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Kayan Berd Fortress is located on a mountain between Haghpat and Sanahin villages. Kayan Berd and Zarni-Parni stand opposite each other, on both sides of the road leading to the Haghpat village. These fortresses guarded the road to Haghpat and also sent signals to each other in case of danger. During the enemy attacks, the priests of the Haghpat Monastery took refuge in the Kayan Berd Fortress, taking with them the monastery's valuables, while the people of the Haghpat village and the local princely family took refuge in Zarni-Parni.
Little information has been preserved about the Kayan Berd fortress. There is an inscription on the wall of the fortress church, according to which the fortress was built in 1233 by the abbot of the Haghpat monastery, Bishop Hovhannes, and served as a refuge for the monastery. The original name of the fortress was the "Fortress of the Haghpat Monastery", and in the late Middle Ages it became better known as Kayan Berd. In 1241, the fortress was destroyed during the Mongol-Tatar invasions. Then it suffered many earthquakes.

Architecture

Kayan Fortress is a small half-ruined fortress, but it is very impressive in its location and appearance. The difficult terrain, powerful walls and 15 towers made the fortress impregnable. It occupies a narrow and long area, the length of which is about 120 m, and the maximum width is 20 m. The walls were built of basalt stone processed with hammer. Water was brought from the mountains surrounding the Akner village through baked clay pipes. Remains of water pipes, ruins of domestic buildings, the church of the Holy Mother of God (Dsevank) of the fortress, khachkars have been preserved.

Dsevank (Drsevank) or Holy Mother of God Church

Dsevank was built at the same time as the Kayan Berd fortress and merged with the walls of the fortress. It is a rectangular domed church standing on the edge of a gorge. It is built of basalt, and stones of different colors were used for the dome.
Dsevank has been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt many times.


To reach the fortress, you need to walk 1.5 km along a forest path. From the territory of the fortress there is a wonderful view of the Debed river gorge, Zarni-Parni cave-fortress, Haghpat, Akner and Sanahin villages. Here you can admire the surrounding landscapes for hours.

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