Khachkar

What a khachkar is

A khachkar is a flat stone slab carrying a cross in relief. In the usual design the cross sits above a rosette or a disc that stands for the sun. The rest of the surface is covered with leaves, grapes, pomegranates and woven bands of interlace. Some stones are topped by a cornice, and a few carry biblical or saintly figures. One rare kind, the Amenaprkich or Holy Saviour, puts the crucified Christ on the cross; only a handful are known, mostly from the late 13th century, and one stands at Sevanavank monastery. Most khachkars are free standing, though stones that record a gift are often built into monastery walls. Graves are one place they appear, but only a small share of Armenian gravestones are khachkars.

Origins and history

The first true khachkars belong to the 9th century, a time of Armenian recovery after rule by Arab powers ended. The earliest stone whose date is recorded was cut in 879 at Garni, in memory of Katranide I, who was married to the Bagratuni king Ashot I. Cruder stones come from before that. Carving reached its height between the 12th and 14th centuries, then fell away during the Mongol advance at the close of the 14th century. The 16th and 17th centuries brought a return of the craft, though not the standard of the earlier work. Around 40,000 survive.

Carving today

In the 20th century the art saw a rebirth as a marker of Armenian culture. Carvers can still be found working in parts of Yerevan. In 2010 UNESCO added the symbolism and the making of khachkars to its list of intangible cultural heritage. Many new stones are memorials to the victims of the Armenian genocide, and they have been placed far beyond Armenia: at the Vatican Museums, in Canterbury Cathedral's memorial garden, at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, at the Colorado State Capitol, at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff, at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, and in other places.

Endangered stones

Many khachkars made in historic Armenia and the lands around it now stand in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. In Turkey, systematic destruction that began with the Armenian genocide has left only a few, and those survivors are not catalogued or properly photographed. The Armenian cemetery at Jugha, in Nakhchivan, held about 10,000 stones in 1648. By 1998 the number had shrunk to 2,700, and between 1998 and 2005 the Azerbaijani government levelled the whole medieval cemetery. Azerbaijan denies that its armed forces broke the stones with sledgehammers in December 2005. UNESCO had ordered protection in 2000.

Around the world

Hundreds of khachkars stand outside Armenia. One reckoning puts the number in public places in France at about thirty. Poland, where an Armenian community has lived since the Late Middle Ages, has some twenty. Museums have taken them in or shown them for a time: the British Museum received one as a gift from Vazgen I in 1977, and others have appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in a special exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. Three stones are often named as the finest of the tradition: one at Geghard from 1213, the Holy Redeemer khachkar at Haghpat from 1273, and one at Goshavank from 1291.

How Khachkar is kept

A khachkar is commissioned, and a carver cuts it from a single stone. The cross is worked first, most often over a rosette or sun disc, and the face is then filled with leaf, grape, pomegranate and interlace patterns. Some stones are finished with a cornice or with figures from the Bible or the lives of saints. The finished stone is set upright, usually in a graveyard, beside a church or at a monastery. Donation stones may be built into a monastery wall instead. Stones are also raised for victories, for the dedication of a church, or as a plea for protection from disaster, and today many mark the Armenian genocide.

When and where

Khachkars are not tied to one day of the year. They are made and put up as the need arises: after a death, to honour a living person, to mark a victory or the completion of a church, or to ask for protection. The first dated example was carved in 879, and the busiest period for the craft ran from the 12th to the 14th century.

Armenia is the home of the tradition and holds the largest surviving group, at the Noraduz cemetery on the western shore of Lake Sevan, where roughly 900 stones from different periods stand. Carvers still work in parts of Yerevan. Stones also stand in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran, in Poland and France, and in museums and church gardens worldwide.

What Khachkar means

A khachkar is a prayer in stone. The cross at its centre is the heart of the design, and the sun disc or rosette beneath it, the vines, grapes and pomegranates and the woven bands around it turn the stone into a small image of the Christian hope of salvation. Early stones were raised so that the soul of a dead or living person might be saved, or to guard a place from disaster. For many Armenians today a khachkar also stands for the community itself, at home and in the wider world.

Questions people ask about Khachkar

See also

Christmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.NazarA blue glass eye amulet worn and displayed to deflect the evil eye.Georgian polyphonic singingSeveral voices at once, sung without instruments at Georgian feasts and weddingsKaddishA Jewish hymn of sanctification recited during prayer services and mourning rituals.

Good reading and sources

• Monumental loss: Azerbaijan andThe Guardian, Article
• Monumental loss: Azerbaijan andThe Guardian, Article

• Khachkar on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.