Berdavan Fortress

Berdavan Fortress (Armenian: Բերդավանի ամրոց; Բերդավան; also Ghalinjakar Fortress) is a fortress in Armenia, located on a hilltop near the village of Berdavan in the Tavush Province, near the border with Azerbaijan. It is 664 metres (2,178 ft) above sea level.

Berdavan is thought to have originally been built between the 10th and 11th centuries, but the present structure is most likely of the late-medieval period from around the 17th century during which time the castle was reconstructed. It is likely that the temple of Ghalinjakar mentioned in the 13th-century works of an unnamed Georgian historian is in fact Berdavan.

Some additional reconstruction took place in the 1980s. Ruins were cleared out, and the poorly constructed upper portions of the serf walls and towers were broken down and reconstructed. The two northeastern towers are currently being reconstructed. Archaeological excavations at the site have uncovered ceramic plates, metal axes and other items giving insight to the lives of those who lived and worked at Berdavan.

The walls of the fortress are laid out in a triangular plan with ramparts linked together by eleven semi-cylindrical exterior towers that taper very little to the top and end at the same height as the walls. Because of the sloping topography at the site, the towers vary in height from 5.5 metres (18 ft) at the southwest end and 10.5 metres (34 ft) on the northwest end. Fortification walls are 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick. There is only one portal (1 meter in width) leading into the interior of the fortress, and it is at the western wall. Stairs are south of the entry.

Within the confines of the fortress walls were once shelters, storehouses and other buildings. A secret passage had once led from the fortress to the canyon below in the event of a siege. Part of the passageway (the height of a human) may still be seen at the lower portion of the eastern corner tower. The tower has an open interior, with a high door leading to the passage.

Ruins of a triple-nave church with an adjacent medieval cemetery and chapel are 200 metres (660 ft) southwest of the fortress. It is assumed that the structure was built around the late-medieval period, around the time of the foundation of the fortress in the 10th century because of the layout, decorative elements and the building technique.

Text adapted from “Berdavan Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Berdavan Fortress ranks #3,589 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #13 of the 27 mapped in Armenia. Founded c. 1000, it is older than 92% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 129 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tbilisi, 61 km away. See how Armenia compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