Yerevan ....

The capital of the Republic of Armenia is Yerevan. Yerevan is located at a height of 850-1300 m. above sea level. The city center, Republic Square, is located at a height of 1000 m. above sea level. The climate in Yerevan is hot and dry in summer, winters are short here, but severe. Yerevan is the most ancient capital of the world. The date of the foundation of the city is conventionally considered 782 BC, when the Armenian king Argishti I founded Erebuni Fortress in the territory of Yerevan. With this respect, Yerevan is older than the Eternal City of Rome for 29 years. But an ancient town-settlement Shengavit, which is more than 6 thousand years old is also located in the territory of Yerevan. A man lived in Yerevan as early as tens of thousands of years ago. Traces of human activity of antiquity of 30 thousand years were revealed during the archaeological excavations in the cave not far from Yerevan Lake. The word Yerevan has derived from the words Ari and Avan, which means the settlement of the braves, the city of the braves. Yerevan has been the capital of Armenia since May 28, 1918. The population of the city is 1 million. 1100000 people as per to 2013. "By the grace of the God Khaldi, Argishti, son of Menua, built this mighty stronghold and proclaimed it Erebuni for the greatness of Biainili (Urartu) and to instill fear among the enemy countries. Argishti says: The land was a desert, great works I accomplished upon it”. In the 7th century BC, another Armenian king Rusa II, again in the territory of Yerevan, on the bank of the river Hrazdan built a fortress Teyshebiani, which was one of the most important defensive wall of Ararat kingdom and developed urban settlement. The kingdom of Armenian Ervanduni formed in the 7th century BC. The kings Ervanduni moved the administrative and urban center of Armenia to the Ararat valley and settled their capitals there: Armavir, Bagaran, Yervandashat ... Yerevan lost its importance as the administrative center, remained a large and prosperous settlement. In the 9th century, the counts Bagratouni built the fortress of Yerevan on the left, elevated bank of the river Hrazdan. The city continued flourishing during the era of Zakharyans. During the 13th-15th centuries, Yerevan beard because of the Turkish and Mongol invasions. And once a rich settlement became deserted. In 1441, the Armenian Patriarchate moved to Ararat valley from Cilicia and settled down in Echmiadzin. Ararat Valley again became the spiritual center of Armenia. This favored the fact that Yerevan became a gathering place for Armenians. For two centuries, since the 15th century till the 17th, Yerevan and Ararat valley became an apple of discord in the hands of the Turks and Persians. The city was once under the rule of one, and then - under the second. In the 18th century the Erivan khanate was formed. In 1828, the Russian forces and the Armenian voluntary military forces captured Yerevan and took Erivan khanate. In 1828-1840 the Armenian marz and later the state of Yerevan were formed. Getting rid of the Persian tyranny, Yerevan was quick to flourish. Schools, colleges, manufacturing enterprises opened in the city. The city grew and prospered. In 1881 the beer company of Yerevan was put into action, in 1887 the vodka, spirit and wine factory of Tayir, in 1892 the factory of mineral waters and syrups, in 1892 the factory of Afrikyan and Gyulazyan, and in 1894 the wine and cognac factory of Sarajev started their production . In 1890, the Russian manufacturer Shustov bought the Tayiryan factory and due to the essential investments he made, the production of cognac was multiplied. In 1988, the Alexandrapole-Kars railway and Alexandrapole-Yerevan railway were launched. In 1906, Yervan-Jugha railway was launched. The first hydro –station was started in Yerevan. The long-distance telephone and telegram communication was started here as well. In 1907, Yerevan got partly electrified and phonified. In 1912, drinking water was brought from Forty springs through drainage system. Electric trams and coaches were used in the city. New shops and hotels came to be opened in the city. In 1913, the first automobile entered the city of Yerevan. In 1913, the population of the city of Yerevan had already come up to 35.000. On May 28, 1918 was proclaimed the Republic of Armenia, and Yerevan became the capital of Armenia. The Armenian government, parliament and foreign diplomatic missions established in Yerevan. December 2, 1920 the RA was replaced by the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became part of the Soviet Union in 1922. Yerevan was the capital of the Armenian SSR. The prosperity and improvement of Yerevan is connected with the Soviet Socialist Republic years. The city underwent a process of industrialization. In 1924, the architect Alexander Tamanyan amounted the development project of Yerevan. According to the project of Yerevan, 600-700 thousand residents were to live in the Armenian capital. According to the project, the city is like the sun or the amphitheater. There is a square in the center, from which the streets (rays) output (emanate). The Circular Park surrounds the city center. Now there are 41 parks and gardens in Yerevan. There are two centers in Yerevan - large and small. Large center is the Republic square, where the government of the RA is located and the small one, which is the cultural center of the city. Yerevan has prospered and became more beautiful. Now it is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities of the world. In 1978, an important event happened in the life of Yerevan: the millionth inhabitant of the city was born. At that time, very few cities in the world had a population of 1 million inhabitants. The singing fountains were opened in the square, which were the second singing fountains in the world, after the fountains in Paris. Junior Chamber, Zvartnots airport, Yerevan Metro, Sports and Concert Complex were built... On September 21, 1991 was the day the independence of Armenia was proclaimed, and Yerevan became the capital of the Third Armenian Republic. Yerevan impresses visitors with its pink beauty and exquisite architectural taste even today. The sights of Armenia include the churches of St. Sarkis, St. Grigor Lusavorich (Gregory the Illuminator), the Blue Mosque, the History Museum of Armenia, National Gallery, the repository of ancient manuscripts Matenadaran, the memorial complex Tsitsernakaberd (Swallowfortress ), numerous museums and many others. There are 95 museums in the territory of the RA, 57 of which are located in Yerevan. Those include the house-museum of the painter Martiros Saryan, the museum of the poet Hovhannes Tumanyan, the museum of the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov. The memorial complex to the victims of genocide Tsitsernakaberd, Genocide Museum, Matenadaran after Mesrop Mashtots, the historical and archaeological Museum-Reserve Erebuni are also located in the territory of Yerevan. The pride of Yerevan is Erebuni museum, where the items discovered during the archaeological excavations of the fortress of Erebuni are exhibited. The museum of the Armenian Genocide is located in the territory of Tsitsernakaberd, where many documents, photographs and other items related to the genocide are exhibited. The History Museum of Armenia and the National Gallery of Armenia are located in the Republic Square. The Yerevan Museum of Modern Art is located on Mashtots Avenue. In April 2002, the Cafesjian Foundation of the USA opened "Cafesjian Museum Foundation" in Yerevan, in order to create a cultural center and museum of contemporary art. The RA provided territory and partly well-developed area of the Cascade to the Cafesjian Museum Foundation. Gerald Cafesjian passed his private collection of works of art to the museum.