Friday, August 21, 2026 Search My Trip EnglishChinese
World news · travel · culture
Taiwan The Taiwan Times
Taiwan's window to the world

Gandzasar monastery

Kalbajar District, Azerbaijan · built 1201

Gandzasar is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic cathedral (historically a monastery) near the village of Vank, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. It has historically been the most important church of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since its foundation. One of the finest pieces of Armenian architecture of the mid-1200s, the building is best known among scholars for its richly decorated dome. In Azerbaijan, where it is referred to as "Ganjasar" (Azerbaijani: Gəncəsər), the history of the monastery is falsified. Azerbaijan authorities deny its Armenian heritage and instead call it a "Caucasian Albanian temple."

Monastery data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Other monasteries in Azerbaijan