Surb Khach Church

The Church of Surb Khach, which means Holy Cross in translation, is today an architectural monument of federal significance. This is the oldest building in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

The temple was built at the end of the XVIII century. The main buildings at that time were a church, a bell tower and a bishop’s house, in which the rector of the church lived, a school, a library and a printing house were located. The walls of the temple were decorated with khachakaras brought from the Crimea. They brought liveliness and feast to the decoration of the facade. To date, only the church building has survived.

In 1972 the Museum of Russian-Armenian Friendship was founded here. At the expositions of the museum you can see an ancient khachkar brought from the Crimea, books that were printed in the church printing house. The purpose of the museum is to show and reflect the history of relations between Armenians in the Don land and the local population. Since 2000, the church was returned to the Armenian community for worship.

Today, the temple with the adjacent territory is surrounded by a fence, and around it tower city skyscrapers. He himself stands near the Temernik beam where a stone staircase leads. On the eastern side of the hill, the top of which is crowned by the church of Surb Khach, a holy spring beats. Near it there is a swimming pool, a recreation area.