Gyumri

Gyumri (Armenian: Գիւմրի) is the second largest city in Armenia and the capital of the Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. It is around 126 km north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 official estimate, the city had a population of 146,100, down from 150,917 reported at the 2001 official census.

Its name has been changed several times. It was first originally as Kumayri, then Alexandropol (Russian: Александрополь; Armenian: Ալեքսանդրապոլ) between 1837 and 1924, then Leninakan (Armenian: Լենինական; Russian: Ленинакан) between 1924 and 1990, then as Gyumri.

History

Ancient history

The region of Gyumri is mentioned as Kumayri in the historic Urartian inscriptions dating back to the 8th century BC. The first settlement at the location of modern-day Gyumri is believed to have been founded during the 5th century BC, ca. 401 BC, by Greek colonists.^[3] An alternative theory suggests that the city was founded by the Cimmerians, based on the fact that Cimmerians conquered the region in 720 BC and that the original name of the city was Kumayri, which bears phonetic resemblance to the word used by ancient Armenian in reference to Cimmerians.^[4] Historians believe that Xenophon passed through Gyumri during his return to the Black Sea, a journey immortalized in his Anabasis.

During the Middle Ages, Kumayri was known as a large and important settlement. According to the Armenian scholar Ghevond the Historian, the town was a centre of Armenian rebellion led by Artavazd Mamikonian against the Islamic Arab Caliphate, between 733 and 755.

Being controlled by several Turkic tribes and Persian dynasties, the town had lost its significance during the following centuries, until the beginning of the 19th century.

19th century

Gyumri and the surrounding territories became part of the Russian Empire after the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813). The Russians controlled over the town on 12 June 1804, around 25 years earlier than the rest of Eastern Armenia. During the period of the Russian rule, Gyumri became one of the developing cities in the Transcaucasus. In 1829, in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War, there was a big influx of Armenian population, as around 3,000 families who had migrated from territories in the Ottoman Empire -in particular from the towns of Kars, Erzurum, and Doğubeyazıt- settled in and around Gyumri. The Russian poet Alexander Pushkin visited Gyumri during his journey to Erzurum in 1829.

In 1837 Russian Tsar Nicholas I arrived in Gyumri and changed the name into Alexandropol. The name was chosen in honour of Tsar Nicholas I's wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, who had changed her name to Alexandra Fyodorovna after converting to Orthodox Christianity.

A major Russian fortress was built on the site in 1837. Alexandropol was finally formed as a town in 1840 to become the centre of the newly established Alexandropol Uyezd, experiencing rapid growth during its first decade. In 1849, the Alexandropol Uyezd became part of the Erivan Governorate. The town was an important outpost for the Imperial Russian armed forces in the Transcaucasus where their military barracks were established (e.g., at Poligons, Severski, Kazachi Post).

Alexandropol became one of the major centres of the Russian troops during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877â€"78. After the establishment of the railway station in Alexandropol in 1899, the town witnessed a significant growth, becoming the largest city in Eastern Armenia. By the end of the 19th century, Alexandropol was home to 430 shopping stores as well as several workshops and cultural institutions. The city was famous with its churches and gusans.

20th century and beyond

In 1902, the first bank in the city was opened. Until the sovietization of Armenia in 1920, Alexandropol had 31 manufacturing centres including beer, soap, textile, etc. After the October Revolution of 1917 and the Russian withdrawal from the South Caucasus, the Ottoman forces launched a new offensive capturing the city of Alexandropol on 11 May 1918, during the Caucasus Campaign in World War I. However, the Ottomans withdrew from the city on 24 December 1918, as a result of the Armistice of Mudros. On 10 May 1920, the local Bolshevik Armenians aided by the Musilim population, attempted a coup d'état in Alexandropol against the Dashnak government of Armenia. The uprising was suppressed by the Armenian government on May 14 and its leaders were executed. However, during the Turkish-Armenian War, Turkey attacked Alexandropol and occupied the city on 7 November 1920, as a result of the Battle of Alexandropol. After the battle, the Turkish forces were headquartered in Alexandropol. Turks presented the Republic of Armenia with an ultimatum that Armenians were forced to accept, otherwise Turkey would have invaded the capital Yerevan from their headquarters in Alexandropol. Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Alexandropol to stop the Turkish advance towards Yerevan, to put an end to the Turkish-Armenian War. However, the Turkish forces withdrew from Alexandropol after the Treaty of Kars in October 1921.

