Vagharshapat

Worth seeing in and around Vagharshapat

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Etchmiadzin Cathedral

   Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city dually known as Etchmiadzin and Vagharshapat, Armenia. Constructed at the turn of the fourth century, it is usually considered the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world.

   1.2 km · cultural heritage monument of Armenia · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Zvartnots Cathedral

   Zvartnots Cathedral; Զվարթնոց, sometimes rendered in scholarly works as Zuart'nots' or Zuart'noc'; lit. 'place of resurrection/lifefulness/joyfulness') is a medieval Armenian cathedral near Vagharshapat, Armenia.

   4 km · cathedral in Armenia · Wikipedia
3. 03
   St. Hripsime

   Saint Hripsime Church is a seventh-century Armenian Apostolic church in the city of Vagharshapat, Armenia. It was built in 618 by Catholicos Komitas over the tomb of Hripsime, a Roman virgin and a key figure in the Christianization of Armenia.

   1.6 km · church · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Saint Gayane Church

   The Saint Gayane Church is a 7th-century Armenian church in Vagharshapat, the religious center of Armenia. It is located within walking distance from the Etchmiadzin Cathedral of 301.

   1.7 km · church · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Shoghakat Church

   The Church of Shoghakat was erected in 1694 by Prince Aghamal Sorotetsi during the reign of Catholicos Nahabed I in the city of Vagharshapat, in Armenia's Armavir Province.

   1.2 km · cultural heritage monument of Armenia · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

   Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, known in Armenian as simply the Mother See, is the governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is headquartered around Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat, Armenia and is the seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the head of the church.

   1.2 km · governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Gevorkian Theological Seminary

   Gevorkian Theological Seminary, also known as Gevorkian Seminary, is a theological university-institute of the Armenian Apostolic Church opened in 1874. It is located in the town of Vagharshapat within the complex of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

   1.2 km · theological school-college in Armenia · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Saint Mesrop Mashtots

   Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church is an Armenian Apostolic church in Oshakan that contains the grave of Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. It is one of Armenia's better known churches and a pilgrimage site.

   9.7 km · cultural heritage monument of Armenia · Wikipedia
9. 09
   Holy Mother of God Cathedral, Vagharshapat

   Church of the Holy Mother of God, is a church located in the town of Vagharshapat, Armenia. It was built in 1767, during the reign of Catholicos Simeon I of Yerevan, on the remains of a 16th-century wooden church.

   900 m · cultural heritage monument of Armenia · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Targmanchats Vank

    Targmanchats Vank of the 6th to 7th century is located within the village of Aygeshat in the Armavir Province of Armenia just off the main road through town. The site is gated and one must inquire about accessing the church.

    7 km · cultural heritage monument of Armenia · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

The following 5 monuments are listed as World Heritage Sights by UNESCO.

1. 01
   Cathedral of Echmiadzin

   Gregory the Illuminator and rebuilt and added to for over 1,700 years, Echmiadzin now is the heart of the Armenian Church, and seat of the Catholicos of all Armenians.

2. 02
   Shoghakat Church

   At the site of the present day church of Shoghakat, there stood an earlier church of the 6th or 7th century which has not survived.

3. 03
   Zvartnots Cathedral
4. 04
   Khrimian Museum

   It has been renovated to become a museum of art.

From Wikivoyage: Vagharshapat, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

Echmiadzin kufte is beef ground to a fine paste, rolled into a big ball, and boiled; it's then soaked in melted butter. The town market ("shuka") is one of several places serving it.

From Wikivoyage: Vagharshapat, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Vagharshapat

Airports

Zvartnots (EVN), 9 km · Shirak (LWN), 74 km · Nakhchivan (NAJ), 148 km

Stations

Zvartnots International Airport, 9.2 km

• Gyumri → Vagharshapat

  79 km · quickest by road, 2h 18m · $9–12
  GuideToday
• Nakhchivan → Vagharshapat

  Train, bus, flight, ferry and road, side by side
  GuideToday
• Tbilisi → Vagharshapat

  176 km · quickest by road, 5h 32m · ₾29–39
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Vagharshapat

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Vagharshapat. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Vagharshapat – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.