Harichavank Monastery, Medieval monastery in Shirak Province, Armenia

Harichavank is a medieval monastery in Shirak Province whose oldest building is the 7th-century Church of St. Gregory, a domed Mastara-type structure. The main Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God, built in 1201 by Zakare and Ivane Zakarian, has a 20-sided drum with triple columns and carved facades showing a crowned sirin, doves and a stone model of the church. A gavit added by Prince Vahram Khechum before 1224 incorporates the north arm of St. Gregory's.

The oldest surviving structure is the 7th-century Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, built in the Mastara style; ruins of a 5th-century single-nave church also remain. The main Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God was built in 1201 by the brothers Zakare and Ivane Zakarian, and Prince Vahram Khechup added its gavit before 1224. From 1850 the monastery served as the summer residence of the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin.

For centuries, monks here copied and kept Armenian manuscripts, making this place a center of written knowledge. Walking through the stone buildings today, visitors can still sense that this was a place devoted to learning rather than just prayer.

The site sits on a hillside, so wearing sturdy shoes makes the visit more comfortable. All the buildings are close to each other, so it is easy to walk through the entire complex without covering much distance.

On the west gable of the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God is a carved stone model of the church itself, while the east facade carries a relief of a sirin with a woman's head and crown, along with doves. The cornice of the east facade bears the inscription: "Lord, have mercy on those who laboured. Amen."