Концерн 'БАЙАЗЕТ'
Index  >  Travel Agency  >  Yerevan  >  Parks and Gardens

Republic Square (city center)

The architectural ensemble of Republic square was designed by A. Tamanyan. Conceived originally as an oval, later the shape of the square became more complex - a combination of an oval with a trapeze. There are five buildings creating the three-dimensional form of the square: the Government House, the House of Ministries, the “Armenia” hotel, the House of Unions and the Central Post-Office, and the building of the Museum complex. The construction of the square began in 1926.
The Government House (architect A. Tamanyan) was built as a polygon with an interior courtyard. One of the sides of the polygon is oval, with the main entrance facing the eastern part of the square. The layout of the building is well-planned and rational - the working rooms and offices are located on either side of the corridors, the lobbies connect the corridors with the meeting rooms thus creating a functional interior. The deep archways basing on powerful ceremonial semi-columns; the floor with a colonnade-balcony; the clock tower; the play of volume, light and shadow – these features make the front facade of the building look monumental and set the scale of the entire area.
On the western side of the square there is the House of Ministries (architects S. Safarian, V. Arevshatyan, and R. Israelian). Its scale, shape, silhouette, and overall height are in harmony with the Government House. The deep loggia on the ground floor serves as an entrance to a central bookstore.
The formation of the architectural ensemble of the square was completed in the fifties by building the “Armenia” hotel and the House of Unions with the simultaneous reconstruction of the Central Post-Office. The large archways as well as the subtle decor emphasize the individuality of these buildings. At the same time, there are defined architectural forms and indications of elevation. The Government House and the administrative building are divided. This decision helped divide the space into two symmetrical groups, enriched and strengthened the architectural expression of the entire ensemble.
The reconstruction of the Museum complex was necessary for two reasons – the first one is the urban development and the second one is the need to create sufficient space to house exhibits. The builders refocused the side facade into the main one, constructed the arcade area with a deep balcony and the main entrance – it gave the building a new architectural sound and united both sides of the ensemble.
In front of the Museum complex there is a large swimming pool with a fountain which emphasizes the oval part of the square. The water basin reflects the surrounding buildings, and the large water surface creates a permanent shade during the summer heat.
The former statue of V.I. Lenin (when Armenia regained its independence, the statue was brought down) is a starting point for a long shady boulevard intersected by Nalbandian and Shahumyan streets. Along the axis of the boulevard you will see a “carpet” made from 2750 small fountains symbolizing the anniversary of the city foundation celebrated in 1968. In the center of the boulevard there is the “Eternal Flame” (architect E. Sarapyan) in honor of those who fell to establish Soviet power in Armenia.
The boulevard ends ​​with Shaumyan square. Planned as rectangular, the square was built-up with​​public buildings, some of which have reached us from the 19th century. At the corner of the square and Marx street there is the Public Bank, in front of it - the building of the former City Council.
On the north-eastern side of the square there is a statue of S. Shaumyan, one of the leaders of Baku Commune (sculptor S. Merkurov, architect I. Zholtovsky). The monument combines sculptural and architectural forms and fits well with the ensemble of the square. At this location, up to 1930, there was a Russian soldiers’ Cathedral in memory of those soldiers who died for the liberation of Eastern Armenia and Yerevan from the Turks and Persians.

The “Cascade” (Moskovyan Street, at the monument to A.Tamanyan)

The “Cascade” is a monumental architectural composition created by A. Tamanyan. The project was executed by architects John Torosian, S. Gurzadyan, A. Mkhitaryan and designers E. Hakobyan and B. Geghamian.
The “Cascade” constructions are organically linked with Opera square, its horizontal segment, which is 200 meters long, starts at the monument to Alexander Tamanyan. The system of stairwells, fountains and flower beds through the slopes of Kanaker hills connects the central part of the city with the northern district.
The 8-meter escalators will raise you to the main viewing area of Yerevan. The absolute difference of heights from the first stage of the first escalator to the last stage of the last escalator is 100 meters. The length of the entire building is 500 meters, and the width is 50 meters.
At the square level there is an introductory hall, in which you can see all five levels of this composition.
At the first level, in the indoor patio, there is the triptych “Revival” by G. Handzhyan dedicated to the events of the national history.
At the second level you can see the bas-relief on the themes of the national epic “David of Sasun”, made by sculptor A. Hovsepian.
At the third level there is an Armenian hand-made carpet with ornaments and a plot based on the works of A. Kojoyan. There is also a sculpture of a dove. The third level also has a small patio with a narrow steep staircase that looks like an entrance to a medieval observatory. You can also see a stele with the words of the poet E. Charents, and a gilded sculpture of the goddess Anahit, the patroness of ancient Armenia, created by A. Shiraz.
The fourth level has a monumental painting by M. Saryan - the “Hayastan” (Armenia), painted for the Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The fifth level is a space closed with the rotunda with 15 columns that represent the historical past of Armenia. Fifteen fontanels at every level of the composition have the same meaning. The sundial symbolizes the infinite lifetime.
The House Museum of Aram Khachaturian is located at 250 meters from the monument to Alexander Tamanyan.

The Cableway (Nalbandyan and Charents Streets)

The cableway connects the Nork plateau with the city center. This is an interesting engineering construction that lets travelers get to the plateau 5 times faster than by the car. The cableway has two stations: one at the intersection of Nalbandian and Charents streets, the other - on the Nork plateau. The distance between the stations is 540 meters, the height difference - 109 m. The cable cars pass that distance for 2.5 minutes.

The Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden occupies 90 hectares in the north-eastern part of the city, along the highway Yerevan-Sevan, between the residential areas Nork and Zeitoun. The landscape of the garden relates to rocky sagebrush semi-deserts surrounding the Ararat plain.
The collection of trees and shrubs in the Botanical Garden has more than 1070 species, varieties and garden forms, and the flora of the Caucasus and the Crimea, North America, Europe, Siberia and East Asia.
In the garden the visitors can see the chestnut oak and the Crimean pine, the tulip tree from North America, the Polish larch, the Manchurian walnut and the Japanese Sophora.
In the collector’s greenhouse there are about 1,000 species of woody and herbaceous plants. There is a strong “grape” vine and a feijoa from the myrtle family with beautiful silvery-red flowers and fragrant edible fruit. Next to them there are avocados which are common in Central America because their fruits are rich in vitamins and fats. You can also see different types of blooming orchids from Japan and China, Mexico and the Himalayas that have bizarre shapes and unusual flavor.
In the collector’s rose garden there are more than 300 rose varieties belonging to 14 classes. For example, you can see such flowers as dark purple-red fragrant “Princess de Bearn,” “La France” with double silvery-pink flowers, pure white “Yvonne Rabier” with a strong odor, and, finally, precious “Zonder-Meldung” with bright fiery flowers.
For botanist-explorers visiting the Botanical Garden, there is a library with over 28,000 volumes. It offers literature on Armenian flora, plant taxonomy, geobotany, biochemistry and other disciplines. The Seed Laboratory has a rich seed exchange fund of Armenian flora. The laboratory keeps in touch with many botanical institutions in other states.

 

Cafe and restaurant

Artificial Stone Factory

Travel Agency

Armenian Heritage