Ashot Yerkat's Bridge :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Ashot Yerkat's Bridge

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Getabek / Getabek

Location

It is stretches over the river Shamkor, at the foot of Charek Castle.

Karapetian, Samvel. The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 23.

Historical Introduction
10 c․

This single-span bridge, whose construction is traditionally ascribed to King Ashot the Iron (10th century).

Karapetian, Samvel. The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 23.

Architectural Description

Except for the cornerstones of the vault-bearing arch, which are finely-finished, all its other parts are laid with undressed stone and mortar.

Karapetian, Samvel. The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 23.

Description

It is not certain when exactly it went to ruin, but this must have happened much earlier than the 1890s, for in 1893 a visitor wrote: “Down the castle, a stone-built bridge used to extend across the river. Its arch has collapsed, and now some pieces of wood cover its site, horrifying all those trying to cross the river. This bridge is in a state of utter destruction and dilapidation. No matter how cautiously you take your steps, all the pieces of wood shake while you are passing. I wonder who that poor wretch is that will one day fall into the deep river once this rotten heap of wood collapses underneath his feet...”

Smbat M. Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Getabek. In: Nor-Dar, 1893, No. 36, p. 2 (the original in Armenian).
Karapetian, Samvel. The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 23.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 224-225.

At present two piers constitute all the remnants of the bridge.

Karapetian, Samvel. The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 23.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1980 y․

The right pier of the bridge of the stronghold