Nor-Getik

Nor-Getik

 

(also Goshavank), a medieval monastery complex in the village of Gosh, in Dilizhan Raion, Armenian SSR. It was established in the 12th century by the fable writer Mkhitar Gosh, author of the Code of Law.

Among the churches in the monastery is the Church of Astvatsatsin (1191–96), which has a gavit, a foyer serving a semisecular function (1197–1203). The Church of St. Gregory (1208–41) is in the form of a domed hall, and the small Church of Lusavorich (1237–41) consists of a vaulted hall. The complex also includes a two-story building with a book depository (until 1231) on the first floor and a church on the second (1241–91, not preserved); the building was crowned with a belfry in the form of a rotunda. Several chapels (including the Ripsime Chapel, 1208) and numerous other buildings are within the complex. The principal structures of the monastery were the work of the architect Mkhitar.