Gegharkunik (, ) is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

('' marz'') of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenians. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of

, bordering

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It includes the exclave of

Artsvashen Artsvashen () or Bashkend (; ) is a ''de jure'' Armenian village in the Chambarak Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is a exclave of Armenia, and is surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan, which has '' de facto'' occupi ...

, which has been under Azerbaijani occupation since the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

. With an area of , Gegharkunik is the largest province in Armenia. However, approximately 24% or of its territory is covered by

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

, the largest lake in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

and a major tourist attraction of the region. The Yerevan-Sevan-Dilijan republican highway runs through the province.

Etymology and symbols

The early Armenian history

Movses Khorenatsi Movses Khorenatsi ( 410–490s AD; , ) was a prominent Armenians, Armenian historian from late antiquity and the author of the ''History of Armenia (book), History of the Armenians''. Movses's ''History of the Armenians'' was the first attempt at ...

connected the name of Gegharkunik with Gegham, a 5th-generation descendant of the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation

Hayk Hayk (, ), also known as Hayk Nahapet (, , ), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the ''History of Armenia'' attributed to the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi and in the ''Primary History'' ...

. Gegham was the father of Sisak (founder of the

Siunia dynasty The Siuni or Siwni dynasty () was an ancient Armenians, ArmenianIn the west stretched the country called Siunia (in Armenian Siunik') whose rulers belonged to a special Armenian family of descendents of Sisak princely () dynasty which ruled the prov ...

) and Harma (grandfather of

Ara the Beautiful Ara the Handsome (or the Beautiful, ) is a legendary Armenians, Armenian hero and king. He is the son of the legendary king Aram and a descendant of the Armenian patriarch Hayk. Scholars believe that Ara, Aram and Hayk were originally deities who ...

). The

Gegham Mountains The Gegham mountains (or Gegham Ridge; ) are a range of mountains in Armenia. The range is a tableland-type watershed basin of Sevan Lake from east, inflows of rivers Araks and Hrazdan from north and west, Azat and Vedi rivers from south-west ...

and the Lake of Gegham (currently known as

) were also named after Gegham. The region of Gegharkunik has been connected to Uelikuni/Uelikuhi, attested in Urartian sources as one of the local "kingdoms" conquered by Urartu in the eighth century BCE. The word "Uel" is believed to be an early (

proto-Armenian Proto-Armenian is the earlier, unattested stage of the Armenian language which has been reconstructed by linguists. As Armenian is the only known language of its branch of the Indo-European languages, the comparative method cannot be used to re ...

) version of "Gegh" (proto-Indo European ''u'' corresponds with ''g'' in Armenian, ''l'' corresponds with the Armenian ''gh'').

Armenian gull __NOTOC__ The Armenian gull (''Larus armenicus'') is a large gull found in the Caucasus and the Middle East. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the European herring gull (''L. argentatus''), but is now generally considered to be a sepa ...

is the symbol of the province. It is depicted on the Gegharkunik coat of arms adopted on 4 May 2011, flying over the Lake Sevan and its peninsula, surrounded by the mountains of Sevan. The wheat ears on both sides of the coat of arms represent the agricultural characteristic of the province, while the opened book at the bottom represents the intellectual and cultural heritage of the region.

Geography

Gegharkunik Province occupies the east of the central part of modern-day Armenia. With an area of 5,349 km² (18% of total area of Armenia), it is ranked first among the provinces of Armenia in terms of the total area. Gegharkunik Province is situated at the east of modern-day Armenia, surrounding the Lake Sevan. Within Armenia, it borders

Tavush Province Tavush (, ) is a administrative divisions of Armenia, province of Armenia located at the northeast of Armenia, bordered by Georgia (country), Georgia from the north and Azerbaijan from the east. Internally, Tavush borders the Gegharkunik Province ...

to the north, Kotayk and Ararat provinces to the west and

Vayots Dzor Province Vayots Dzor (, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It covers an area of . With a ...

to the south. The Dashkasan, Gadabay and Kalbajar districts of

form the eastern border of the province. From 1993 to 2020, the province shared a border with the unrecognized

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

, when the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan was administered as the Shahumyan Province of Artsakh. The Armenian exclave of

in Gegharkunik Province is currently occupied and controlled by Azerbaijan. Gegharkunik has a mountainous landscape. Its territory is dominated by the

in the west, the Vardenis Mountains in the south, the Sevan Mountains in the east, the Miapor Mountains in the northeast and the Kenats Mountains in the north of the province. The height of the mountains ranges between 2500 and 3500 meters. Gegharkunik is separated from Vayots Dzor by the 82 kilometer-long Vardenis Mountains, where the highest point is Mount Vardenis at 3,522 meters. The highest point of the province is Mount Azhdahak of the Gegham Mountains with a height of 3597 meters in the western part of the range.

