Yerevan - Capital of Armenia

Geographical location

The capital Yerevan is often likened to an ancient Roman theatre. And indeed the central part of the city, at the very beginning of the Ararat valley, is very like the stage of a theatre. This low part of the city stands at an altitude of 900 m above sea level. If the centre of the city is the stage of the theatre then, the four elevations - Arabkir, Kanaker, Nork plateaus and Kondsk Ridgier its amphitheatre and loges. From Victory Park, on the Kanaker plateau in the lower "tier" of the amphitheatre, guests of the Armenian capital can enjoy a thrilling view of the city’s panorama, crowned in the south by the twin peaks of Mt. Ararat. The first two of the above mentioned elevations, which have become part of the city in the last 25-30 years, stand at an altitude of 1,200-1,350 m above sea level.

A rather deep canyon (100-150 m) intersects the territory of the city, along the bottom of which flows the Razdan river, which has its source in Lake Sevan and flows into the Araks River. The gorge formed by this river with its picturesque slopes has been transformed into a recreation zone. Another small river, the Gedar, which used to cause much trouble in the past, cuts through the Avansk plateau. Now encased in concrete and stone, the Gedar is an attractive feature of Yerevan's urban landscape.

The geographical location of the Armenian capital is the determining factor in its climate. The sky above Yerevan is a cloudless blue almost the year round, with the sun shining 290-300 days a year.

Yerevan is one of the "driest" cities in the region. Most of the rain that the city gets falls in the spring months of April and May.

The natural vegetation of Yerevan is rather sparse. Nevertheless the Armenian capital is often called a garden city. Thanks to the extensive work carried out in planting trees and shrubs green is now one of the leading colours in the city's urban array. Yerevan is particularly attractive in the spring when almond, maple, apricot, cherry, pear, and apple trees are in blossom and the birdcherry trees put out their' green leaves. It is equally attractive when the trees are in golden and russet hues of autumn.

The history of the City

Argishti, son of Menua, built this splendid fortress in honour of the great God Khalda and named it Erebuni, to the glory of the country of Biaina - These words, inscribed on a stone tablet, tell the story of the founding of Yerevan, which in 1968 celebrated its 2750th anniversary. Evidently, Yerevan owes its present name to this ancient fortress, the ruins of which still stand in the southeastern part of the city. As yet historians have no exact data concerning the name of the city. There are a number of scientific hypotheses and even more legends on this subject.

The history of cities is closely bound up with the history of their respective people. This holds true of Yerevan. In the course of its centuries-old existence Yerevan witnessed periods of flourishing and decline but life in the city never died out. Throughout the course of Armenian history the Ararat valley was always the centre of the formation and development of the nation. For this reason, though Yerevan was not the capital of ancient or medieval Armenia, it nevertheless played an important role in the political and economic life of the country and was a point of major military significance.

Fully sharing in the destiny of the country, Yerevan was the apple of discord between ancient Rome and the Parthians, the Byzantines and the Persians, the Arabs and the Mongolians, and once again, between the Persians and the Turks. Devastation and destruction, the deaths of tens of thousands of people, and the driving of those who survived into slavery accompanied all these incursions.

With the annexation of Eastern Armenia by Christian Russia in 1828 after the Russian-Persian war, the situation changed for the better. In the years following - Yerevan remained a remote provincial town of the Russian Empire, with narrow, crooked streets, adobe huts, and only here and there grew two or three storey buildings.

In 1915 the Armenian people suffered a terrible tragedy. Whilst Europe's attention was fully engaged by the First World War, a horrendous program for the destruction of the local population was put into effect in Western (Turkish) Armenia and the same fate awaited Eastern Armenia. Victory in the battle of Sardarapat, near Yerevan, in 1918 saved the last plot of Armenian land from destruction. 

The defeat of the Ottoman Turks in World War I and the disintegration of the Russian Empire gave the Armenians a chance to declare their independence. On May 28, 1918, the independent Republic of Armenia was established, after the Armenians forced the Turkish troops to withdraw in the battles of Sardarapat, Karakilisse and Bashabaran. Overwhelming difficulties confronted the infant republic, but amid these conditions the Armenians devoted all their energies to the pressing task of reconstructing their country. But due to pressure exerted simultaneously by the Turks and Communists, the republic collapsed in 1920. Finally, the Soviet Red Army moved into the territory (Eastern Armenia) and on November 29, 1920 declared it a Soviet republic.

The tumultuous changes occurring throughout the Soviet Union beginning in the 1980's inevitably had repercussions in Armenia. In 1990, the Armenian National Movement won a majority of seats in the parliament and formed a government. On September 21, 1991, the Armenian people overwhelmingly voted in favour of independence in a national referendum, and an independent Armenia came into being, with Yerevan its capital.  
 