Being under the Soviet rule, the name of the city was changed in 1924 to Leninakan after the deceased Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. The city suffered an earthquake in 1926, when many of its significant buildings were destroyed including the Greek church of Saint George. Leninakan became a major industrial centre in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and its second-largest city, after the capital Yerevan. The city suffered major damage during the 1988 Spitak earthquake, which devastated many parts of the country. The earthquake occurred along a known thrust fault with a length of 60 kilometers (37 mi). Its strike was parallel to the Caucasus range and dipped to the north-northeast. Bruce Bolt, a seismologist and a professor of earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley, walked the fault scarp in 1992 and found that the vertical displacement measured 1 m (3 ft 3 in) along most of the length with the southwest end reaching 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in).

The earthquake had a disastrous impact on the city, as many buildings are still not recovered. According to Armenian government sources, around 3,500 residents of Gyumri remain homeless.

At the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, the city was renamed Kumayri between in 1990 until 1992 when it was finally given the name Gyumri. The Russian 102nd Military Base is located in the city.

Gyumri was celebrated as the Capital of Culture of the Commonwealth of Independent States for 2013. Major events took place in the city on 30 June 2013.

On January 12, 2015, Valery Permyakov, a serviceman from the Russian 102nd Military Base, murdered seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri.

Geography and climate

Gyumri is 126 km north of the capital Yerevan at the central part of the Shirak plateau. It has an approximate height of 1550 metres above sea level. The Akhurian River passes through the western suburbs. The Shirak plateau is surrounded with the Pambak Mountains from the east and Aragats volcanic range from the south. The city of Gyumri is 196 km away from the Black Sea. The surrounding lands of the city are reach with tuff, basalt and clay.

Gyumri has a semi-arid continental climate, characterized with cold and snowy winter where the minimum temperature could fall down to âˆ'41 °C (âˆ'42 °F). On the other hand, summer in Gyumri is relatively hot with temperatures could reach up to 36 °C (97 °F). The annual precipitation averages 500 millimetres (20 in). Climate of Gyumri is generally close to Minnesota and North Dakota.

Main sites

As an old town, Gyumri has a rich history and a unique style of architecture. Unfortunately, the city lost many of its historical and cultural buildings after the disastrous earthquake in December 1988.

Throughout the centuries Gyumri was labelled as the "city of trades and arts", famous for its schools, theaters, and gusans. In 1912, Gyumri was home to the first opera show ever staged in Armenia. It is also home to the first Armenian opera theatre opened in 1923.

Kumayri historic district

With more than a thousand buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the historic district of Kumayri represents the old part of Gyumri. The district is one of few places in the Republic of Armenia, and the world, with authentic urban Armenian architecture. Almost all the structures of the Kumayri district have survived two major earthquakes, in 1926 and 1988.

The historic district of Kumayri occupies the central part of modern-day Gyumri.

The archaeological excavations during the 20th century have shown that the area has been populated since at least the third millennium BC. Many graveyards and dwellings have been found. The first recorded mention of Kumayri is from 773 and describes the revolt against Arab domination led by prince Artavazd Mamikonian that resulted in the revival of Armenian statehood one century later.

During the reign of the Bagratuni kings of Armenia in the 10th century, Kumayri has developed into a well-built modern town to become a centre of trade for the entire region.

Sev Berd Fortress

Sev Berd (meaning "Black Sentry") is a Russian fortress in Gyumri dating to the 1830s. It is built on a hill, heavily armed and, in case of a siege, the site could accommodate 15,000 soldiers and officers. The monumental statue of Mother Armenia stands on an adjacent hill. The 102nd military division of the Russian Federation is stationed near another old Russian fortress known as Red Fort.

Churches

• Marmashen Monastery of the 10th century: located 6 km northwest of Gyumri.
• Church of the Holy Saviour or Surp Amenaprkich, constructed between 1859-1873: designed to resemble the Cathedral of Ani. The church was heavily damaged by the 1988 Spitak earthquake and is currently under reconstruction.
• Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God: also known as Seven Wounds of the Holy Mother of God, constructed between 1873-1884. Currently, it is the seat of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
• Surp Nshan or Holy Sign Church: built in 1870.
• Saint Nikolai the Wondeworker Russian Orthodox Church, also known as "Plplan Zham" (the Shimmering Chapel), built in 1879-1880.
• Saint Arsenije Russian Church of 1910, commonly known as the church of Kazachi Post.
• Saint Gregory the Illuminator's Church of Gyumri.
• Saint Jacob of Nisibis Church: or Surp Hakob Mtsbinetsi Church built in 2005.
• Cathedral of the Holy Cross of the Catholic Armenians (under construction).

