Church of Gagkashen


Even though the ruins of this once-enormous church are little more than its circular base and a jumble of column sections within, it is enough to grasp what an astonishing construction it must have been when completed around AD 1000. Based on an original at Zvartnots (Armenia), its ambitious dome collapsed shortly after completion.

An artist's impression at the ruins' south side show how it once looked. A photo here also shows a now-lost statue of King Gagik I, the church's original patron.


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