Yerevan today

In the past sixty-odd years Yerevan has undergone great changes and has considerably expanded its territory. Its rate of growth has been so rapid that time and again it has exceeded plans, which seemed almost fantastic at the time they were adopted. During the years of Soviet rule the population of Yerevan has increased thirty times over! At the present time it has reached 1.2 million.

Yerevan today - a major industrial centre of the Armenian republic - contributes a large share to the development of the national economy. 

Yerevan now boasts the most modern branches of industry, those branches most needed for the national economy - chemical, electrotechnical, machine-tool, machine-building, automobile, instrument-making, electronic, and radio-electronic. All of these make up the aspect of present-day industrial Yerevan.

Yerevan is the largest centre of the republic's food and light industries. Almost all of the woollen and silk fabrics produced in Armenia are made in Yerevan. The cognacs for which Armenia is famous are produced at the Yerevan Cognac Factory which you may visit and where you can take part in the tasting of these wonderful products. Armenian cognacs are participants at almost all international exhibitions and fairs. More than fifty medals, the majority of them gold medals, from the proud collection of international awards won by Armenian cognacs. Much praise has also fallen to Armenian wines, most of which are produced at the Yerevan Winery and the Yerevan Factory of Champagne Wines.

Yerevan is not only the heart, but also the brain of the republic, the major scientific centre of Armenia. All in all, there are more than 120 research institutions in Armenia, most of which are in Yerevan. The centre of Armenian science is the Armenian Academy of Sciences.

Yerevan is a city of students. Statistics show that one out of every three of Yerevan's population is studying in one or another educational establishment. Eleven of the republic's thirteen higher educational establishments are located in Yerevan. There are scores of specialized secondary schools and more than 150 secondary schools in the city.

The Yerevan State University is rightly termed the republic's main centre for training specialists. Founded in December 1920, the University was the first higher educational establishment in Armenia. Now it has become the leading higher educational institution in Armenia and one of the largest and best in the region. Many of the University's graduates have become prominent scientists, writers, executives, and public figures.

Another large higher educational institution is the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, which trains highly qualified specialists for the national economy. It has an enrolment of about 20,000 students.

The Armenian capital also has an agricultural, a veterinary, a medical, an art and theatre institutes, an institute of physical culture and sport, and a conservatory, which bears the name of the Armenian composer Komidas.

The Armenian capital is the heir of the past culture and the focal point of the contemporary culture of the Armenian people. During your stay in Yerevan, you can visit its various museums, attend performances at its theatres and concert halls, watch a wide range of interesting sports competitions -from local to international meets - at its stadiums and sports grounds.

Get acquainted with Yerevan

Before you visit Yerevan, it will be very useful, to become acquainted beforehand with some of the highlights of the capital of Armenia.

Republic Square - is the city's central square. From it radiate the main thoroughfares linking the centre of the city with its outlying districts. This square is a splendid ensemble of buildings and the imposing centre of the Armenian capital. It was designed by the prominent Armenian architect Academician A. Tamanyan.

The most outstanding building on the square is Government House, for whose design A. Tamanyan was awarded a State Prize. In designing this monumental structure A. Tamanyan made skilful use of elements of medieval Armenian architecture.

Some of these same elements can also be seen in other buildings (designed by the architects S, Safaryan, R. Israelyan and V. Arevshatyan). The Cabinet and other governmental offices as well as the Erebuni and Armenia hotels.

One of the main components of the architectural ensemble is the building the Armenian History Museum and the Art Gallery of Armenia, reconstructed after a design by the architects M. Grigoryan and E. Sarapyan. This building is an integral part of the whole composition and lends it a finishing touch. The spacious pool accentuates this impression with three groups of fountains which Yerevan residents call "the singing fountains". In the evening the pool is the scene of "sound and light" effects when Armenian folk, classical and variety music can be heard.

The Alley of Fountains - is a 220m stretch of 2750 fountains giving off myriads of sparkling spray iridescent in the sunshine. These fountains symbolize the 2750th anniversary of the founding of Yerevan in 1968, when this alley was opened. In the centre of the alley, under an originally designed arch, burns a perpetual flame commemorating Armenian revolutionaries.

Mesrop Mashtots Avenue - is Yerevan's main thoroughfare. On both sides of Mesrop Mashtots Avenue are apartment houses, exterior decoration of which Armenian tufa and basalt found in the republic have been widely used. The most interesting and original buildings on this avenue are the Matenadaran, a repository of ancient manuscripts, and the Central Covered Market, the latter designed by G. Agababyan.

