Vartanants Square

Vartanants Square (Armenian: Վարդանանց Հրապարակ Vartanants Hraparak) or Vardanants Square, is the large central town square in Gyumri, Armenia. It is bordered by the Abovyan street from the west, Gai street from the north, Shahumyan street from the east and Vahan Cheraz street from the south. It has a rectangular shape (280 by 140 meters).

Vartanants Square
Native name
Armenian: Վարդանանց Հրապարակ
The equestrian statue of Vartan Mamikonian and Gyumri City Hall at the Vartanants Square
LocationGyumri, Armenia
Area39,200 m²
Built1930s (completed)
Architectural style(s)mix of Armenian, Russian and neoclassical
Governing bodyGyumri City Council

The square was known as the May Uprising Square (Armenian: Մայիսյան Ապստամբության հրապարակ), named after the failed Bolshevik uprising against the Dashnak government of the First Republic of Armenia in May 1920.[1] The square was opened during the 1930s under the Soviet rule, based on the original plan of Alexander Tamanian and the revised plan of D. Chislian.

Description
Memorial to the Battle of Avarayr

The square is decorated with several fountains with a memorial to the Battle of Avarayr at the central part. The memorial was erected in 2008 and includes a group of historic Armenian figures who led the Armenian army's campaign against Sassanid Persia. The equestrian statue of Vartan Mamikonian is erected at the centre of the memorial. The other four statues depict the Catholicos Hovsep I of Armenia, Ghevond Yerets, V. Mamikonian's mother and the prince Arshavir II Kamsarakan.[2]

On 25 June 2016, Pope Francis delivered a Holy Mass at the Vartanants Square. Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II also took part in the ceremony.[3]

Buildings around the square

The square is surrounded with many significant buildings:

  • The Gyumri City Hall built in 1933, occupies the eastern side.
  • The 19th-century Church of the Holy Saviour to the south of the square.
  • The 19th-century Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God north and the "October" cinema hall of 1926, on the northern side.
  • A hotel built in 1927 on the western edge of the square.
  • Vartanants Square
  • The city hall
  • Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God
  • "October" cinema hall
  • Church of the Holy Saviour
  • Holly mass by Pope Francis at the square
Panoramic view of Vartanants Square

References
  1. Tsypylma Darieva; Wolfgang Kaschuba; Melanie Krebs (2011). Urban Spaces After Socialism: Ethnographies of Public Places in Eurasian Cities. Frankfurt am Main: Campus. p. 70. ISBN 9783593393841.
  2. Gyumri square
  3. Pope Francis' Mass begins in Gyumri

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