At the Yerevan central bus station, we strain our eyes to read the bus destinations. We are planning to visit some UNESCO sites in and around Echmiatsin, including the Zvartnots Cathedral. Echmiatsin is only 20 km to the west of Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. Short distance busses should be running regularly. But all the signs are in the Armenian alphabet, and the City of Echmiatsin goes by the official name of Vagharshapat. In addition, romanised spellings abound, such as Etchmiadzin or Edschmiasin. „Էջմիածնի“, says the sign on a bus just leaving. „That’s Ejmiatsni“, exclaims Isa after a moment of pondering the letters. And we hop on the minibus.
Zvartnots Cathedral – fantastic ruins in breath-taking scenery
The bus passes Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport and the village of Zvartnots. The archaeological site of Zvartnots Cathedral which is one part of the combined UNESCO sites of Echmiatsin and Zvartnots should be somewhere around here. Taking a small road from the bus stop we end up at a ramshackle side entrance next to a small homestead and some apricot plantations. Is this the right way?
And then suddenly, we find ourselves on the main access path to the remains of the church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. A circle of basalt arches rises in front of the white and majestic Mount Ararat. In April, Mount Ararat is snow-covered and visible even on a hazy day.
Most of the large Zvartnots Cathedral has been destroyed in some earthquake long ago. Nevertheless, the remaining walls are stunning. The building was circular, with a cross-shaped chamber in the middle. Archaeologists estimate that it was over 40 m high. In the 7th century, this was a completely new type of church. Apparently, the architects followed a number of criteria which St. Gregory himself, the founder of the Armenian Church, had formulated. Or rather, he had a vision that laid out how an ideal church should look like. First, it should be a central structure, ideally a round building. And second, it should have a cupola over the central room. The higher, the better.
Zvartnots Cathedral – a blueprint for Armenian churches
The church of St. Gregory in Zvartnots later became a blueprint for other Armenian churches. Eventually the centralised style of Zvartnots Cathedral also influenced the church architecture of Byzantium. And later also in the rest of Europe. That’s why the remaining walls of the church are included in the UNESCO sites of Zvartnots and Echmiatsin.
Eventually, we discover the museum building on the other side of the ruins. It looks quite new and is open, perhaps only because a school group has just visited. Seizing the opportunity, we have a look at some of the finds from the church and some surrounding palace ruins. The excavations also brought some earlier finds to light. They include an inscription by the Urartaean King Rusa II, from the 7th century BC. It invokes the Urartaean God Haldi several times and reminds us of our travels in Turkey. Near Lake Van, we had visited an Urartaean fortress and met an old caretaker who could read the Urartaean cuneiform script!
Echmiatsin Cathedral – the spiritual center of Armenia
From the Zvartnots Cathedral, we take another minibus into the town of Echmiatsin, or Vagharshapat. The cathedral of Echmiatsin is not only the central part of the UNESCO sites of Echmiatsin and Zvartnots. Much more, it is the spiritual centre of the Armenian Church. Churches and other religious buildings cover a large area in the centre of Echmiatsin, and most of the minibus passengers get off with us to visit the Echmiatsin Cathedral. The hustle and bustle inside the religious compound is quite impressive. But most of the buildings here are new and of limited appeal to us.
Echmiatsin Cathedral is reportedly one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. Saint Gregory the Illuminator built it not long after the year 300, when he spread Christianity in Armenia. At least the very core of the building dates from that time, the guidebooks say. However, to our disappointment the cathedral itself is fenced off for restauration work. From a distance, we can see the tower and cupola and some part of the outer walls. All of these, it seems, are later additions from the 17th century.
More UNESCO churches in Echmiatsin
There are three more churches belonging to the cluster of UNESCO sites of Echmiatsin and Zvartnots.
St Gayane is not so far from the Echmiatsin Cathedral. To us it looks like a typical Armenian church. Central dome, cross structure. Studying all our guidebooks and the info panels, we realize that it isn’t, really. The church used to be a longish basilica with a nave and aisles. But the architects then raised the middle part to make it look more centred, as was the fashion back then.
To visit the other two churches in the Echmiatsin UNESCO cluster we walk all the way through town. St. Shoghakat Church is a nice 17th century Armenian church in a pleasant garden. By now we have a fairly good idea how these churches typically look like.
St Hripsime and the nuns from Rome
Round the corner is the Church of St Hripsime. We would like it for the name alone. And, because we have seen a St Hripsime church in Ani (today in Turkey), years ago.
Hripsime was a beautiful nun who fled Rome in the 3rd century, because Emperor Diocletian insisted in marrying her. Her abbess Gayane and other nuns came with her. Unfortunately the story repeated itself with the local King Trdat who eventually killed all of them. King Trdat afterwards fell ill. He only recovered when Saint Gregory the Illuminator converted him to Christianity.
Thus, the nuns around Hripsime are linked with Christianity in Armenia.
The church of St Hripsime is quite atmospheric. In style, it is close to the Zvartnots Cathedral which we had seen at the start of our excursion to the UNESCO sites of Echmiatsin and Zvartnots. St Hripsime is high and slender with a central cupola on a cross-shaped plan. We also like the small round corner rooms. In front of the church there is a bus stop, from where we can take a bus back to Yerevan.
