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Yerevan, Armenia

City flag	City seal
Population	1,088,300 (2004 est.)
Established	782 BC
Time zone	GMT +4
Mayor	Yervand Zakharyan
45°30′N 73°40′W
Official website
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Yerevan (Armenian: Երեւան or Երևան; sometimes written as Erevan; former names include Erivan and Erebuni) (population: 1,088,300 (2004 estimate) [1]) is one of the provinces in Armenia and the largest city and capital of Armenia. It is situated on the Hrazdan River, at 40°10′N 44°31′E. Yerevan is over 2,780 years old, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.

Contents 1 History 2 Culture 2.1 Development 3 City districts 4 Sister cities 5 Education 5.1 Universities 6 Notable people 7 Constructions 8 See also 9 External links

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that an Urartian military fortress called Erebuni (Էրեբունի) was founded in 782 BC by the orders of King Argistis I at the site of current-day Yerevan, to serve as a fort/citadel guarding against barbarian attacks from the north Caucasus, thus making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Since then the site has been strategically important as a crossroads for the caravan routes passing between Europe and India. It has been called Yerevan since at least the 7th century A.D., when it was the capital of Armenia under Persian rule.

Due to its strategic significance, Yerevan was constantly fought over and passed back and forth between the dominion of Persia and the Ottomans for centuries. In 1827 it was taken by Russia and formally ceded by the Persians in 1828. After the 1917 Russian revolution it enjoyed three years as the capital of independent Armenia, and in 1920 became the capital of the newly formed Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yerevan became the capital of the independent Republic of Armenia in 1991.

Culture

Yerevan is a leading industrial, cultural, and scientific centre in the Caucasus region. As a centre of Armenian culture, Yerevan is the site of Yerevan State University (1920), the Armenian Academy of Sciences, a historical museum, an opera house, a music conservatory and several technical institutes. The Matenadaran archives hold a rich collection of valuable ancient Armenian, Greek, Syrian, Hebrew, Roman and Persian manuscripts. Yerevan has several large public libraries, a number of museums and theaters, botanical gardens and zoos. It is also at the heart of an extensive rail network and is a major trading centre for agricultural products. In addition, industries in the city produce metals, machine tools, electrical equipment, chemicals, textiles and food products.

Two major tourist attractions are the ruins of an Urartu fortress and a Roman fortress. The Zvartnots Airport serves Yerevan. The Armenia Marriott Hotel is situated in the heart of the city at Republic Square (also known as Hraparak).

Development

Recently, Yerevan has been undergoing an ambitious redevelopment process in which old Soviet-style apartments and buildings are being demolished and replaced with modern buildings. However, this urban renewal plan has been met with opposition and criticismfrom some residents.

City districts

Yerevan is divided into several district communities, each designated with an elected community leader.

• Ajapnyak District
• Arabkir District
• Avan District
• Davtashen District
• Erebuni District
• Kentron District
• Malatia-Sebastia District
• Nor-Nork District
• Nork-Marash District
• Nubarashen District
• Qanaqer-Zeytun District
• Shengavit District

Sister cities

Currently, Yerevan has 25 sister cities.

• Antananarivo, Madagascar
• Athens, Greece
• Beirut, Lebanon
• Bratislava, Slovakia
• Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• Carrara, Italy
• Chişinău, Moldova
• Damascus, Syria
• Florence, Italy
• Isfahan, Iran
• Kyiv, Ukraine
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Lyon, France
• Marseilles, France
• Miensk, Belarus
• Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Moscow, Russia
• Odessa, Ukraine
• Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro
• Rostov-on-Don, Russia
• Saint Petersburg, Russia
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Stavropol, Russia
• Tbilisi, Georgia
• Volgograd, Russia

Education

Universities

Universities in Yerevan include:

• Yerevan State University
• Yerevan State Medical University
• State Engineering University of Armenia
• Yerevan Physics Institute

Notable people

Notable people who are from or have resided in Yerevan:

• Vladimir Akopian, chess player
• Levon Aronian, chess player
• Gevorg Emin, poet
• Alexander Arutiunian, composer
• Djivan Gasparyan, composer
• Shavo Odadjian, bassist for System of a Down
• Sergei Parajanov, film director
• Sargis Sargsian, tennis player
• Alexander Shirvanzade, writer
• Robert Kocharyan, current president of Armenia
• Levon Ter-Petrosyan, president of Armenia from 1991-1998

Constructions

• TV Tower Yerevan

See also

• Radio Yerevan

External links

• - Online News From Armenia. Edited by John Hughes.
• Yerevan.ru - The capital of Armenia online (Russian)
• Yerevan article on Armeniapedia
• Yerevan article on Cilicia.com
• Armenia Info Yerevan page
• The Yerevan Metro system
• Interactive CD - Yerevan Virtual

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