2. City History:
Yerevan is a surprising city. While it's history dates back to the 8th century B.C., the total
population of Yerevan was still under 70,000 at the start of the Soviet era. With this nearly
blank canvas to work with, Soviet architect Alexander Tamanyan went to work on the new
capital of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, hoping to create a Neoclassical jewel
modelled after the great capitals of Western Europe. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
6. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Republic Square1
The heart of Yerevan, is the Republic Square, the only one in its
type, endowed by singing fountains and a magnificent mosaic
rock carpet, which covers 3000 year old ruins underneath it!
The Republic Square and all buildings circling it were designed
by Alexander Tamanyan the beloved architect for Armenians.
The large oval of the Square will give you a great chance to
examine Tamanyan's distinctive designs in detail.
All buildings around the square, Armenia Marriot Hotel, the building of Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, The History Museum and National Art Gallery, the Government Building and the
building of post office are all unique, built by tuff of different colors and loved by Armenians all
over the world.
The famous seven fountains, the meeting spot for thousands and thousands of dates, are also
in Republic Square, right next to History Museum and National Art Gallery.
On weekends, many cheerful wedding parties circle the Square thrice as if to bond their hearts
with three more rings.
8. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Matenadaran2
The Matenadaran or Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts
in Yerevan, Armenia, is one of the richest depositories of
manuscripts and books in the world. The collection dates back
to 405, when Saint Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian
alphabet and sent his disciples to Edessa, Constantinople,
Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and other centers of learning to
study the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces of
Greek literature.
After 1441, when the Residence of Armenian Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos was moved to
Echmiadzin, hundreds of manuscripts were copied there and in nearby monasteries, especially
during the seventeenth century. During the eighteenth century, tens of thousands of Armenian
manuscripts perished or were carried away during repeated invasions, wars and plundering
raids. In the late nineteenth century, the collection expanded as private scholars procured and
preserved manuscripts that had been scattered all over Europe. In 1920, the collection, held at
the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church at Echmiatsin was confiscated by the
Bolsheviks, combined with other collections and, in 1939, moved to Yerevan. On March 3, 1959,
the Matenadaran Institute was formed to maintain and house the manuscripts, and in 1962, it
was named after Saint Mesrop Mashtots.
10. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Sergei Parajanov Museum3
The Sergei Parajanov Museum is a tribute to Soviet Armenian
director and artist Sergei Parajanov and is one of the most
popular museums in Yerevan. It represents Parajanov's diverse
artistic and literary heritage. The museum was founded in 1988
when Parajanov moved to Yerevan. Parajanov himself chose
the place (Dzoragyugh ethnographic center in Yerevan) and
construction project of museum.
Due to 1988 Spitak earthquake and socio-economic problems, the museum was opened only in
June 1991, one year after Parajanov's death.
The founding director of museum is Zaven Sargsyan. The museum is one of the cultural centres
of Yerevan, known for his exhibitions, publications and honorary receptions (including the
annual meetings of Yerevan International Film Festival guests). Paulo Coelho, Wim Wenders,
Mikhail Vartanov, Tonino Guerra, Enrica Antonioni, Atom Egoyan, Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir
Putin, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Yevgeni Yevtushenko, Arnold Rüütel, Valdas Adamkus, Tarja
Halonen, Donald Knuth and many other famous people have visited the museum.
12. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
History Museum of Armenia4
The Yerevan History Museum is the history museum of
Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. The museum was founded
in 1931 as the Communal Museum. Currently, the museum is
located in a building attached to the Yerevan City Hall. At the
beginning, the museum was located in two rooms, on the
second floor, of the Yerevan Fire Department building. In 1936,
it was moved to the Blue Mosque (Gyoy-Djami) where had
functioned for sixty years.
From 1994 to 1997, the museum was located in the building of former Hripsime Female
Gymnasium. From 1997 to 2005, the museum functioned in one of the adjacent buildings of
the school N1 named after Shahoumian. In 2005, the museum was established in a new
building. It forms an architectural complex together with Yerevan Municipality.
There are more than 87,000 objects exposed in the Yerevan History Museum. They represent
the local material and spiritual culture from ancient times to the present day. The collections of
archaeology, ethnography, numismatics, fine arts, written records, photography and others,
kept in the storage of the museum, tell a vivid story about the past and the present of the
capital city and its people. There are three scientific expositions of the museum, that have
collected, studied and showed objects highlighting the history of Yerevan.
14. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Blue Mosque5
The Blue Mosque is a mosque in Yerevan, Armenia. During the
Soviet era, because of atheist policy, the Mosque stopped its
services and became the Museum of Yerevan. After the
independence of Armenia, with the support from Iranian
government, the premises again started acting as a Mosque.
The Yerevan region had been under the control of various
Muslim rulers since the incursions of Timur in the 14th century.
From the second third of the 18th century, it had been a province of Iran (ruled successively by
Nadir Shah, Karim Khan Zand and the Iranian Qajar Dynasty), before it fell to the Russian
empire in 1827. The building was the main congregational mosque for the city. When Yerevan
was captured by Russia in 1827 it was, according to the cataster drawn up by the Russians, the
largest of its eight functioning mosques.
The building consisted of the main prayer hall, a library, and a madrasa with 28 cells, all
organised around a courtyard, with the overall complex occupying 7,000 square metres of land.
There is a single minaret at the main portal, in keeping with contemporaneous mosques, and
there is no evidence that there were more minarets.
16. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Victory Park6
Haghtanak Zbosaygi (Victory Park) is a big park located at the
top of Cascade in Yerevan. The park is named Victory Park in
commemoration of Soviet Armenia's participation in the
second World War. The park is a large forested area with an
artificial lake, an amusement park, cafes, the Mayr Hayastan
statue and museum, and sweeping views of central Yerevan.
The current statue replaces a monumental statue of Joseph Stalin that was created as a victory
memorial for the Great Patriotic War. During Stalins reign of the Soviet Union, Grigor
Harutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Partys Central Committee and
members of the government oversaw the construction of the monument which was completed
and unveiled to the people on November 29, 1950.
Inside the monument there is the military museum of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia .
Near the monument stands the tomb of "unknown soldier» as the gratitude to those who died
in the struggle against fascism.
17. Saint Gregory- the illuminator cathedral Yerevan7
Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
18. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Saint Gregory- the illuminator cathedral Yerevan7
The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, also known as the
Cathedral of Yerevan is currently the largest cathedral of the
Armenian Apostolic Church in the world, effectively making it
the current largest Armenian cathedral. It is located in the
Kentron District (Central District) of Yerevan, the capital of
Armenia, and considered to be one of the largest religious
buildings in the South Caucasus along with the Holy Trinity
Cathedral of Tbilisi (known as the Sameba Cathedral).
Adjacent to the General Andranik metro station, it's visible from the numerous corners of
Yerevan. The huge cathedral is a complex consisting of three churches: the Cathedral (Main
Church) with 1700 seats and the Chapels of St. Tiridates the King and of Saint Ashkhen the
Queen (both with 150 seats). These two royal figures were the crucial helpers of St. Gregory in
converting Armenia to Christianity. The belfry tower (which consists of more than 30 arches)
and the court are located at the entrance of the Cathedral. The halls for both the receptions
and church-related activities are provided on the lower floor of the Main Church.
The total area of the complex is around 3,822 square meters, while the height of the cathedral
from the ground to the top of the cross is 54 meters.
20. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Cafesjian Museum of Art8
The Cafesjian Center for the Arts, also known as the Cafesjian
Museum Foundation is an art museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It
is situated in central Yerevan in the area in and around the
Cascade. At the core of the museum's permanent collection is
the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection of Art. The inauguration took
place on 17 November 2009.
It is said that "the museum project represents one of the most ambitious works of
contemporary architecture undertaken in any of the former republics of the Soviet
Union."[citation needed] The New York Times described it as "a mad work of architectural
megalomania and architectural recovery, one of the strangest and most spectacular museum
buildings to open in ages."
The project was designed by the New York based architecture firm David Hotson Architects. The
rest of the design team includes architect of record David Hotson Associates Architecs, Yerevan;
structural engineer Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners, New York, NY; structural engineer of
record ArmProject, Yerevan and services and environmental engineer Atelier Ten, New York and
London, UK.
22. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
National Gallery of Armenia9
The National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum in
the Republic of Armenia. Located on Yerevan's Republic
Square, the museum has one of the most prominent locations
in the Armenian capital. The NPGA houses significant
collections of Russian and Western European art, and the
world's largest collection of Armenian art. NGA's Chief Director
Paravon Mirzoyan told Armenia Now news site that the
museum has 65,000 visitors in 2005
The National Gallery of Armenia or NGA was founded in 1921 under the decree of the
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian SSR) and represents the artistic section of the
State museum. Upon its establishment the NGA's art section encountered serious difficulties,
largely due to the fact that Yerevan lacked state owned and private art collections to form the
core of the collection. The first works to enter the collection where the dozens of works
purchased from an Armenian painters' exhibition in August 1921.
A decisive factor in the founding of the NGA's art collection was the transfer of the renowned
collection of The Armenian Cultural Center (the former Lazarian Seminary, Moscow) and also
the donations made by Armenian artists to the NGA.
24. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Yerevan Zoo10
At present the zoo is home to about 2749 individuals
representing 204 species. Species representing the South
Caucasus and Armenia include brown bears, Bezoar goats,
vipers, Armenian mouflon, and black vultures. Other species at
the zoo from around the world include lions, tigers, hyenas,
and an Asian elephant named Grantik.
The zoo will be partnering with the Artis Zoo (among others) to
upgrade and renovate the zoo to modern standards.
Since Armenia is a biodiversity hot spot, the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and
Cultural Assets (FPWC) has leased and taken over management of about 839 hectares (2,070
acres) near the Khosrov reserve, which until recently had been unprotected and at risk of
poaching, illegal logging, and overgrazing.
The Yerevan Zoo is cooperating with the FPWC to use this land for wildlife rehabilitation and the
reintroducing critically endangered species of the area into the wild.
26. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com
Katoghike Church11
The surviving church dates back to the 13th century. After the
1679 Yerevan earthquake, a large basilica named after the Holy
Mother of God was built between 1693 and 1695, in the
ancient Shahar district of Yerevan. It was founded on the
western side of the Katoghike chapel. It was built of typical
Armenian tufa stones and cement and was of the three-nave
basilica type with no dome. With its prayer hall measuring 14.0
x 19.3 meters, and an outside perimeter of 16.4 x 28.4 meters,
it was considered one of the most capacious churches of old
Yerevan.
In 1936, the basilica church of the Holy Mother of God was demolished under the Soviet rule to
make way for residential buildings at the Sayat-Nova Avenue. During the demolition, the 13th-
century chapel of Katoghike was discovered encased within the structure of the large basilica.
After protests from archaeologists, the chapel was preserved. Many old khachkars (cross-
stones) were found in the walls of the demolished church dating back to the 15th and 17th
centuries.