Is it worth visiting the UNESCO sites of Zvartnots and Echmiatsin?
As the sites are so close to Yerevan they are definitely a worthwhile trip from there. The Church of St Gregory the Illuminator in Zvartnots was definitely a highlight of our trip to Armenia. With Mount Ararat rising behind it, it was a stunning sight. By contrast, the churches in Echmiatsin could not keep up. Admittedly, the photos we have seen of the interior of the Echmiatsin Cathedral looked amazing. Unfortunately the church was closed for renovations. From the outside, it was not particularly stunning and rather disappointing. The other churches in Echmiatsin were ok but without the Zvartnots Cathedral we personally would not have found them worthwhile for a day excursion.
With the help of the guidebooks we compared the five churches we have seen that day. We could figure out some of the architectural developments in Armenian church buildings. However, the reasoning behind including all these churches into the UNESCO World Heritage rather eludes us.
Travelling to the UNESCO sites of Zvartnots and Echmiatsin by public transport
All the churches are easy to reach from the Kilikia bus station in Yerevan. Minibusses go regularly to Echmiatsin, passing Zvartnots Cathedral and St Hripsime church and arriving at the cathedral complex in Echmiatsin. They run according to timetable (not only when full) and also stop for passengers along the road. We would advise to visit the Zvartnots Cathedral UNESCO site first. First, because it is always safer to see the highlights first. And second, because Mount Ararat is often better visible in the morning and is central to the appeal of the site. Echmiatsin is small town with shops and restaurants, so there is no need to bring food. We had some tasty potato pastries and tan, an Armenian yoghurt drink, at a small food stall near the cathedral complex.
NB: We were not sponsored in any way for this blog post about the UNESCO sites of Echmiatsin and Zvartnots. We paid the entrance fee to Zvartnots Cathedral and the transport to Echmiatsin ourselves.
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Wow snow topped Mt. Ararat looks so iconic in your photos. That looks like such an amazing trip!
I am glad the road you took actually got you to Zvartnots Cathedral. It would have been a shame to miss this UNESCO site. Sometimes partial remains add to the mystery of a place. And in this case helped to se the blueprint for future Armenian churches. And then interesting that you got to see other churches when got to Echmiatsin. Even though we are not religious, we always find it worthwhile visiting churches.
Dear Linda, the churches and monasteries in Armenia are really outstanding. Most of them are not used as churches anymore.
This was very enlightening for me, as I had no insight into the history of the Armenian Church. Now, I will easily recognize the signature round shape with the cupola. The remains of the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator are truly amazing, given their age. I especially love the carved details and the ancient Urartaean inscriptions! Would love to visit here in person.
Dear Jackie, if you have a chance to visit Armenia, go! The Zvartnots cathedral is easily done in a day-trip from Yerevan.
The Zvartnots and Echmiatsin cathedrals are prolific UNESCO world heritage sites. And the sight of the basalt arches of Zvartnots cathedral overlooking the Mount Ararat is breathtakingly beautiful. Similarly the churches of Hripsime, St. Gayane and St. Shoghakat feature the distinctive architectural style of Armenian churches. I would love to visit these sites.
You always impress me with these lesser known places! I’ve never been to Armenia or know nothing about its history. Both sites are fascinating as is the story behind them. I’d like to see them both.
Dear Lisa, Armenia is definitely an underrated country. Friendly people, good food and easy to travel. It is quite cheap too!
I am highly interested in visiting UNESCO sites. I would surely love to visit both the churches of Zvartnots and Echmiatsin. Mount Ararat is doing the magic for Zvarnot for sure and I am sorry your visit to the latter got disturbed due to the renovation. Hope it can keep up when it’s done.
I always try and visit UNESCO World Heritage sites when travelling as they never disappoint. There’s a very good reason why they have been designated and protected. And these ones are incredible. Glad to hear you recommend them. It seems as if you’ve uncovered a great hidden gem in Armenia.
Ten years ago, I spent a few days in Armenia on a trip to Georgia. And I regret that then I did not see your photo of Zvartnots Cathedral with the mountains in the background. We had little time and chose the churches of Echmiatsin. I’ve always wanted to come back to Armenia, but I know that I have to come back after reading your article! An excellent and inspiring article.
Dear Agnes, we spent 16 days in Armenia and enjoyed it very much. A lot of good sightseeing and hiking. And wonderful food too.
The first photo is absolutely amazing! What a view! I have read about Armenia and all though it is not very popular destinations, I always wanted to go there. And this just makes me want to go even more. All of these churches and of course, Zvartnots Cathedral would be very interesting to see. They have a very unique look too.
From your explanation, it sounds like people can skip a trip here because it’s only Zvartnots Cathedral with Mount Ararat at the background that worth a visit. But it will probably different when you get to see inside Echmiatsin Cathedral. And you make me want to pay attention when I see an Armenian Church, to see whether they followed the blueprint of Zvartnots Cathedral.
Dear Umiko, indeed we were not very impressed by the Echmiatzin cathedral. However I would not say that you can skip it. It is always good to see for yourself. And of course it depends on your time. If you have very limited time, I would suggest skipping Echmiatsin.