Other sites

• Aslamazyan Sisters House-Museum built in the 1880s: home to more than 700 drawings, paintings and other works of the Soviet-era artists "Aslamazyan sisters".
• Dzitoghtsyan Museum of Social Life and National Architecture of Gyumri: an old mansion, housing collections related to both history and the everyday-life of Gyumri, as well as paintings and other works of art.
• Sergey Merkurov House-Museum.
• House-Museum of Avetik Isahakyan.
• House-Museum of Hovhannes Shiraz.
• House-Museum of Mher Mkrtchyan.
• The monumental statue of Mother Armenia erected in 1975.
• Vartanants Square, the central town square of Gyumri.
• Independence Square.
• Charles Aznavour Square.
• Garegin Nzhdeh Square.
• Gyumri Railway Station square.
• Gyumri Central Park, founded during the 1920s on the site of the old town cemetery.

The restoration process of the damaged buildings of Gyumri has been spearheaded by Earthwatch to preserve the city's unique architecture.

Economy

During the pre-Soviet era, Alexandropol was considered the third largest trade and cultural centre in Transcaucasia after Tiflis and Baku (Yerevan would not rise to prominence until being proclaimed as the capital of independent Armenia in 1918 and Armenian SSR in 1920). At the end of the 19th century, the population of Alexandropol has grown up to 32,100 inhabitants, with a majority of Armenians.

The economy of Gyumri is mostly depended on construction sector, tourism and banking services. Industry has a big share in the domestic product as well. The most important industrial activities are the production of building materials (tufa and basalt), yarn and textile manufacturing and food industries. Gyumri is home to the beer manufacturers Gyumri Brewery owned by the Sovrano company. The factory produces lager beer under the brands Gyumri and Ararat. The other beer producer in Gyumri is Aleksandrapol Brewery.

Transport

Air transportation

Gyumri is served by the international Shirak Airport, about 5 km to the southeast of the city centre. It was inaugurated in 1961 and is the second largest airport in Armenia. It has scheduled flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

At the beginning of 2006, the government of Armenia felt the importance of having a second international airport, when adverse weather conditions meant that many flights had to be diverted from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport into Gyumri's Shirak Airport. New air traffic control equipment allowed airport workers to identify planes in a 400 km radius.

Since 2007, the airport is operated by the Armenia International Airports CJSC, a company owned by the Argentine investor Eduardo Eurnekian's "Corporacion America". According to Artem Movsisian, head of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, "Corporacion America" will turn the Shirak Airport into a first-class facility. He said that the company has pledged to invest $10 million in 2007 to start modernization programme. In the upcoming years it will invest more to make the airport comply with international standards.

Being on top of high mountains, Shirak Airport is not a preferred destination for most air carriers.

Railway

The railway junction of Gyumri is the oldest and the largest one in Armenia. It was formed in 1897 and the first railway link to Alexandropol that connected the city with Tiflis was completed in 1899. The rail line was then extended from Alexandropol to Yerevan (in 1902), Kars (in 1902), Jolfa (in 1906), and Tabriz. As a result, Alexandropol became an important rail hub.

As of 2013, the Gyumri Railway Station operates regular trips to Yerevan and Batumi. The South Caucasus Railway CJSC, is the current operator of the railway sector in Armenia.

Education and religion

Gyumri has a large number of educational institutions. It is considered the main cultural and educational centre of northern Armenia. The city has the following higher educational centers:

• Gyumri State Pedagogical Institute named after Mikael Nalbandian
• Progress University
• Imastaser Anania Shirakatsi University
• Gyumri campus of State Engineering University of Armenia
• Gyumri campus of Armenian State University of Economics
• Gyumri campus of Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory
• Gyumri campus of Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts
• Gyumri campus of Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography
• Gyumri campus of European Regional Educational Academy
• Gyumri campus of Haybusak University of Yerevan

The city is home to 47 public education schools, 23 nursery schools and 7 special schools for music regularly operating in the city.

The majority of the population in Gyumri belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God (Sevene Wounds Cathedral) in Gyumri is the seat of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Church.

The Armenian Catholic Church has a tiny community in Armenia headed by the Eparchy of Armenia and Eastern Europe, based in Gyumri. There are around 16,000 Armenian Catholics in the Shirak Province. The seat of the eparchy is the Surp Khach Cathedral in Gyumri.

The presence of the small Russian Orthodox community along with the Russian military base personnel is marked with the church of Saint Nikolai the Wonderworker and the church of Saint Arsenije.

Sport

Gyumri has a major contribution in the sports life of Armenia. Many Olympic and world champion wrestlers, weightlifters and boxers are from Gyumri. The city is notable for its worldwide champions in individual sports, such as Robert Emmiyan in long jump, Yurik Vardanyan and Nazik Avdalyan in weightlifting and Ara Abrahamian in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The city is home to the Armenian football club Shirak F.C.. They play their home games at the Gyumri City Stadium, the oldest football stadium in Armenia, dating to 1924. Shirak are one of the most popular football teams in Armenia, having won the championship of the Armenian Premier League four times, with the most recent one in the 2012-13 season. Shirak have also won the Armenian Independence Cup once. The native of Gyumri and former Shirak player Artur Petrosyan is the all-time leading scorer for the Armenia national football team.

