Haghartsni Monastery is a medieval spiritual and cultural complex. It is located in the Tavush region, about 18 km from the city of Dilijan, surrounded by forested mountains. The date of construction of the monastery is not clear, but the inscription of St. George on the dome indicates that it is a much earlier structure, but was restored in 1181. Information about the monastery has come down to us from Kirakos Gandzaketsi. The monastery flourished in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, during the leadership of Khachatur Taronatsi. As an educational and scientific center, it is mentioned among the leading cultural centers of the 13th century. King Smbat I of the Armenian Bagratuni Kingdom was buried in the Haghartsin monastery complex. Currently, the complex includes 4 churches built in different historical periods (St. Gregory, St. Stephanos, St. Astvatsatsamor and Kathoghike churches), two narthexes and a refectory. There was a bakery, which is an architectural masterpiece. The small chapel itself bears the name of the guest chapel, because it is the most important one, and in the 18th century a conservatory was opened there.
According to tradition, during the opening and consecration ceremony of the monastery, an eagle soared on the dome of the main church, and thus it became known as the playing (or soaring) eagle monastery ("hag" means game, and "artsin" means eagle). This is where the word Haghartsin came from.
St. There is a hiding place in the Astvatsatsin Church, where sacred things were kept to protect them from strangers.
The monastery complex has an underground passage that leads to the river.
