Monuments of Artsakh: Modern Era

The Cathedral of the Holy
Savior in the city
of Shushi (1888):
one of the largest
Armenian churches
ever built

Artsakh’s architecture of the nineteenth century is distinguished by a merger of innovation and the tradition of grand Armenian national monuments of the past. One example is the Cathedral of the Holy Savior of Shushi, also known as the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral (1868–1888) because it was erected in the historical Ghazanchetsots borough of the city of Shushi also known as Shusha.

Shushi is the former capital of late medieval Artsakh and the Cathedral is among the largest Armenian churches ever erected. The cathedral’s architectural forms were influenced by the designs of the ancient cathedral of St. Echmiadzin (4th-9th centuries), the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church located to the west of Armenia’s capital of Yerevan. After the Karabakh War of 1991-94, the Cathedral underwent restoration and currently serves as an active house of worship of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In addition to the Cathedral of the Holy Savior, Shushi hosted the Hermitage of the Holy Virgins (1816) and three other Armenian churches: Holy Savior Meghretsots (1838), St. Hovhannes “Kanach Zham” (1847) and the Holy Savior Aguletsots. [1] The Holy Savior Meghretsots and the Holy Savior Aguletsots churches were destroyed by Turko-Azerbaijani marauders during the anti-Armenain Shushi Massacre of March 20, 1920.

Before its destruction in 1920 the main repository of the region’s civil architecture was Shushi. In the late 19th century, Shusha became one of the largest cities in the Caucasus. In 1913, it hosted more than 42,000 people.

Shushi’s architecture had a unique style and spirit. That special style synthesized designs used in building grand homes in Artsakh’s rural areas (especially in the southern county of Dizak) and elements of neo-classical European architecture. The quintessential example of Shusha’s residential dwellings is the house of the Avanesantz family (19th century). Shusha’s administrative buildings of note include: Royal College (1875), Eparchial College (1838), Technical School (1881) summer and winter clubs of the City Hall (1896 and 1901), The Zhamharian Hospital (1900), The Khandamirian Theater (1891), The Holy Virgin Women’s College (1864) and Mariam Ghukassian Nobility High School (1894). Of these buildings, only Royal College (Shushi’s Realschule) and the Zhamharian Hospital survived the Turko-Muslim attack on the city in 1920. [2]

The best-preserved examples of Artsakh’s rural civil architecture are found in historical settlements of Banants (Armenian: Բանանց), Getashen (Armenian: Գետաշեն), Hadrut (Armenian: Հադութ) and Togh (Armenian: Տող). [3]

Armenia & Karabagh. Stone Garden Productions; 2nd edition (September 1, 2006), p. 264. ISBN 978-0-9672120-9-8
Shahen Mkrtchian. Treasures of Artsakh, Yerevan: Tigran Mets Publishing House, 2002. pp. 3-6]
Samvel Karapetian. Northern Artsakh. Yerevan: Gitutiun Publishing House, 2004.