Sanahin Monastery

Sanahin Monastery
Սանահին վանք
General view
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
Location
LocationSanahin, Lori Province,
 Armenia
Sanahin Monastery is located in Armenia
Sanahin Monastery
Shown within Armenia
Geographic coordinates41°05′14″N 44°39′58″E / 41.087222°N 44.666111°E / 41.087222; 44.666111
Architecture
StyleArmenian
Groundbreaking10th century
Official name: Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin
TypeCultural
Criteriaii, iv
Designated1996 (20th session)
Reference no.777-002
RegionWestern Asia

Sanahin Monastery (Armenian: Սանահին վանք, romanizedSanahin vank') is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in Sanahin in the Lori Province of Armenia.

The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as 'this one is older than that one', presumably representing a claim to being an older monastery than the neighbouring Haghpat Monastery, located about 3 kilometers to the east, with which it forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The two villages and their monasteries are similar in many ways, and lie in plain view of each other on a dissected plateau formation, separated by a deep crack formed by a small river flowing into the Debed river.

As with Haghpat, Sanahin is frequented by an increasing number of tourists, due to its recent inclusion on the itineraries of a great number of Armenian tour agencies, the beauty of its monastery complex matching that of Haghpat's. The complex belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church with numerous khachkars (stones with elaborate engravings representing a cross) and bishop gravesites scattered throughout it.