Ashtarak
Encyclopedia
Ashtarak is an industrial city in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

, on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, approximately 20 km north-west of the capital Yerevan, at a height of 1110 meters above sea level. It is the administrative capital of Aragatsotn
Aragatsotn
Aragatsotn is a province of Armenia. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Ashtarak. The name means "a foot of Aragats" . During the Arsacid Dynasty of the Kingdom of Armenia, the region was part of the Ayrarat province...

 province. Ashtarak with 21,600 inhabitants, is an important crossroad of routes for the Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...

Gyumri
Gyumri
Gyumri is the capital and largest city of the Shirak Province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 120 km from the capital Yerevan, and, with a population of 168,918 , is the second-largest city in Armenia.The name of the city has been changed many times in history...

Vanadzor
Vanadzor
-Industry:Vanadzor is dominated by large chemical plants which include: "Prometey-Khimprom", "Vanadzor Chemical Plant", "Vanadzor Khimprom" and "Vanadzor Chemical Fiber Plant". Another big enterprise is the "Vanadzor Thermal Power Plant....

 rectangle.

The city plays a great role in the national economy as well as the cultural life of Armenia through several industrial enterprises and cultural institutions. It has developed as a satellite town of Yerevan.

History and monuments

Ashtarak is one of the oldest cities of Armenia with numerous historical and cultural monuments that allowed the town to retain the flavour of the ancient and beautiful Armenian town. It was founded in the 9th century and reconstructed in the 17th century.

According to a legend, three sisters lived in Ashtarak, all of whom fell in love with the same man, prince Sargis. The elder two sisters decided to commit suicide in favour of the youngest one. One wearing an apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

-orange dress and the other wearing a red dress, they threw themselves into the gorge. When the youngest sister found out, she put on a white dress and also threw herself into the gorge. Sargis then became a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

 and three small churches appeared at the edge of the gorge, named after the sisters' dress colours.
Best preserved among them is Karmravor
Karmravor
Karmravor or Surb Astvatsatsin is a 7th century Armenian church built by priests Gregory and Manas. The church is located on the northeast side of the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia.- Legend :...

 (meaning reddish for its dome colur) church which dates back to the 7th century, and is dedicated to the Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). It has a small cruciform central-plan, with a reddish/apricot colored dome, and an octagonal drum. Other churches include, Spitakavor
Spitakavor Church of Ashtarak
The church of Spitakavor is located at the edge of a gorge in the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It may be seen across the gorge from the church of Surb Sarkis, but is easiest reached via the streets of the neighborhood that it sits within...

 (meaning whitish because of its colour) was built between the 5th-6th centuries, and Tsiranavor
Tsiranavor Church of Ashtarak
The church of Tsiranavor is located at the edge of a gorge in the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It may be seen across the gorge from the church of Surb Sarkis, but is easiest reached via the streets of the neighborhood that it sits within...

 (meaning apricotish because of its colour) built between the 13th-14th centuries, both are located along the edge of the gorge. (Note: Some confusion has seemed to have occurred due to the misplacement of the Russian markers located inside the two churches. Anyone that lives in the city around the area can tell that Spitakavor is the white church, and Tsiranavor is the apricot coloured church.)

The city boasts two more churches, including the church of Surb Sarkis (Saint Sargis)
Saint Sargis Church of Ashtarak
The church of Saint Sargis is located at the edge of a gorge opposite the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It is situated at an attractive point at a promontory overlooking the gorge and offers a fine view to the three churches of Tsiranavor, Spitakavor, and Karmravor....

, supposedly built in the 19th century on an old foundation. It is situated at an attractive point at a promontory overlooking the gorge and offers a fine view to the previously mentioned three churches. The outer walls of the structure were almost completely restored recently and the interior walls remain the same. Some pieces of the outer walls remain sitting next to the church with carvings on them. The town's largest church Surb Mariné
Saint Mariane Church of Ashtarak
The church of Saint Mariane is centrally located in the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn province of Armenia. Nearby are the churches of Karmravor , Spitakavor, Tsiranavor, and Surb Sarkis. There is also a unique bridge of 1664 in the gorge nearby. S. Mariane may be clearly seen from across...

 is located in the center of town. It was constructed in the year 1271 and has a rectangular plan from the outside and a cruciform type plan from the inside with an octagonal drum above.

