The reconstruction project of the historic Harich Village

The village of Harich is one of the oldest and most unique settlements in Armenia. The natural cape, adjacent to the southern side of the village, was inhabited as early as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. The Harich Monastery Complex (7th–8th centuries) was founded in this natural landscape, which largely determined the unique architectural appearance of the village, its historical role and significance. The village has historical and cultural significance and national traditions. It is noteworthy that the village was not affected by low-quality industrial construction, which was widespread in the 1960s and 1970s, due to which the historical environment and individual buildings have been passed down in a physically worn form but not distorted from the point of view of the image. Within the framework of the historical and cultural substantiation project of the village of Harich, a historical and basic plan of the settlement was drawn up, individual buildings of historical and cultural heritage were described and evaluated and solutions were proposed for their preservation and use to align with modern needs. The historical territory of the village, excavation zones, zones of protected monuments and groups of monuments and zones of protected, valuable landscape were determined. It is planned to complement the cultural centre with modern facilities that are in harmony with the historical environment and the necessary infrastructure to develop tourism.

At the republican competition in 1983, the project was recognized as one of the 10 best projects of the USSR in 1982.