Scholars count roughly ninety-eight old bridges within the territory of the Artsakh province of historical Armenia. Some of these bridges are well maintained, others are in ruins and some have not been preserved at all, save for referrals in various kinds of research, memoirs and scholarly works.
As in other parts of Armenia, the design of the ancient bridges was dictated by the terrain, and single-span bridges have dominated, built to connect opposite sides of small river valleys and gorges. On the plains, double-span or multi-span bridges were built over bigger rivers and some have survived to our days.
The Hunot bridge was built in 1720 to connect the town of Shushi with surrounding settlements. Although the village nearby is in ruins, the bridge is still used to cross the river in the Hunot Canyon on foot. At 890 metres above sea level, it is 25 metres long, 4 metres wide and 8 metres above the water level.
Local stone and mortar were the main building materials for bridges of Artsakh. Brick was rarely used, mostly in those areas where durable stone was in short supply or not to be found. As a rule, bridges that were built on a natural hard rock foundation, have survived. Using semi-finished local stone in the construction of bridges was the common practice; finely-finished stonework was reserved for certain parts of the bridge only.
Only a few bridges are shown below, to demonstrate their beauty and the craftsmanship of the Armenian masters of Artsakh from the 4th to the 19th centuries. Many of these beautifully made structures are in the territories currently occupied by Azerbaijan and especially after the 2020 Azeri-Turkish aggression the fate of these bridges is unknown. Most bridges depicted here are single-span, there are two or more-span bridges in lower parts of the land, but unfortunately it was not possible to include more. Hopefully, the magnificent bridges of Karavaz will make up for the lack of more samples.
The bridges are also interesting indicators of the economic and even physical state of the country at the time. While some bridges have not been used because of the change of trade routes or because better and more contemporary bridges have come to replace them, some have fallen into disuse because sometimes entire villages have moved, sometimes the streams on which they were built have dried out.
Another interesting thing about the bridges is their names. While it is difficult to guess why for example a bridge has been called an old man’s or an old woman’s in its time, there are also cases when people have called the bridges differently at different times, depending on certain realities in their life. No less confusing is the fact that sometimes people do not call them by any name, they just know of an old bridges nearby. They were born and the bridges were there. Hopefully, they will be still there a for long time to come.
A bridge at the north-eastern edge of the village of Arajadzor, Martakert.
Arajadzor bridge is built on a tributary to the Khachen river, was originally 4.3 metres long and 3.2 metres wide but was later widened to roughly 4.3 metres.
Arajadzor bridge dates back to the 19th century.
The 1640 Avetaranots bridge takes its name from the nearby village of Avetaranots in the Askeran region.
Halivori (“Old man’s”) bridge is located about 2 kilometres south-west to the Mets Taghk village of the Hadrut region, on the Ishkhanaget river. According to an inscription on a façade stone, it was built in 1835. It has a 5.5 metre span and a width of 3 metres.
Halivori (“Old man’s”) near Mets Taghk village of the Hadrut region, on the Ishkhanaget river.
Halivori (“Old man’s”) near Mets Taghk village of the Hadrut region, on the Ishkhanaget river.
Melik’s bridge is in the south-eastern part of the village of Khndzristan, Askeran region, erected by Melik Mirzakhan of Khachen (Melik was a hereditary title for nobility in some Eastern parts of Armenia known as Melikdoms) in the 17th-18th centuries. It was just over 5 metres long and 4.8 metres wide and has been widened by 1 metre in the Soviet times. The bridge is 7.80 metres above the water level.
Jarvanes bridge, built over the Tumi river, 2.8 kilometres north–east of the village of Tumi, Hadrut region, mid 13th c., span length 5.30 metres, passage 3 metres wide, 6 metres above the water level.
The span length of the quite old Makun’s bridge is just over 5 metres and the passage width is 3.5 metres. It is built over a tributary of the Ishkhanaget river, in Mets Taghk village, Hadrut district. It has an inscription on a façade stone, dating the construction to 1890 and is located at the end of the village.
Makun’s bridge, built over a tributary of the Ishkhanaget river, in Mets Taghk village, Hadrut district.
An unnamed old bridge in the Hadrout region. Water seems to have long gone from under this bridge.
The older bridge of Karavaz, also referred to in Arabic and Persian sources as Hudaferin or Khudapherin, crosses the river Araks (Araxes) in the historical Kovsakan region of Artsakh, now the Kashatagh region of the Republic of Artsakh (or Republic of Mountainous Karabakh). It is at the base of Mount Diri, at 248 metres above sea level. It was built in the 5th-7th centuries and the earliest records mentioning it go back to the 13th century.
When a joint Soviet-Iranian hydro-power generation project was considered, the older Karavaz bridge was measured for the first time, between 1975 and 1977. It was stated that the bridge had originally had eleven spans - of which only four survive today – a length of 130 metres and a width of 6 meters. The highest point above the water is 12 metres. The foundations of the bridge are even attributed to the times of the Achaemenid Empire.
The newer bridge of Karavaz is not very far from the older one, spanning the river Araks at the foot of Mount Diri. References to this unique fifteen-span bridge are found in 16th century documents and onwards. At 246 metres above sea level, it was built in the 12-13th centuries, however it was rebuilt in places in later periods. It is 200 metres long.
Experts believe that Karavaz bridges were more likely built by armies for military purposes, however they served the merchants well, particularly the silk merchants, as Karabakh was well known for its precious silk, thoroughbred horses, wines and other produce.
Paravi (“Old woman’s” ) bridge in Mataghis, Martakert region, over the Tartar river. It has been renovated several times, the last most likely in the 16-17th centuries.
At over 11 metres above water level, Paravi (“Old woman’s” ) bridge in Mataghis, Martakert region, is 7.6 metres long and 4.8 metres wide.
Mazi bridge (“Hair bridge”) There are several bridges in Artsakh and the rest of Armenia that have this name, which implies a thin bridge. This one is on the tributary to the Karkar river at the south-western edge of Stepanakert, the capital city, is quite useable by today’s standards as well. According to an inscription engraved on the arch, it was built in 1825. It is 4.13 metres long and 7.68 metres wide.
View from Mazi bridge (“Hair bridge”) in Stepanakert, the capital city of the Republic of Artsakh.
This text is based on Samvel Karapetyan's book on the bridges in Artsakh.
