GEVORG MARZPETUNI FORTRESS OR FORTRESS OF TAP

 

At a distance of 6 km from the village of Urtsadzor, in the Ararat region, there is the fortress of Gevorg Marzpetuni, which is an architectural treasure in the field of fortress construction. The  fortress is located on the right bank of the Khosrov River, on the west-east side of Mount Kotuts. Sometimes, to see the fortress, it is enough to turn left before reaching the entrance to the Khosrov reserve and walk a couple of hundred meters.

 

Gevorg Fortress is a fortress monastery. It was built in the 10th century. The four corners of the fortress walls were fenced with towers for greater reliability. There are residential and agricultural buildings near the fortress walls. There is a church inside the fortress walls. The church was built from polished felsite stones. On the north wall of the church in 1256 an inscription was engraved on the wall indicating the locality of Tap. From there the name of the fortress was taken. Khachkars were also found on the territory of the fortress.

 

Since 1496, the fortress chapel has also been referred to as a scriptorium. There the scribe Barseg wrote Sagmosaran. On the north wall of the chapel there is a long inscription that was made in 1256. The Tap fortress and the Church were restored in 2008-2009.

The article was compiled based on observations and materials collected by the ArmLand club.

Author of photos: Artyom Martirosyan