Lavasan ( fa, لواسان, also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

d as ''Lavāsān'') is an affluent town in

Shemiranat County Shemiranat County ( fa, شهرستان شمیرانات) is located in Tehran province, Iran. The capital of the county is Shemiran, which is part of the city of Tehran. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 37,778, in 11,178 househol ...

, Tehran Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. At the 2011 census, its population was 28,558, in 7,645 families. The

Jajrood River The Jajrud (Jājrūd), also spelled as Jajrood, Djadjéroud or Djaderoud, is a river in northern Iran that passes through the provinces of Mazandaran and Tehran. It flows south through the central Alborz mountain range. It is a tributary of the ...

flows through Lavasan. Situated 11 kilometers northeast of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

, Lavasan is known for its excellent weather and the luxurious mansions. The city is home to many upper-class and wealthy families.Its beautiful mountains attract lots of campers and cyclists from around the country. Some Iranians call it the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

or Switzerland of Tehran.

Geography

Lavasan is located 11 kilometres northeast of

on the slopes of

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs ...

with an area of 70 square kilometres. The city of Lavasan is the capital of

Lavasanat district Lavasanat District ( fa, بخش لواسانات) is a district (bakhsh) in Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 22,289, in 6,615 families. The administrative center of the district is Lavasan. The Dist ...

. Together with

Rudbar-e Qasran district Rudbar-e Qasran District ( fa, بخش رودبار قصران) is a district (bakhsh) in Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,489, in 4,563 families. The district has two cities: Fasham and Shemshak ...

and

Shemiran Shemirān ( fa, شمیران, , also Romanized as Shemīrān or Šemirân), also known as Shemirānāt ( fa, شمیرانات ) is the capital of Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran, but is actually located just north of the borders of Te ...

, it constitutes

in Tehran Province.

Etymology

The name of Lavasan is a

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

(Pahlavi) word which means "The Mount Blade of Sunrise" or "Mountaintop of Sunrise". It refers to

Mount Damavand Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of ...

that is located in the middle

Range in the east of Lavasanat District.

History

In the 19th century, during the

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م� ...

era, Lavasan was reportedly a large village, with some 500 houses and about 200 inhabitants. It became well known during the

war of the cities The War of the Cities was five series of air raids, missile attacks and artillery shellings on major cities and urban areas initiated by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Air Force, with the aim of disrupting the morale of Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. ...

when many people from

took refuge in the nearby towns such as Lavasan. The two most influential parts of Lavasan are Great Lavasan (Lavasan Bozorg) and Little Lavasan (Lavasan Koochak). While the Great Lavasan was more vibrant in the early 1950s due to its location as a trade hub, the Little Lavasan has become more populated in the past few decades. Until the construction of Road 59 (Chalous Road) and other routes to the North of Iran, Great Lavasan was a thriving city on a trade path between Tehran and the North of Iran with several prominent families owning and managing the Lar Karvansara in the (now nationalized) Lar National Park, and who were active in trades of rice and production of honey among other products, hence the name "Great Lavasan". In the early 1900s Great Lavasan was home to several affluent families and traders with many unique and thriving

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of la ...

. Currently Great Lavasan is less populated than the Little Lavasan due to more restricted construction regulations, as well as an influx of new residents moving to Little Lavasan from other cities. Great Lavasan has access from the Jajrood road while the Little Lavasan has access from behind the Latian Dam, their different areas include Saboo Bozorg, Saboo Koochak, Tork Mahale, Seied Paiz, etc. Under

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

, in the 1960s, a hydroelectric dam was built in the southeast of the village which is nowadays one of the water supplies of

People

The natives of Lavasan are of Caspian origin. The local dialect or "vernacular" spoken by its natives is a mix of Persian and

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea * Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian p ...

Notable residents

Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, یاسر هاشمی رفسنجانی; born 1971) is the youngest son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran. Biography In 1989, he graduated from Nikan High School in Tehran, which was funded by ...

* Ali Karimi *

Ali Parvin Ali Parvin ( fa, علی پروين ; born 25 September 1946) is a retired Iranian football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Iranian footballers. During his career, he has been associated mainly with Persepolis, p ...

Amin Hayaee Amin Hayai ( fa, امین حیایی, born June 9, 1970) is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorgh, three Hafez Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Honorary Diploma, in addition ...

Naser Houshmand Vaziri Nāser Houshmand Vaziri ( Persian: ناصر هوشمند وزیری; born 1946) is an Iranian sculptor. Biography Naser Houshmand Vaziri was born in 1946 in Hamedan, Pahlavi Iran. At the age of five he moved with his parents to Tehran. He con ...

lavasani genealogical tree presented in Ayatollah Sadeghi in Qum.

Climate

Lavasan has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-a ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''BSk'') with significant continental influences.

Gallery

Lavasan1.jpg Lavasan2.jpg Lavasan3.jpg

References

Sources

* Populated places in Shemiranat County Cities in Tehran Province {{Shemiranat-geo-stub