Monuments of Civil Architecture
From the 17th and 18th centuries, several palaces of Armenian meliks (Armenian: մելիք, duke) should be noted, especially the Palace of the Melik-Beglarian (Armenian: Մելք-Բեգլարյան) family in Giulistan (in the Shahumian District), Palace of the Melik-Avanian (Armenian: Մելք-Ավանյան) family in Togh (in the Hadrut District), Palace of the Melik-Mnatzakanian (Armenian: Մելք-Մնացականյան) family in Getashen, Palace of the Melik-Haikazian (Armenian: Մելիք-Հայկազյան) family in Kashatagh (in the Kashatagh-Lachin District), Palace of the Melik-Dolukhanian (Armenian: Մելք-Դոլուխանյան) family in Tukhnakal (near Stepanakert) and, finally, Palace of the Khan of Karabakh in the city of Shusha. Princely palaces from earlier epochs, while badly damaged by time, are equally if not more impressive. Among those preserved is the Palace of the Dopian Princes, Lords of Tzar, near Aknaberd (in the Mardakert District).
Artsakh’s medieval inns (called “idjevanatoun;” Armenian: իջևանատուն) comprise a separate category of civil structures. The best preserved example of those is found near the town of Hadrut.
Before its destruction in 1920 the main repository of the region’s civil architecture was Shusha. In the late 19th century, Shusha became one of the largest cities in Caucasus. In 1913, it hosted more than 42,000 people.
Shusha’s architecture had its unique style and spirit. That special style synthesized designs used in building grand homes in Artsakh’s rural areas (especially in the southern county of Dizak) and elements of neo-classical European architecture. The quintessential example of Shusha’s residential dwellings is the house of the Avanesantz family (19th century). Shusha’s administrative buildings of note include: Royal College (1875), Eparchial College (1838), Technical School (1881) summer and winter clubs of the City Hall (1896 and 1901), The Zhamharian Hospital (1900), The Khandamirian Theater (1891), The Holy Virgin Women’s College (1864) and Mariam Ghukassian Nobility High School (1894). Of these buildings, only Royal College and the Zhamharian Hospital survived the Turko-Muslim attack on the city in 1920.
The best-preserved examples of Artsakh’s rural civil architecture are found in historical settlements of Banants (Armenian: Բանանց), Getashen (Armenian: Գետաշեն), Hadrut (Armenian: Հադութ) and Togh (Armenian: Տող).
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Nagorno-Karabakh
Famous quotes containing the words monuments, civil and/or architecture:
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