the Complex.
• Ancillary Buildings. The Complex includes monastic dormitories, a hermitage with eight solitary cells, a refectory, and several utility structures, offices of the Katholicosate of Aghvank and the Reception Hall built in the eighteenth century by Katholikos Yeremia Hasan-Jalalian. Adjacent to the eastern wall is the building of Gandzasar’s Seminary that was expanded in 1898.