Targmanchats Vank, Armenian monastery in Aygeshat, Armenia.
Targmanchats Vank is an Armenian monastery near Aygeshat built from stone and partly destroyed. Sections of the eastern wings remain standing while much of the original structure has collapsed to the ground.
Founded in the 6th–7th centuries as the Church of the Holy Mother of God, it was later renamed Targmanchats Vank by Bishop Mesrop Smbatyan after the translators of the first Armenian Bible. A scriptorium there produced and copied manuscripts, and locals also called it Mesropavank after Mesrop Mashtots. A 17th-century earthquake damaged it; measured surveys began in 1982, a new restoration project in 2011, and work from 2012 remains unfinished, with walls only partly restored.
Bishop Mesrop Smbatyan renamed the church Targmanchats Vank after the authors of the first Armenian translation of the Bible. Villagers also call it Mesropavank, after Mesrop Mashtots. A scriptorium here produced and copied manuscripts.
The site sits relatively isolated, so arrange access beforehand and seek local guidance before visiting. Since the ruins are uneven and partially unstable, wear sturdy footwear and move carefully through the grounds.
The monastery was also called Mesropavank after Mesrop Mashtots, creator of the Armenian alphabet, and a scriptorium here produced and copied manuscripts. Restoration measured the site in 1982 and began building in 1988, but work stopped; a new project started in 2012, and by August 2023 only parts of the walls were restored, with numbered stones set aside to make up 60% of the new church masonry.
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