Cathedral of Ani

Ruins of the Cathedral of Ani 40 km east of Kars

The Cathedral of Ani (Armenian Սուրբ Աստուածածին Եկեղեցի, or Cathedral of Holy Virgin, or poor: Մայր Եկեղեցի, or Church of Our Lady ) is an Armenian church, which in 1001 (or possibly 1010) by the architect Trdat in today ruined former Armenian capital of Ani was completed.

It is located on the easternmost tip of Turkey on the border with modern Armenia. It provides an example of a cruciform domed church within a rectangular plan dar. Both the dome and the associations supporting the drum, but are collapsed in an earthquake in 1319. Another earthquake in 1988 led to the collapse of the north-western corner and weakened the entire western side.

Description

The Cathedral of Ani, with a length of around 30 meters and a width of 20 meters unusually large for Armenian standards. She is a jacketed cross-domed church with four free-standing central pillars on which rested the central dome. High ground blind passages adorn the outer walls, as well as the reel destroyed. Some windows are decorated with reliefs. There are three entrances: one for the Prince ( south ), the patriarch ( north ) and the people (to the west ); each input originally had a canopy. On the eastern outer end is a flat wall with two triangular niches. On the inside, however, a large central apse can be found, which is flanked with two chambers on two floors. These chambers, the upper floors are reached by narrow stairs to ground level through narrow passageways, respectively. Before light could penetrate through the missing dome in the cathedral, presented the few small lower window, including the round " porthole " shaped, the only source of daylight dar. Nikolai Marr, the first archaeologist who studied the building, and other believed that the original structure was significantly changed in the 13th century. However, the interpretation of the numerous inscriptions contradicts this theory.

Josef Strzygowski, believed that the bulk composition of the elements inside the Cathedral have influenced the development of European- Gothic architecture of the 12th to 14th centuries.

History

From 992-1058 is the current Armenian Patriarch or Catholicos of Cilicia in the region of Ani, from the arnica district, in which the cathedral is relocated. In 1001 or 1010, depending on how the inscription of the eastern facade is interpreted, presented the leading architect Trdat the palace of the Catholicos and the mother of the Ani Cathedral ready. Construction began in 989 at the king's command Smbat II and was "in command of my husband " under the reign of Queen Katranide, the wife of King Gagik I, completed. The cathedral was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and represents one of the architectural masterpieces of Armenia

Following the victories of the Seljuk Turks in Eastern Anatolia, Sultan Alp Arslan in 1064 took down the crosses from the Cathedral, after he had occupied the city; In 1071 it was converted into a mosque.

On September 19, 2010 while visiting the first time in 95 years a group of Christians, the Church of the Holy Cross. A group of Turkish nationalists responded by they met on 1 October 2010 at the Cathedral of Ani to discuss Muslim prayers, led by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party.

Together with the nearby Church of the Redeemer Cathedral is currently being held in the focus of a discussion by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, and the World Monuments Fund (WMF).

Gallery

Southern and western sides, with the Church of the Redeemer in the background

Ground plan of the cathedral

Map of Ani

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