Vanadzor, Armenia. Tours, Hotels and prices. Reviews from tourists. Excursions and attractions. Travel photos and videos

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Vanadzor

Armenia

About Vanadzor

Vanadzor (Armenian: Վանաձոր; formerly, Karaklis, Karakilisa, Kirowakan) is the third-largest city in Armenia and the capital of the Lori Province. It was previously known as Kirovakan (after Sergey Kirov) during the Soviet era and as Karakilisa which means black church, destroyed in in 1828 and rebuilt in 1831. The city is considered to be one of the most picturesque in the entire country.
Vanadzor is located 145 km by the highway and 224 km by railway north of Yerevan and 64 km east of Gyumri.
At an altitude of 1424 meters , the city is built next to the valley of Pambak river and is surrounded by mountains that have an altitude of over 2500 meters. To the south and east, they are densely forested while to the north and west, they are more dry and often only covered by bushes and plants.

Nature

The convenient geographical position and abundance of mineral waters brought it a glory of the resort city. The basic medical-improving establishments (sanatoria, boarding houses, rest houses) are concentrated in the city suburb, in gorge Vanadzor.

Infrastructure

One of the centres of a cultural life of the city is the state drama theatre of Ovanes Abeljan. The Puppet theatre. There is an art gallery.
In city centre there are four churches: the St. Virgin (1831), new church Grigor Lusavorich (2005), St. Sarkis (1998), Russian orthodox church.
Sanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in the Lori Province of Armenia in 40 km north from Vanadzor.
The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably representing a claim to having an older monastery than the neighbouring Haghpat Monastery. The two villages and their monasteries are similar in many ways, and lie in plain view of each other on a dissected plateau formation, separated by a deep "crack" formed by a small river flowing into the Debed river.
As with Haghpat, Sanahin is frequented by an increasing number of tourists, due to its recent inclusion on the itineraries of numerous Armenian tour agencies, the beauty of its monastery complex matching that of Haghpat's. The complex belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church with numerous khachkars (stones with elaborate engravings representing a cross) and bishop gravesites scattered throughout it.
Besides the Sanainsky monastery in vicinities of Vanadzor there are fortress and Ahtal monastery (10-13 centuries) where ancient frescos have remained; village Odzun temple (6-7 centuries), Loriberd fortress (10 century) and the Stepanavan city where Pushkin pass is located where in 19 century A.S.Pushkin has met the mourning caravan carrying a body of A.S.Griboedov killed in Teheran.