Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia. It is situated on the Hrazdan River, and is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital of Armenia since 1918 and the twelfth in the history of Armenia.
The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the Urartian fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC at the western extremity of the Ararat plain. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the Democratic Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide settled in the area. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century when Armenia became one of the fifteen republics in the Soviet Union. In fifty years, Yerevan was transformed from a town of a few thousand residents during the first republic to the principal cultural, artistic and industrial center as well as becoming the seat of the political institutions of the country.
With the growth of the economy of the country, Yerevan has been undergoing a major transformation as construction sites have appeared all over the city since the early 2000s. Today, the appearance of new buildings, roads, restaurants, boutiques, quarters etc. have started to erase the traces of 70 years of Soviet dominance.
In 2007, the population of Yerevan was estimated to be 1,107,800 people with the agglomeration around the city regrouping 1,245,700 people (official estimation), more than 33% of the population of Armenia. |