occupies the central part of the province, lying at a height of 1900 meters above sea level and covering an area of 1260 km² (around 23.5% of the area of Gegharkunik). The lake is the largest body of fresh water in Armenia and the entire

. With a volume of around 32.92 billion m³ of water, Sevan is of a major environmental importance for the entire region. Getik, Gavaraget and Masrik are the main rivers of the province. The climate of Gegharkunik is cold and snowy in winter, while the summer is characterized with warm and humid climate. The annual precipitation level ranges between 500 and 600 mm at below 2000 meters, while it may reach up to 1000 mm in the mountainous areas.

History

Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies the Gegharkunik and Sotk cantons of the Syunik province of Ancient Armenia, along with parts of Mazaz and Varazhnunik cantons of

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharsha ...

province. From 1930 until 1995, modern-day Gegharkunik was divided into 5

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

s within the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

: ''Sevan raion'', ''Kamo raion'', ''Krasnoselsk raion'', ''Martuni raion'' and ''Vardenis raion''. With the territorial administration reform of 1995, the 5 raions were merged to form the Gegharkunik Province. After the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

, the length of the province's border with Azerbaijan increased. Starting on 12 May 2021, Azerbaijani troops advanced into Gegharkunik province and established positions near the villages of

Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...

and Verin Shorzha, precipitating a border crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 25 May 2021, an Armenian soldier was killed by Azerbaijani fire in Gegharkunik, and two days later on 27 May, six Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces in Gegharkunik while carrying out engineering work near the border with Azerbaijan.

Demographics

Population

According to the

1989 Soviet census The 1989 Soviet census (), conducted between 12 and 19 January of that year, was the final census carried out in the Soviet Union. The census found the total population to be 286,730,819 inhabitants. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked as the third ...

, the Gegharkunik Province (then part of the Vardenis, Kamo, Krasnoselsk, Martuni, and Sevan districts in 1930–1995) had a population of 230,548. 58,185 or 25.24% of which was urban, distributed into the cities of Kamo (31,234) and Sevan (26,951), and 172,363 or 74.76% were rural, distributed into the districts of Vardenis (31,282), Kamo (30,555), Krasnoselsk (16,428), Martuni (75,866), and Sevan (18,232). According to the 2022 official census, Gegharkunik has a population of 209,669 (105,084 men and 104,585 women), forming around 7.1% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 65,667 (31.3%) and the rural is 144,002 (68.7%). The province has 5 urban and 87 rural communities. The largest urban community is the provincial centre of Sevan, with a population of 18,705. The other urban centres of are Gavar, Martuni, Vardenis and Chambarak. With a population of 9,880, the village of Vardenik is the largest rural municipality of Gegharkunik. Vardenik is also the largest rural community in Armenia.

Administrative divisions

Gegharkunik Province is currently divided into 5 municipalities or enlarged communities (''hamaynkner''). *''A cross denotes a town (urban settlement), otherwise, the settlements are villages (rural settlements).'' Rural communities and included settlements: * Akhpradzor * Akunk * Artsvanist * Astghadzor * Berdkunk *

Chkalovka Chkalovka () is a village in the Sevan Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Etymology The village was known as ''Aleksandrovka'' and ''Zeynalagali'' until 1946. History The village was founded by Russians who emigrated from ...

* Ddmashen * Dzoragyugh * Gandzak * Geghakar * Geghamasar Municipality, centre: Sotk ** Areguni **

Arpunk Arpunk (; ) is a village in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Three kilometers southeast of the village is a 15th-century church. The village was populated by Azerbaijanis before the Azerbaijanis in Armenia#Nagorno- ...

** Avazan **

Azat Azat (; plural ազատք ''azatkʿ'', collective ազատանի ''azatani'') was a class of Armenian nobility; the term came to designate the middle and lower nobility originally, in contrast to the '' naxarark'' who were the great lords. From ...

** Daranak ** Geghamabak ** Geghamasar ** Jaghatsadzor ** Kakhakn **

** Kutakan ** Norabak ** Pambak ** Pokr Masrik ** Shatjrek ** Shatvan ** Tretuk * Geghamavan * Gegharkunik * Geghhovit ** Lernahovit * Hayravank * Karchaghbyur * Karmirgyugh * Khachaghbyur * Lanjaghbyur * Lchap * Lchashen * Lchavan * Lichk * Lusakunk *

Madina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

* Makenis * Mets Masrik * Nerkin Getashen * Norakert * Norashen * Noratus * Sarukhan * Semyonovka * Shoghakat ** Aghberk ** Artanish ** Drakhtik ** Jil ** Tsapatagh * Torfavan * Tsaghkashen * Tsaghkunk * Tsakkar *

Tsovagyugh Tsovagyugh ( ) is a village in the Sevan Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. History The village contains church ruins, and upon an egg-shaped hill to the northeast are the remains of an Iron Age The Iron Age () is the ...

