Zvartnots
Zvartnots, the temple of the Vigil Forces, is the greatest temple of the early medieval Armenian architecture. It was erected in the 7th century.
At the consecration ceremony of the colossal temple, the Byzantine Emperor Constans II, who wished to build the same temple in Constantinople, was present. In the 10th century the temple collapsed during the earthquake due to the weakness of the support joints of the second deck.
The ruins of Zvartnots were discovered during the excavations in 1901-1907. By now, the first deck has been almost completely reconstructed.
The facades of the church were decorated with arches, carvings, relief tiles with the ornaments and bunches of pomegranate and grapes. The columns of Zvartnots are crowned with massive caps with images of crosses, eagles, donators of the church. In the south-west of the temple are the ruins of the patriarchal palace, living quarters, wine-making facilities.
Historians argue that the single-headed armorial eagle of the German Third Reich was copied from the ancient image of the eagle of the temple ruins.
In 2000, the ruins of the temple and the archaeological territory surrounding it were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
