Cathedral of Mren

40°14′32″N 43°39′47″E / 40.242125°N 43.662953°E / 40.242125; 43.662953ArchitectureTypeThree-nave basilica with domeStyleArmenianGroundbreaking631Completed639

The Cathedral of Mren is a 7th-century Armenian church in an abandoned medieval town site called Mren. It is located in the Kars region of Turkey, near the border with Armenia, about 1.5 km west of the Akhurian River.

Architecture

The church of Mren is a domed triple-nave basilica, believed, on the basis of an inscription on its west facade and on stylistic features, to have been built 631–639. It was built by David Saharuni, an Armenian ally of the emperor Heraclius, to celebrate the latter's entry into Jerusalem in 628.

Gallery

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  Path leading from village Karabağ to city of Mren
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  Collapsed side aisle
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  Portal with relief
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  Facade with khachkars
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  Lintel with relief
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  Side aisle
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  Apse

See also

• Odzun Church, an architecturally similar and contemporaneous three-nave basilica with dome in Odzun, Armenia
• Ani Cathedral, another ruined Armenian church near Mren

Further reading

• Kouymjian, Dickran. "Index of Armenian Art: Armenian Architecture - Mren". Armenian Studies Program. California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20.
• Maranci, Christina, "New Observations on the Frescoes at Mren," Revue des Études Arméniennes 35 (2013): 203–225.
• Thierry, Michel and Nicole, "La cathédral de Mren et sa decoration," Cahiers Archaéologiques 21 (1971): 43–77.

External links

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