Echmiatsin and Zvartnots

In the summer of 2023, we visited Yerevan, Armenia, coming from Georgia. Yerevan, being the most westernized part of the country, served as our base for a few days to visit the nearby world heritage sites, including Echmiatsin and Zvartnots.

As the name suggests, the site has two principal components:

• Echmiatsin: This is the active religious centre of the Armenian Church. It has some modern structures and is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Yerevan and interested in Armenian identity. While Paul compared it to Rome and Canterbury, those cities have a more developed urban fabric and are generally older.
• Zvartnots: Mostly a ruin, we initially skipped Zvartnots. On our last day due to having some spare time we managed to squeeze it in. We found it enjoyable and recommend a visit. From a World Heritage Site perspective, Zvartnots seemed like the better component.

There are several other minor locations. But those don’t add much to the overall inscription. They don’t require a large detour as all sites align along one road, the highway connecting Yerevan to Echmiatsin. 

Getting There

If you’re staying in Yerevan, the most convenient way to travel is by cab (we used Bolt). The fares were low in 2023, so there was no need to check bus connections. Depending on the location, you might want the cab to wait:

• Echmiatsin: A sizable town with a large site to explore. It’s not useful to …

I went to Echmiatsin and Zvartnots on a half day tour. Zvartnots was a beautifully sited circular cathedral dating back to the 7th century, now reduced to picturesque ruins. I found it to be very atmospheric Then we went on the Etchmiatsin, where we looked around the religious compound surrounding the cathedral of Etchmiadsin. I was not as impressed with the architectural merit as I had been by the remains of Zvartnots. The Treasury House Museum in the cathedral compound was more interesting than I had expected. It holds what it claims is the real lance that pierced Christ's side (a very large one -it must have been a very muscular centurion that wielded that lance) and some religious pictures. One in particular was quite unique, showing the Virgin and Child Jesus, in which the infant Jesus was shown with some rather over developed abdominal muscles for an infant!

Hard to rate the significance of the sites as I am not part of the Armenian culture, it was obvious the Etchmiadsin and the surrounding area has been very important for the Armenain church through history.

I'm not impressed but I don't really dislike it either. It's easy to see these as they are 10 minute drive from the airport. Use one of the ride apps to get a car to drop you off easily. Echmiatsin is the easiest because it's the town of Vagharshapat itself, with a hotel directly across the traffic circle if you want a convenient place to stay (Richmind, cheap and comfy). Unfortunately as you can see from my picture it was closed for renovation.

While the infrastructure is not bad in any way, the Armenian style churches are not special enough in this area. So I think it was more inscribed due to "imported" structure knowledge at the time to show culture moving around the world/regions - I don't find that fancy enough for a world heritage. Because it's an easy visit (oh no she said "easy" again?!) I would recommend throwing it on your itinerary even for non-WHS enthusiasts.

Zvartnots is best done on the way to/from Yerevan and it won't take you long to see everything either (I didn't say "easy"!), it's got ancient ruins from the old buildings and a better view because there is no town surrounding the site. So once again, don't expect to spend much time here and don't have high hopes of seeing something fantastic either.

Echmiadzin and Zvarnots are a little underwhelming, especially compared to other monuments in Armenia. I would recommend Gerghard and Khor Virap as more interesting trips if you are staying in Yerevan. The museum in the main cathedral at Echmiadzin does have some interesting exhibits, but the main museums in Yerevan are better.

I visited this site (Echmiatsin, to be precise) twice during my stay in Armenia. The first time when fresh out of the plane, the second time after travelling around Armenia for a week. At first, I found the main cathedral a bit sober, but it's exuberant compared to others around the country.

Zvartnots is a completely different sight. In ruins and with snow-clad mountains in the background, it looks like a classic Greek temple in the Peloponnesos. Later I saw a reconstruction of what it could have looked like before demolition, and that was definitely more like a typical Armenian cathedral.

On my second visit, I also went to Surp Hripsime (shown in the big photo above): a 6th-century church about 2 km. from the main Echmiatsin complex. It's a bit big and bulky, but nice.

Echmiatsin is the “Rome” or “Canterbury” of the Armenian Church being the home of the Katholikos of All Armenians and his cathedral. As such it is clearly an important site. The town is a relatively short drive from Yerevan and is an automatic excursion for anyone who visits the capital. The archaeological remains of Armenia’s 7th century cathedral at Zvartnots are just outside the town and will be passed on the road to/from Yerevan.

I personally didn’t find these 2 sites particularly memorable – certainly less so than the other 2 ecclesiastical WHS. The Zvartnots remains hinted at little in the way of the possible former glories of the site and the Cathedral has undergone a lot of later development and its siting close to the town centre among gardens lacks the drama and scenery of the other sites.

That morning in Yerevan we had visited the Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), which is inscribed on another UNESCO list “The Memory of the World Register”, and the Genocide Memorial. Both were far more memorable. (Visited Jul 2000)