Vorotnaberd

Vorotnaberd (Armenian: Որոտանաբերդ; also Davit Bek's Castle) is an important fortress along a ridge overlooking the Vorotan gorge, between the villages of Vaghatin and Vorotan in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Vorotnaberd is 1,365 metres (4,478 ft) above sea level.

Vorotnaberd was destroyed multiple times by foreign invasions. In 1104 (possibly in 1219 as well) Seljuk-Turks attacked the fortress and the nearby monastery of Vorotnavank 3 kilometres (2 mi) northwest. Ivane Zakaryan liberated the structures from enemy hands and gave control of Vorotnavank and Vorotnaberd to Liparit Orbelian of the Orbelyan family. Repairs were made to the nearby monastery during this time to make it functional once again.

Other foreign invasions included the Mongol-Tatars (in 1236?) and later Timur Lenk in 1386 where his army lay siege to the fortress. An underground passageway connected to Vorotnavank and the Vorotan River was used during sieges by invading armies.

In 1724 Davit Bek took control of Vorotnaberd from Melik Baghri. This incident led people living in the region to call the fortress by the name "Davit Bek's Castle".

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

Vorotnaberd ranks #3,404 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #12 of the 27 mapped in Armenia. Founded 500, it is older than 97% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 23 atlas entries founded in the 5th century. See how Armenia compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