Sevan

A monastic complex on an island in the lake of the same name, at an altitude of about 2000 metres. The island is now connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, as a result of the lowering of the water level caused by hydroelectric intakes. Of the monastery only the two churches now survive: the larger church of the Virgin (St. Asdvadzadzin) and the smaller church of the Apostles (Arakelotz), later (12th-13th century) rededicated to St. Guido (St. Karapet). Both buildings have a triconch plan, with apses set within the thickness of the wall in the eastern manner. They differ in the way the dome is supported, with pendentives in the first and corner squinches in the second. The relationship between architecture and setting is extraordinarily evocative; another fundamental component for the “reading” of these two churches is colour, through the use of the materials, black basalt and bright red tuff, enhanced by the counterpoint of the intensely blue waters of the lake. In cultural and artistic terms the Sevan region is linked to the so-called school of Syounik, which characterises the southern part of the territory.