Aragats FC was the second football club that represented the city. However, the club was dissolved in 2002 due to financial difficulties.

The Gyumri Football Academy of the Football Federation of Armenia was opened on 13 September 2014. It is home to four natural-grass and two artificial turf regular-sized football training pitches.

Many special sport schools are serving the young generation of Gyumri such as the School of Gymnastics, the School of Athletics named after Robert Emmiyan, the School of Football named after Levon Ishtoyan and other special schools of boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, martial arts and chess.

Gyumri is a hometown to many former and current World, Olympic and European champions in several types of sports, including:

• Yurik Vardanyan, the seven-times world and the 1980 Olympic weightlifting champion in the -82.5 kg category.
• Robert Emmiyan, the 1986 European champion in long jump.
• Levon Julfalakyan, the 1986 world and 1988 Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling champion (74 kg).
• Mnatsakan Iskandaryan, the 1990 and 1991 world and 1992 Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling champion (68 kg).
• Israel Militosyan, the 1989 world and 1992 Olympic weigntlifting champion in the men's -67.5 kg category.
• Mkhitar Manukyan, the 1998 and 1999 World Greco-Roman Wrestling champion (62 kg).
• Meline Daluzyan, the 2007 and 2008 European weightlifting champion in the women's -63 kg category.
• Tigran Vardan Martirosyan, the 2008 European weightlifting champion in the -85 kg category.
• Nazik Avdalyan, the 2008 European and 2009 world weightlifting champion in the women's -69 kg category.
• Arsen Julfalakyan, the 2009 European and 2014 World Greco-Roman Wrestling champion (74 kg).
• Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, the 2010 world weightlifting champion in the men's -77 kg category.
• Artur Aleksanyan, the 2012 and 2013 European and 2014 World Greco-Roman Wrestling champion (96 kg).

Demographics

The population of Gyumri has gradually grown since 1840 after gaining the status of town. A huge decline of the population was due to the disastrous earthquake of 1988. The residents here have a distinct look and style, and a boundless pride in their city. Their own dialect is very close to Western Armenian.

Population and ethnic groups chart of Gyumri throughout the history:

^a Called Tatars prior to 1918

Culture

Gyumri is known as the 'city of crafts and arts'. It is the home town of popular Armenian poets and gusans Jivani, Avetik Isahakyan, Sheram and Hovhannes Shiraz.

The first opera performance in Armenia (Anoush by Armen Tigranian) took place in Alexandropol in 1912.

In 1865, an amateur theatre group in Gyumri performed H. Karinyan's "Shushanik". Vardan Ajemian State Drama Theatre was founded in 1928 in Gyumri. Prominent directors Ruben Simonov and Vardan Ajemian, actors Mher Mkrtchyan, Azat Sherents and Varduhi Varderesyan worked in theatre. The theatre's new building was opened in 1972. The artistic director is Nikolay Tsaturyan.

The people of Gyumri (gyumretsis) are famous for their sense of humor. Many of them, like Poloz Mukuch and Dzitro Alek are popular folklore characters.

Gyumri is known for its 19th century architecture and urban constructions.

The first printing house of Gyumri was founded in 1876 by G. Sanoyan and operated until 1918. It published literary works (including Avetik Isahakyan's first book), calendars, textbooks. Another printing house, Ayg (founded 1892), published historical books and the first periodical of Gyumri, Akhuryan.

Gyumri is home to the Gyumri Biennial, organized by the artist Azat Sargsyan and the Gyumri Centre of Contemporary Art (GCCA). Gyumri was officially declared Commonwealth of Independent States cultural capital in 2013.

Famous natives

International relations

Twin towns â€" sister cities

Gyumri is twinned with

• Alexandria, United States of America (since 1990)
• Ashfield, United Kingdom (since 1998)
• BiaÅ‚ystok, Poland (since 2013)
• Córdoba, Argentina (since 2002)
• Créteil, France (since 2009)
• Laval, Canada (since 2003)
• Mozdok, Russia (since 2011)
• Nardò, Italy (since 2009)
• Osasco, Brazil (since 2006)
• PiteÈ™ti, Romania (since 2012)
• Plovdiv, Bulgaria (since 2004)
• Thessaloniki, Greece (since 2000)
• Xi'an, China (since 2013).

See also

• List of Honorary Citizens of Gyumri

References

Footnotes

• ^ See: Encyclopædia Britannica
• Adrian Room, Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historical Sites, McFarland, 1997, ISBN 978-0-7864-1814-5 (pbk) p. 192
• ^ See http://www.gyumri.am/eng/history.html

External links

• Official municipality website
• Surp Amenaprkich cathedral in Gyumri