Haghpat Monastery

According to the legend one of the princes of Sanahin settlement invited one of the renowned masters to construct a monastery. So the master and his son started the construction. There was a bitter quarrel between father and son during the building process. Son decided to stop working and left. Sometime later the young master was employed by another prince not far from Sanahin and instructed to build a new monastery. When the walls of the construction built by the young master were visible from Sanahin rumours about the new monastery reached the old master. He decided to visit it and closely examined the building. Everyone was waiting for the old master's judgment in silence. Finally, the master said: Agh, pat (literally means: oh, what a wall!) banging his fist against the stone of the building. And then father and son embraced and forgot about the dispute. From then on the monastery has been called “Haghpat”.

Haghpat monastery complex is included in a UNESCO World Heritage list together with Sanahin Monastery. Haghpat is one of Armenia's biggest and most famous monasteries, where the characteristics of medieval Armenian architecture are best reflected․

The library of Haghpat monastery was founded in the 11th century. It was the largest, richest repository of Armenian manuscripts in the Middle Ages. To save manuscripts from destruction during enemy invasions, manuscripts were later transferred to nearby caves, which also served as reading rooms.