Attractions
CASCADE YEREVAN
Address: 1/1 Nalbandyan Street, Yerevan, Armenia .Locals call this whole area the "Cascade''. Some spectacular works of contemporary art are on display here in the open air. The windows of some of the priciest apartments in Yerevan overlook the sculptures that many cities would dream to have adorning their streets. The Cascade starts at Moskovyan Street, just behind the basalt statue of Alexander Tamanyan, the most prominent Yerevan architect (by sculptor Artush Hovsepyan, 1974). The first thing to catch your eye in the Cafesjian "sculpture garden" is a human figure made of the letters of the Latin alphabet. This sculpture, called “The Shadows’’ is by Spanish artist Jaume Plenza. If you peer through the letters, you'll see a few sculptures of faceless geometric human figures, by the British artist Lynn Chadwick. Two of these figures (called "Stairs’’) stand on the stairs to the right of the Tamanyan statue, and opposite them another couple (“Sitting Figures’’) sit with their arms around each. "The Shadows' " is not the only one of Jaume Plenza's creations that graces the Cascade. "Sitting Tattoo" is on the last level of the hill, at the base of the slope of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. You can examine all the rivers of the world on this sculpture. There is another category of sculptures inhabiting this park, those belonging to the hare species: "Hare on a Bell'', "Boxing Hare on Anvil," and "Acrobat Hares" by Barry Flanagan.
When it's warm out, the park benches and open-air cafes are rarely empty.
"Roman Warrior" by Ferna Botero, the most prominent Latin American sculptor. As they pass, girls modestly look away, and boys smirk because the robust build warrior is naked.
You will be greeted by an elephant's trunk peeping out of a circus tent. This fun piece is by Jim Unsworth. Here you will see Lynn Chadwick’s “Observers", who, though eyeless, see everything.
On the right, there is a color-coded billboard that is regularly updated by the curators of the Art Center. The orange panel, for example, advertises jazz concerts, the blue o is for classical music concerts, the red one is about the "Meetings with a series, and the yellow one is for tours of the park and gallery.
Just behind the billboard, you'll find the entrance to the Museum of Russian Art. This two-story building used to be a fashion house, but nowadays, it is home to a collection of pieces by the greatest masters of Russian painting. They were collected by Aram Abrahamyan. A physician and professor who lived in Moscow, he gave the pieces as a gift to his motherland.
To get to the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, pass by "The Antelope" by Sarraj Gukh which is leaping over the lawn, grotesque bronze "Cat" by Botero and the nimble, little metallic horse Martin Lowe. The beautifully laid out open-air exhibit comes to an end at the foot of the complex, straight at the complex itself.
The entrance to the Center for the Arts is on the left. It works the following days and hours:
Tue, Wed, Thu (10 am-6 pm)
Fri, Sat, Sun (10 am-8 pm)
There are 15 small fountains here. Designed to look like medieval sundials, they are carved on every open terrace of the Cascade.
One of the elements of the design is richly ornamented: it symbolizes Van, where head architect Jim Torosyan is from. Every square of the Cascade is unique. All along the massive complex you’ll never find two identical bas-reliefs.
The only thing that unites them is their national symbols: figures of doves, grapes, and pomegranates.
If you look through the glass galleries on the first floor, you'll catch a glimpse of some of the priceless exhibitions within this complex, under the stone stairs of the Cascade, which have gained the status of “national treasures" since 2009. And in fact, you can visit the glass exhibit, situated just behind the museum shop, for free. On the right wall, there is a sculpture by famous American glass artist Dale Chihuli from his “Persian Series". His works adorn the doorway and ceiling in the Special Events Auditorium on the last floor. Visitors to the Cascade who have been to Las Vegas may recognize the handwriting of the master who has designed the Bellagio Casino. There is another hall that is open to the general public on the second floor of the Center, where everyone can enjoy Grigor Khanjyan's monumental triptych-mural “The Creation of the Armenian Alphabet" (5.8 m to 5.7 m), "The Battle of Avarayr'' (5.8 m to 6.7 m) and “The Revival" (5.8m to 4.7m). Gerard Cafeisjian has decided that all pieces in his center that are treasures of the Armenian national heritage should be open to everybody. The large Khanjyan Hall is quiet and cool. Thick blinds secure the panorama windows to prevent sunshine from destroying the works of art. It is unbelievable that the third part of the triptych was painted by Khanjyan at the beginning of the 1990s when the newly independent Republic had so many issues to deal with besides fine art. Inspired by Siqueiros' monumental paintings, the artist would come to the abandoned site area day after day, humbly correct the fragments of the mural that were damaged by vandals, and create pieces of art.
