Astvatsynkal Monastery, Medieval monastery in Hartavan, Armenia

Astvatsynkal Monastery stands on a triangular hill above the right bank of the Kasagh River gorge, between Yernjatap and Hartavan in Aragatsotn Province. Its oldest building is the single-nave vaulted basilica of St. Astvatsatsin, built around the 4th–5th centuries; the Katoghike church of St. Nshan was added to its north side in 1244, and a four-column gavit followed in the early 1250s. The gavit's central ceiling opening has a muqarnas-like stone design, and its capitals and bases are each carved differently.

The oldest structure, the single-nave vaulted basilica of St. Astvatsatsin, was built at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries by the Gntuni lords of Nig. In 1207 the Vachutyan family restored it and installed a large monastic community. Prince Kurd I Vachutyan and his wife Khorishah then funded the building campaign: the domed hall church of St. Nshan was completed in 1244, and the four-column gavit followed by the early 1250s.

The monastery's name comes from the Astvatsynkal Holy Cross kept there. On the gavit's eastern columns, a two-line inscription reads "Astuats oghormi paron Krdin" (Lord Kurd), confirming Prince Kurd I Vachutyan built the gavit; higher on the same column's arch, monumental letters ask remembrance of Yohannes, likely the architect.

The site requires steady footing through mountainous terrain with rocky, uneven ground that can be slippery in places. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes and allow time to navigate the slope and walk between the different buildings of the complex.

The gavit's roof is divided into nine parts by arches springing from four central columns — two round, two hexagonal — whose capitals and bases are each carved differently. At the centre the vaults meet in mushroom-shaped keystones, a small device found nowhere else. On one face of a column in the eastern row, a two-line inscription names "paron Kurd" — confirming Kurd I Vachutyan built the gavit too.