Monuments of Yerevan
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Yerevan is made up of a multitude of parks, gardens, statues, buildings and other monuments. This article presents some of the principal monuments of Yerevan.
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[edit] Armenian Genocide Memorial
There is an Armenian Genocide memorial in Yerevan that is located on a hill to the west overlooking the city called Tsitsernakapert. Its construction started in 1966 after 1 million Armenians demonstrated in Yerevan on the 50th anniversary of the genocide. The construction of the monument was completed in 1968.
It is made up of a 44 meter high stela, 12 inclined slabs made of granite that are positioned in a circle, an eternal flame located in the middle of the circle, a 100 meter high wall with inscriptions of the names Armenian towns and villages where massacres are known to have taken place, a museum and a park.
Every year on April 24, thousands of Armenians from Armenia and around the world commemorate the anniversary of the genocide by laying flowers around the eternal flame.
In addition, there is also another genocide memorial in Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
 The eternal flame. |
 The wall with inscriptions of historic Armenian villages. |
[edit] Republic Square
The Republic square is the central area of the capital and is one of the principal festivity places and of gatherings. The architecht Alexander Tamanian had already during his time drawn out the plans for this square but construction did not finish until the 1970s. There is a museum of history in the area.
 The square at night. |
 Republic Square. |
 Republic Square. |
 History museum of Armenia. |
[edit] Armenian Opera Theater
The Armenian Opera Theater is the main spectacle hall of the Armenian capital. It possesses the Aram Khatchaturian concert hall, the national theatre of opera and the Alexander Spendiarian ballet.
Like most of modern-day Yerevan, this building was on the blueprints of Alexander Tamanian since the 1920s. Alongside Republic square, it is the main location of Yerevan's fesitivites.
 Armenian Opera Theater. |
 Armenian Opera Theater. |
 Liberty square. |
 The opera at night. |
[edit] Cascades
Created in the 1970s as a simple ornimental work, the Cascades has been revived and given more attention with the fall of the Soviet Union. The privatisation of the monument has led to the emergence of several projects, notably its restoration, the construction of a contemporary art museum, several real estate projects etc. In addition, the Cascades is sometimes used like an outdoor concert hall as was the case in 2006 with the Armenian Navy Band's concert there.
 View from the Cascades. |
 View from the Cascades. |
 Barry Flanagan statue. |
 Fernando Botero statue. |
[edit] Mother Armenia
The Mother Armenia monument is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan. Its construction started in 1950 alongside a statue of Joseph Stalin. After the death of the latter, his statue was removed and replaced in 1967 by the Mother Armenia monument.
Inside the 50 metre tall pedestal is the Mother Armenia Museum of the Ministry of Defense. When first built, it was a military museum containing exhibits about World War II. Now a large proportion of the exhibition space is devoted to the Nagorno-Karabakh War. The 23 meter high statue represents a female warrior armed with a sword, overlooking the entire city.
 Mother Armenia monument. |
 Mother Armenia statue. |
 Mother Armenia monument. |
[edit] Matenadaran
The Matenadaran Mesrop Mashtots of ancient manuscripts is one of the richest libraries in books and manuscripts in the world. It has 17,000 manuscripts with some of them dating from 405, the year that Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet.
Founded in 1959 in order to preserve and maintain ancient manuscripts, it is located in Mashtots avenue.
 The Matenadaran from Mashtots Avenue. Machtots. |
 Mashdots' statue. |
 Mashdots Avenue. |
 One of the manuscripts in the Matenadaran. |
[edit] Erebuni Fortress
This ancient fortress constructed in 8th century BC by Urartian kings Argishti I and Sarduri II, is regarded as the birthplace of Yerevan. It is located in the southeastern neighborhoods of the city.
 Erebuni. |
 Maquette of the Erebuni fortress. |
[edit] Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral
Finished in 2001, the massive cathedral was constructed on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's adoption of Christianty as state religion in 301. It is sometimes also nicknamed the Anniversary church.
 Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral. |
 Aerial view. |
 Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral. |
 Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral. |
 Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral. |
 Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral. |
[edit] Blue Mosque
The blue mosque Gök Jami is the last left of eight mosques that have been constructed in the Armenian capital. It was built in 1766 during the reign of Hussein Ali. In 1952, it was turned into a planetarium but was restored and re-opened during the mid-1990s.
 Blue Mosque of Yerevan. |
 19th century picture of the Blue Mosque. |
[edit] Television Tower
The television tower is a 311.7 metre high lattice tower on Nork Hill in Yerevan. It is 311.7 meters high and was built from 1974 to 1977 as a replacement for the old 180-meter high TV tower.
Currently being the highest point in the city, it is one of the highest towers in the world.
 Yerevan TV Tower. |
 Yerevan TV Tower. |