Another interesting sight is an unusual bridge that crosses the Kasagh River, located in the gorge just below the church of Surb Sarkis. It was built in 1664, and features three arches that are unequal in size.

Economy

The main branches of economy are food and beverage products. The activities are focused on processing of agricultural raw materials and grapes. Ashtarak-Kat company -one of the leading producers of dairy and ice cream products in Armenia- is located near the town of Ashtarak.

Education and culture

Ashtarak is home to 7 public education schools, 6 kindergartens and 4 art schools. Many museums and public libraries are operating in the city. The house-museum of novelist Pertch Proshian
Pertch Proshian
Pertch Proshian was an Armenian writer.-Biography:Proshian was born in a tailor's family in Ashtarak. The preliminary education has got parishioner of the place in the college , then for short time in the palatial school of Yerevan. In 1856 had finished the Nersisyan School of Tbilisi, where and...

 was founded in 1948 in Ashtarak, on the base of his father's house. It was restored in 2008.

Sports

Mika Football Club was founded in 1999 on the basis of the merger of Mika F.C. and Kasakh Ashtarak Under the merger, the name of the new club became Mika-Kasakh Ashtarak. However, the merger only lasted for 1 year, and starting year 2000, the two clubs separated. Kasakh Ashtarak kept its name, logo, history and statistics, while Mika settled for being a new club. This began the era of Mika F.C. Ashtarak. In 2007, Mika was relocated from Ashtarak to Yerevan. The only stadium of the city is Kasakhi Marzik Stadium with a capacity of 3,500 spectators. The town hosts 10 sport schools for children.

Notable people

Ashtarak is the birthplace of the following prominent fgures of Armenian literature
Armenian literature
-Early literature:Armenian literature begins about 406 with the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop.Isaac, the Catholicos of Armenia, formed a school of translators who were sent to Edessa, Athens, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and elsewhere, to procure...

:
  • Pertch Proshian
    Pertch Proshian
    Pertch Proshian was an Armenian writer.-Biography:Proshian was born in a tailor's family in Ashtarak. The preliminary education has got parishioner of the place in the college , then for short time in the palatial school of Yerevan. In 1856 had finished the Nersisyan School of Tbilisi, where and...

     (1837–1907), novelist
  • Smbat Shahaziz
    Smbat Shahaziz
    Smbat Shahaziz was an Armenian educator, poet and publicist.-Biography:Born in a family of a priest, he was the youngest of six brothers. He was home schooled until the age 10, and then sent to Lazarian College in Moscow...

     (1840–1908), poet
  • Gevorg Emin
    Gevorg Emin
    - Biography :Emin, the son of a school teacher, was born in the town of Ashtarak. In 1927, his family left Ashtarak and moved to Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia. In 1936 he finished secondary school; in 1940 he graduated from the local Polytechnical Institute as a hydraulic engineer...

     (1918–1998), poet
  • Vardges Petrosyan
    Vardges Petrosyan
    Vardges Petrosyan was an Armenian writer of fiction and drama.Vardges Petrosyan, a prominent novelist, playwright and essayist was born in 1932 in the village of Ashtarak in the Ararat Valley, where he spent his childhood years, finished school and began writing his first verses.In 1954 he...

     (1932–1994), playwright and novelist
  • Norair Sisakian
    Norair Sisakian
    Norair Martirosovich Sisakian was a Soviet Armenian biochemist, academic, one of the founders of space biology, an outstanding organizer of science, a member of the Pugwash movement...

     (1907–1966) Soviet Armenian biochemist, considered to be one of the founders of space biology.

External links

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