* Tsovasar * Tsovazard * Tsovak * Tsovinar * Vaghashen * Vanevan * Vardadzor * Vardenik * Varser * Verin Getashen * Yeranos * Zolakar * Zovaber In recent years, many rural settlements in Gegharkunik have been abandoned, such as the villages of Chapkut, Chichakli, Karakoyun, Karmirkharab, Kizilkharaba, Nshkhark and Zariver.

Culture

There are cultural palaces and many public libraries in the urban settlements of the province. A geological museum operates in Sevan on the basis of the Sevan Botanical Garden. Gavar is home to a history museum as well as drama theatre. The cuisine of Gavar is closely related with the oriental cuisine elements, characterized with various spices, vegetables, fish, and fruits combination. One of the famous sweets of the town is the ''Kyavar baklava'' which is a many-layered pastry with tissue-thin sheets of

phyllo Filo or phyllo is a very thin Leavening agent, unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and ''börek'' in Middle Eastern cuisine, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo ...

dough, filled with nuts and sugar and finished with a dousing of hot honey. The summer presidential residence of Armenia is located at the Sevan Peninsula.

Fortresses and archaeological sites

* Mount Azhdahak Petroglyphs: A great number of prehistoric petroglyphs have been found in the surroundings of Mount Azhdahak. Most images depict men in scenes of hunting and fighting, as well as astronomical bodies and phenomena: the Sun, the Moon, constellations, the stellar sky, lightning, and many others. * Lchashen Cyclopean Fortress: the site is home to an ancient settlement, a burial place and a cyclopean fortress dating back to the 4th millennium-7th century BC. * Sevsar Ancient Astronomical Observatory: at the western slopes of Mount Sevsar, dating back to the 3rd-1st millennia BC. Recent studies suggest the birthplace of the naming of the constellations and the creation of the zodiac is in the Armenian plateau. * Berdkunk Fortress of the 1st millennium BC * Teyseba archaeological site of the Urartian period, 8th century BC * Odzaberd fortress, 8th century BC * Noratus cemetery of the 10th century

Churches and monasteries

* Shoghagavank Monastery of the 5th century * Saint Thaddeus Church of Ddmashen, 7th century * Hatsarat Monastery of the 7th century *

Sevanavank Sevanavank (; meaning ''Sevan Monastery'') is a monastic complex located on a Sevan Island, peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan (city), Sevan. Initially the mon ...

monastic complex of the 9th century * Hayravank Monastery of the 9th century * Makenyats Vank monastic complex of the 9th century * Kotavank monastery of the Holy Mother of God, 9th century * Surp Hovhannes Church of Tsaghkashen, 9th century * Shoghagavank monastic complex of the 9th century * Vanevan Monastery, opened in 903

Media

Gegharkunik has four regional TV stations: * Zangak TV, based in Martuni, operating since 1996 * Kyavar TV, based in Gavar, operating since 1997 * Sevan TV (STV 1), based in Sevan, operating since 1999 * Geghama TV, based in Sevan, operating since 2010

Transportation

The province is connected with other parts of Armenia through the M-4, M-10 and M-14 Motorways. The M-11 Motorway that passes through Martuni and Vardenis connects the province with the town of Karvachar of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

. The Vardenis-

Martakert Martakert (, , also , ) or Aghdara ( ) is a town in the Aghdara District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Martakert Province. The villa ...

highway, the second highway connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, was opened in September 2017. Part of the highway came under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and currently cannot be used by Armenians. Sevan has a train station that connects the town with Yerevan through railway. The provincial centre Gavar has had an airstrip since the Soviet years, located to the north of the town.

Economy

Agriculture

The economy of Gegharkunik Province has a predominantly agricultural orientation, including farming and cattle-breeding. It has a share of 18% in the annual total agricultural product of Armenia. Around 65% (3,487 km²) of the total area of the province are

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

s, out of which 27.3% (951.5 km²) are ploughed. Around 60,000 farms in Gegharkunik are operated by the private sector. The main crops are potato and grains. Fishing and fish farming is also dominant in the province. Recently, beekeeping has significantly developed.

