Haghpat village is located in the north of Armenia, in the Lori region, where the same name monastery complex is located. The wealth of Haghpat village lies not only in the monastery having thousand-year history: for centuries it has been one of the largest scientific and educational centers of Armenia. Haghpat village is located at the foot of the Gugarats mountain range, on a high plateau, at a distance of 180 km from the capital. From three sides the village is surrounded by deep gorges, from the fourth side it is bordered by branches of the Gugarats mountain range with the peaks of Sblis (Surb Luis) and Trnakan (Terunakan).
According to the folk etymology, the word "haghpat" originated either from the words "hakh pat" or from the words "hakhtakan pat" (wall of victory). According to a legend, the Sanahin church was built by a father and son. The son was offended by his father and a little further away he built the Haghpat monastery complex. The father looked at his son’s work and joyfully exclaimed: “hakh pat e”, which means “real wall” in the Lori dialect. In old Armenian “haghpat” means «aghp (translated into English means «sin, riotous life»), atel» (to hate)”, i.e. «to hate sin».
The oldest church of today's complex was built in 977 by Queen Khosrovanush, the wife of the Armenian King Ashot III, the Merciful Bagratuni. The church was built by famous medieval architect Trdat, who was an author of the Ani Cathedral, the Gagkashen Church in Ani, the dome of the St. Sophia Temple in Constantinople and other architectural masterpieces.
According to the bibliographic data, famous philosopher David Anhakht lived and worked in the Haghpat monastery in the 5th century. This is evidence of the fact that an influential monastic community has already existed here since the 5th century.
The Haghpat monastery complex consists of the Surb Nshan church, two gavits, three small churches, a refectory, a book depository, a bell tower, several tomb chapels and cross-stones. Outside the territory of the monastery there is a spring of the 13th century, the church of Jgrashen and the Maiden Hermitage.
The Surb Nshan Church is the oldest building of the complex. The murals of the 13th century have been preserved in the Surb Church Nshan. One of them is of particular value: it is an image of Khutlu-Bugha Artsruni, one of the most powerful Armenian princes, in princely attire and in all the splendor of his greatness.
The gavit of the Surb Nshan Church was built by Mariam, a daughter of the Lori King Kyurike III, and her sisters. The remains of the Kyurikyan Kings and representatives of the Zakaryan dynasty are burried in the gavit of the Surb Nshan Church, We can also see the high reliefs depicting the Armenian King Smbat II Tiezerakal (Peacekeeper) (977-990) and his brother Gurgen-Kyurike I (962-990), the King of Lori, outside, on the eastern wall of the church.
The book depository of the Haghpat Monastery is an exceptional building in its architectural design: even a hole in the roof was made here with a certain slope so as not to damage the medieval manuscripts. The medieval book depository of Haghpat was one of the richest book depositories of its time.
The Surb Grigor Church was built in 1025. This building is cruciform from inside and rectangular from outside, with sacristies in the corners.
The Surb Astvatsatsin Church of the monastery complex was built in the 13th century. It is a small domed building with an externally rectangular, cruciform plan inside. The cylindrical drum is covered with a triangular roof.
The Haghpat monastery complex has been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1996.