You can cross the terrace to the park hall, where the works of Czech sculptor and animalist Ivana Shramkova are displayed, to take part in free educational workshops called “Creation and Imagination’’.
You can take the elevator to get from the fourth floor to the hall where the monumental glass sculptures by the Czech duo Libensky and Brychtova are displayed. There are two inclined, flame-colored thrones that are intentionally hard to sit on. They were created at the end of the 1980s when the socialist countries were caught in turmoil. A green pyramid influenced by the art of the ancient Aztecs, a T-formed hollow space and the imprints of an angel can be seen at the back of a sculpture. At the escalator exit vou can check out the first deluxe model Subaru, covered in silver and created by the genius of design, Giugiaro.
Then you can go out to the terrace and enter the "collector's inner world" The first thing you'll notice is a 1904 Ford, a perfectly preserved retro car with gas lights and a horn that must have frightened inattentive pedestrians at the beginning of the last century. The hall also displays a model of “The Corsar," the ship on which Gerard Cafesjian served during World War II and where the future billionaire and philanthropist lost his left eye. A portico that was used to decorate one of the pavilions at the World Expo of 1889 in Paris, is among other treasures of the collection.
In the Eagle Hall on the sixth floor, unlike the other galleries of the Center, the exhibitions are not permanent. When it first opened, the works of Arshile Gorky (Vostanik Adoyan, the Armenian-American founder of abstract expressionism) from Cafesjian's collection were displayed here. The open terrace of the seventh floor has a sculpture of a group of three divers by British artist Mark Voller. Snow-white khachkars (cross stones) are located a little lower. There are two halls on the last floor of the complex: the elegant Swarovski Gallery, which sparkles with brilliant decorative items from the New York architectural studio, Diller Scofidio & Renfro; and a comfortable Special Events Auditorium where every evening, you can enjoy the breathtaking view of Yerevan.
A 56-meter tall obelisk, built in 1971, crowns the white stairs of the Cascade. It was constructed to honor the 50th anniversary of Soviet rule in Armenia and was called “The Revived Armenia." It symbolizes the statehood that the Armenians have obtained after being deprived of it for many centuries. This Soviet monument is decorated with Urartu symbols, and the bottom of the obelisk bears a sun disk, an ancient Armenian eternity symbol. You can climb to the top of the hill via the steps stairs or by the underground escalators free of charge. Generally, it is better to walk down the Cascade which has a 15 degree inclination, and an absolute height of 127 meters.
The open terraces let you enjoy an awesome panorama of the city especially in the morning and a postcard view of majestic Mount Ararat as a backdrop to the brown, grey, and red roofs of old Yerevan and the modern skyscrapers built in the last decade.
MOTHER ARMENIA STATUE
Address: 2 Azatutyan Avenue, Yerevan, Armenia .The current statue replaced a monumental statue of General Secretary Joseph Stalin that was created as a victory memorial for World War II. During Stalin's government of the Soviet Union, Grigor Harutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party's Central Committee, and members of the government oversaw the construction of the monument which was completed and unveiled to the people on November 29, 1950.[1] The statue was considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Sergey Merkurov. It was one of the last important Stalin monuments still standing. Vasily Grossman found the statue to be one of the finest monuments of his time.[2]
The pedestal was designed by architect Rafayel Israyelian. Realizing that occupying a pedestal can be a short-term honour, Israyelian designed the pedestal to resemble a three-nave basilica Armenian church, as he confessed many years later "Knowing that the glory of dictators is temporary, I have built a simple three-nave Armenian basilica".[3] In contrast to the right-angled shapes of the external view, the interior is light and pleasing to the eye and resembled Echmiadzin's seventh-century St. Hripsime Church.
