Vartanants Square ( ''Vartanants Hraparak'') or Vardanants Square, is the large central

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

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 ...

. It is bordered by 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). The square was known as ''

May Uprising The May Uprising () was a failed coup d'état by the Armenian Bolsheviks that started in Gyumri on May 10, 1920. It was eventually suppressed by the Armenian government on May 14 and its leaders executed or exiled. Although the revolt failed, Ar ...

Square'' (), named after the failed Bolshevik uprising against the

Dashnak The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tifl ...

government of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

in May 1920. The square was opened during the 1930s under

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rule, based on the original plan of

Alexander Tamanian Alexander Tamanian (; March 4, 1878 – February 20, 1936) was a Russian-born Armenian Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect, well known for his work in the city of Yerevan. Life and work Tamanian was born in the city of Yekaterinod ...

and the revised plan of D. Chislian.

Description

The square is decorated with several fountains with a memorial to the

Battle of Avarayr The Battle of Avarayr () was fought on 26 May 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is considered one of the first battles in defense of the Christian faith. ...

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 Hovsep ( (reformed); ( classical)) is Armenian for Joseph. Notable people with the name include: * Hovsep Arghutian (1863–1925), Armenian military commander and political activist * Hovsep Arghutian (1743–1801), Armenian archbishop * Hovsep A ...

, Ghevond Yerets, V. Mamikonian's mother and the prince

Arshavir II Kamsarakan __NOTOC__ Arshavir II Kamsarakan () was an Armenian prince from the Kamsarakan family. He was the son of Gazavon II, who immigrated to Sasanian-controlled Armenia following the Roman annexation of the western part of historic Armenia. Arshavir ...

. On 25 June 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

delivered a Holy Mass at the Vartanants Square. Catholicos of All Armenians

Garegin II Catholicos Garegin II (, also spelled Karekin; born 21 August 1951) is the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, since 1999. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox head of the World Cou ...

also took part in the ceremony.Pope Francis' Mass begins in Gyumri
/ref>

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.

Gallery

File:Gyumri Saint Vardan and the city hall.jpg, The city hall File:7 verq 3.JPG, Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God File:Գյումրու Կինոհոկտեմբեր թատրոն 0103.JPG, "October" cinema hall File:Holy Saviour Church, Gyumri.jpg, Church of the Holy Saviour File:Pope Francis, Gyumri 04.jpg, Holy mass by

at the square

References

{{Gyumri Buildings and structures in Gyumri Squares in Gyumri National squares