Legends of Armenia / Fortresses and Monasteries

Armenia is a country where you can meet many destroyed and standing fortresses and monasteries at every turn. Fortresses and monasteries, just like mountains, have their legends. Fortresses and monasteries of Armenia are unique not only for their construction and design, but also for many colorful legends that people told about them. We are going to introduce you to some of them.

Halidzor Fortress

Once Davit Bek resided in Halidzor Fortress. The army of the Persian Shah was trying to capture the fortress, but in vain. A traitor showed them a place from where the fortress was receiving water. And the enemy blocked the source of the water. People in the fortress got sick from thirst. One night they finally managed to escape secretly. The Persians attacked and captured the empty fortress. 

Aghjka Berd / The Girl’s Fortress

There was a beautiful girl, whom many knights and princes wanted to marry. One of them was Prince Mantash. When they did not manage to persuade her, they tried to take her by force. To protect herself from unwanted admirers, the girl gathered her army, built a fortress and moved there. Prince Mantash decided to build Mantash’s Fortress just in front of the Girl’s Fortress and started to attack it from time to time. However, the girl always won. Once, she ordered her army to attack the Mantashaberd and won again. After that, Mantash asked for a truce. They concluded an agreement, according to which each of them would remain in their own fortress. As a symbol of friendship, they built a bathhouse on the banks of Aghstev River.

Tavush Fortress / The fortress of Tslik Amram

Legend has it that when the Arabs came to Armenia, Ashot Erkat settled in Ghali Khar Fortress. The enemy besieged the fortress, but couldn’t do anything to the dwellers. An old woman went out of the fortress in order to get food for the people in the fortress. The Arabs caught the woman and forced her to show the water source and then they blocked it. Despite this, Ashot Erkat did not surrender. One night he managed to escape and go to Sevan peninsula.

Kachaghakaberd Fortress

The legend has it, that the enemy surrounded the fortress for several months and was waiting for the captured to surrender. They were sure that people in the fortress ran out of food and would soon surrender. But somehow no one was giving up. After some time, the enemy noticed an amazing phenomenon on the territory of the fortress: magpies circled above the corpses. Defending the fortress, people died of starvation, but did not give up.

Monasteries

Sanahin 

The constructors of the monastery were father and son. The father built the walls and the son carved the stones. Before finishing the construction of the monastery, the son died. Father quit the construction of the monastery and did not even detach the wooden ladders. A few years later, he meets one master and tells him the secrets of detaching the wooden ladders. The master comes to Sanahin and detaches the ladders the way that he was told and makes a lot of money from it.

Haghpat

A prince invites masters to build a monastery for him. The master comes to Sanahin and starts to work with his son. One day, while working, a dispute arises between the son, father and another master. The son quits the construction. Another prince invites the son to build a monastery for him. He accepts the invitation. When the walls of the new-built monastery rise, people from Sanahin notice it and tell their master about it. On Sunday when everyone is having a rest the father master visits his son. He approaches the walls of the monastery and examines them thoroughly. Everyone silently wait for the assessment of the father. Finally, the master says “Hagh pat e!” (which means “a really strong wall”). Having said this, the master hugs and kisses his son. From that day on, people began  to call the monastery Haghpat.

Makaravank

People say that the builders of this monastery were master Makar and his son. The son carved the stones and the father built the walls. The walls constantly rose and the master Makar rose with them. He spent nights on the walls of the monastery as he couldn’t descent until  the monastery was ready. One day master Makar noticed that the stones of the monastery had changed and asked what happened to his son. People answered that his son was ill. He asked them to bring his son to him, but no one did. Master Makar realized that his son was dead and threw himself from the top of the monastery and died. The monastery remains unfinished to this day. It was named Makaravank in honor of the master Makar.

Tatev Monastery

It is said that the master who built the monastery, towards the end of his work, asked the builders to bring him two wooden chips. He received them, prayed to God and said: “hogin Surb ta tev”, which is translated from Armenian as: “May the Holy Spirit send me wings.” After these words, wings grew behind his back and he flew away. The monastery was named in honor of this miracle – Tatev, which means “give wings”.

These were some of the legends about the fortresses and monasteries of Armenia. Read also our articles about the legends of Armenian Mountains and legends about lakes and waterfalls of Armenia.

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