Reason for coating of Gandzasar Monastery fence explained

July 7, 2011 - 12:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Coating of 13 century fence surrounding Gandzasar Monastery in Nagorno Karabakh is now in progress amid protests of Armenian organizations, bloggers and art lovers.

According to Facebook poll, 1090 people opposed to coating of monastery fence, with only 11 favoring the idea.

In May 2011, Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church addressed the department for protection and study of historic monuments at NKR government for permission to restore the monastery fence, naming Moscow-based Armenian businessman, oligarch Levon Hayrapetyan as the project sponsor and initiator.

As the head of the department Slava Sargsyan reported earlier, the department didn't intend to give permission, concerned that the monastery will lose its historic and cultural value.

To clarify the situation, We Won’t Stay Silent youth organization got in touch with Levon Hayrapetyan. As the latter explained, the monastery fencing, built in 1980s, rather than 13th century, started to fall apart.

To prevent further demolition, a decision was taken to coat the fence with travertine tablets. The material was extracted in mines located next to 13th century monastery, the statement issued by the youth organization said.