Haghtanank (Victory) Park was laid out at the start of the Kanaker plateau in commemoration of the victory of the Soviet people over fascist Germany. More than half a million Armenians saw action on the fronts of World War II. 67,000 were awarded combat decorations, 107 were honoured with the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the Armenian flyer Nelson Stepanyan was twice awarded this title, the second time posthumously.

The territory of the park covers 110 hectares. In the park you will see the monument "Mother-Armenia", the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a perpetual flame, the Museum of the World War II, and other interesting things.

This imposing monument, the figure of a heroic woman, symbolizes the contribution of the Armenian people to the victory won against the enemy. The bronze figure weighs 15 tons. The figure itself is a little more than 21 m. in height and together with the pedestal on which it stands - 56 m.

Abovyan Street - named after the founder of modern Armenian literature Khachatur Abovyan, is an important artery linking Republic Square with the roads along the southern slopes of the Kanaker plateau to Victory Park and to the Nork plateau through the Avan gorge. There are many apartment houses, administrative buildings, and students’ dormitories on this street.

The picturesque gorge of the Hrazdan River, which lies within the city limits, adjoins the green area of the city's parks. A recreation zone has been developed in the gorge with an integrated system of barrages to form a series of ponds. A children's railway has been built here and also the "Hrazdan" stadium, one of the largest in the region, where thousands of Yerevan spectators watch games played by their favourite football team "Ararat" in contests for international championships.

There is an elevation in Yerevan known as Tsitsernakaberd (Swallow's Tower). Not so long ago it was simply an area of wasteland. Today Tsitsernakaberd is sacred to every Armenian whether he lives in Yerevan or in remote Argentina. The million and a half Armenians-women, children and old people brutally massacred by the Young Turks in 1915, have found their symbolic grave here.

A park has been laid out on the top of the Tsitsernakaberd elevation with a memorial complex in its centre. Twelve massive basalt pylons slope to form a mausoleum. In the centre of the mausoleum is a depression with a large chased copper bowl in which a perpetual flame burns. The music of the Armenian composers Komidas, Yekmalyan and Khachaturyan can always be heard here.

To the right of the mausoleum are two pyramidical spires of stainless steel symbolizing Armenia and its regeneration. To the left is a basalt wall on which episodes of this tragic event in the history of the Armenian people are depicted.

The statue of David of Sasun. It would be hard to find in modern Armenia another work of art, which has become so dear to the hearts of the people and which is so closely bound up with the image of Armenia. The outstanding Armenian sculptor Yervand Kochar executed this monument to David of Sasun, hero of the national Armenian epos and liberator of his people from foreign invaders. In 1939 Armenia marked the 1000th anniversary of this famous national epos.

The national hero is depicted in a moment of struggle, ready to destroy the enemy with his fiery sword. Dzhalali, Sasun's fantastic steed, defying the heavenly spaces in swiftness, is shown reared on the huge basalt slab forming the pedestal.

Erected in the centre of the square facing the railway station the statue of David of Sasun is such an integral part of the square that it seems to have been standing there for hundreds of years.

The Statue of Vartan Mamikonyan, by the same sculptor, is a monument to a real historical person, a national hero of the Armenian people, a talented leader of Armenian insurgents and a fearless warrior who lived in the 5th century. The horseman and his steed are depicted in the moment of attacking the enemy and seem to be soaring in the air. The only point of support is the stylized cloud of dust.

The Monument to Sayat-Nova, the inspired bard of friendship and brotherhood among peoples, philosopher and humanist, was erected to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth. It stands in front of the Music School, which bears the poet's name. The sculptor, A. Arutyunyan, gives us the image of a bard whose personal destiny was closely bound up with the destiny of his works, with their meaning and content. Though not monumental in size this statue of Sayat-Nova is one of the finest in the collection of Yerevan's sculptures.

On two of the city's largest streets - Abovyan and Nalbandyan - monuments have been erected in honour of the men after whom the streets are named. The author of the statue of Khachatur Abovyan is the sculptor S. Stepanyan, that of the statue of Mikael Nalbandyan - N. Nikogosyan.

Special mention should be made of the monument, to Alexander Tamanyan. the well-known Armenian architect, who drew up the first general plan of Yerevan and designed many of the city's buildings, which are now the pride of the Armenian capital. The basalt statue carved from a single block of stone, stands on a marble base in the corner of which is carved a sketch map of the general plan of Yerevan. The monument is the work of the sculptor A. Ovsepyan and the architect A. Petrosyan.