Industry

Generally, Gegharkunik has a poor industrial index with a small number of operating firms. Currently, the province has a contribution of only 2% in the annual total industrial product of Armenia. *The Sotk gold mine near Vardenis has one of the largest gold deposits in Armenia. It is owned and operated by the "GeoProMining Gold" company. After the

, half of the mine came under the control of Azerbaijan. The town of Vardenis is home to the "Samelon Vardenis Sea-Buckthorn Processing Plant" for alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, founded in 2000. It is also home to the "Gnel Khachatryan" plant for dairy products, as well as many small furniture manufacturing plants. *The town of Sevan is home to the beer manufacturers "Lihnitis Sevan Brewery" founded in 2007, with a variety of lager beer under the brand "Kellers". It is also home to the Sevan bread and bakery factory operating since 1947, as well as the Sevan Sugar Plant founded in 2003. The "Yerknain Manana" confectionery plant and the "Tuff-Granite" mining plant are also based in Sevan. *Gavar is home to the "Gavar Furniture Factory" since 1948, the "Sevan Mineral Water Plant" founded in 1953 (reopened in 2015), the "Aquatic LLC" for processed

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

founded in 2002, the "Kirakosyan" furniture factory founded in 2006, the "Shushan Production Cooperative" for soft drinks, "Artsrun and Sons" for dairy products in Martuni village, and the "Atast Food" in Verin Getashen. *Chambarak is home to the Chambarak Cheese Factory as well as the "La-Mar Stone Mining" plant. Martuni is home to the "Arev-1" bread factory (since 1995), and the "Golden Lens" coffee processing plant (since 1998). *The village of Karmirgyugh is home to the "Yengoyan" carpet factory founded in 1958 (privatized in 1996). The "Arax-2 Production Cooperative" for dairy products is operating in the village of Akunk since 1996. The "Tarzu-Levon" factory for soft drinks is operating in Dzovazard village since 1999. The "AMA Compressor LLC" for industrial equipment is operating in the village of Gagarin since 2003. The "Sahakyan LLC" smart systems manufacturers are operating in Ddmashen village since 2012.

Tourism

Tourism services in Gegharkunik are seasonal. The towns of Sevan, Chambarak and Martuni along with their surrounding beaches are a major summer destination for locals and foreigners with many hotels and resorts. The cultural heritage and the natural monuments of the region attract the tourists too. During the last decade, many new hotels and spa resorts were opened along the coast of

, including the Harsnaqar Hotel and Water Park, the Best Western Bohemian Resort Sevan, the Akhtamar Sevan Hotel, the Tufenkian Avan Marag Hotel of Tsapatagh, the Blue Sevan Rest-house near

, the Maria Resort Sevan and the Lavanda City cottages. In February 2011, the Sevan ropeway was opened at the north of the town, in the area known as "mashtotsner", on the way to

village. It has a length of 1,130 meters. Many forests of the province are listed among the protected areas of Armenia, including the Sevan National Park, the Getik Sanctuary, and the Juniper Woodlands Sanctuary of the mountains of Sevan. The Sevan Botanical Garden is also a major destination for the lovers of

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

Education

As of 2016, Gegharkunik Province has 126 public schools. Two major educational institutions currently operating in Gegharkunik are: *The Gavar State University was opened in 1993 after the independence of Armenia. With its five faculties the university is a major educational centre for the entire province of Gegharkunik. It provides degrees in philology, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Economics and Education. Now more than 2,400 students are attending the university. *The Vaskenian Theological Academy on the Sevan peninsula is a leading institution of theological studies, Armenian literature, history, art, liturgy and traditions of the Armenian Church.

Sport

During the brief summer of the region, Sevan and the nearby beaches tun into a popular beach resort. Many professionals and amateurs visit the region to practice their favourite types of sports including

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

. The defunct football teams of

FC Akhtamar FC Akhtamar (), is a defunct Armenian football club from Sevan, Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegh ...

Sevan and Lernagorts Vardenis FC represented the province at the domestic competitions during the 1990s. Alashkert FC represented town of Martuni between 1990 and 2000 before being relocated to Yerevan. There are football stadiums with small seating capacities in Sevan, Martuni, Vardenis and the village of Lchashen.

People

Natives of the province include: * Ivan Gevorkian (1907–1989), Soviet-Armenian surgeon and scientist * Vram Dovlatyan (1923–2005), Armenian chemist * Frunze Dovlatyan (1927–1997), film director, actor and screenwriter. * Hranush Hakobyan (1954–), politician and former minister of diaspora. * Arsen Grigoryan (1982–), Armenian singer and actor.

References

External links

Gegharkunik Marz Tourist Guide

Gegharkunik district
{{Authority control Provinces of Armenia