In spring 1962, the statue of Stalin was removed, with one soldier being killed and many injured during the process, and in 1967, the statue of Mother Armenia, designed by Ara Harutyunyan, was installed in its place.[1]
The prototype of "Mother Armenia" was a 17-year-old girl Genya Muradian. Ara Harutyunyan met her at a store and persuaded her to pose for the sculpture.[4]
"Mother Armenia" has a height of 22 metres (72 ft), thus making the overall height of the monument 51 metres (167 ft), including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.[5]
REPUBLIC SQUARE
Address: Abovyan Street, Yerevan, Armenia .Republic Square (Armenian: Հանրապետության հրապարակ, Hanrapetut′yan hraparak, known locally as Hraparak [həɾɑpɑˈɾɑk] ⓘ, "the square")[6][7] is the central town square in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It consists of two sections: an oval roundabout and a trapezoid-shaped section which contains a pool with musical fountains. The square is surrounded by five major buildings built in pink and yellow tuff in the neoclassical style with extensive use of Armenian motifs.[8][9] This architectural ensemble includes the Government House, the History Museum and the National Gallery, Armenia Marriott Hotel and two buildings that formerly housed the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Communications. The square was originally designed by Alexander Tamanian in 1924.[10][5] The construction of most of the buildings was completed by the 1950s; the last building—the National Gallery—was completed in 1977.[2]
During the Soviet period it was called Lenin Square and a statue of Vladimir Lenin stood at the square. Soviet parades and celebrations were held twice (originally thrice) a year until 1988. After Armenia's independence, Lenin's statue was removed and the square was renamed.[11] It has been described as Yerevan's "architectural highlight"[12] and the city's "most outstanding architectural ensemble".[13] As Armenia's and the city's "most important civic space",[14] Republic Square was the main site of demonstrations during the 2018 Velvet Revolution.
Architecture
Republic Square consists of two sections: an oval roundabout with a stone pattern in its center designed to look like a traditional Armenian rug, and a trapezoid-shaped section containing the musical fountain, in front of the History Museum and the National Gallery.[3] The buildings around the square are made of pink and yellow tuff stones, fortified on a basalt-made base.
Its architecture has been well acclaimed. Leonid Volynsky opined in 1963 that any capital could be proud of such a square, with its "integrity and magnitude, its cheerful resonance, its uniqueness."[15] Travel writer Deirdre Holding suggested in 2014 that it is "certainly one of the finest central squares created anywhere in the world during the 20th century."[16]
OPERA SQUARE /HOUSE
Address: 54 Tumanyan Street, Yerevan, Armenia .Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Alexander Spendiaryan has become one of the cultural symbols of our country. It is not coincidental at all that for decades Armenia’s head theater was trusted the honorable and responsible duty to represent our country in different corners of the world. There are also internationally well-known artists that frequently get on stage of the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. An importance is given to artists that are by origin Armenian. The theater also gives special place to symphonic and chamber nights, which gives the opportunity to the spectator to get in touch with the best creations of the international musical treasury."
National Assembly of Armenia
Address: 19 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, Yerevan, Armenia .Several government offices are located on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, including the National Assembly at 19 Baghramyan Avenue and the Security Council of Armenia at 24 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue. Other government entities and offices are also situated along this major street, which is known for hosting numerous government buildings.
- National Assembly of Armenia: Located at 19 Baghramyan Avenue, this is the parliament building.
- Security Council of Armenia: Found at 24 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, this is a high-level decision-making defense and law enforcement body.
- Other government buildings: Other government offices and foreign diplomatic missions are also located on Baghramyan Avenue, making it a prominent area for government activity.
