Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of the country, as its primate city. It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
2winter
cold, occasionally snowy (Ararat-Plain continental); mean −0.4 to 17.8 °C across the range; January mean min −4.3 °C; winters short but with snowfall and frost
- indoor cultural season: the National Gallery of Armenia, the History Museum of Armenia, the Cafesjian Center for the Arts (in the Cascade complex), the Matenadaran (Museum of Ancient Manuscripts)
- the Armenian brandy cellars (the Ararat Cognac Factory — Winston Churchill's brandy of choice) carry year-round visitor life
- the Cascade complex and the Republic Square retreat to winter café density
summer
very hot and dry (the plain surrounded by mountains, distance from the sea); mean 21.6-27.1 °C, July mean max 34.9 °C, August 34.7 °C; Jun-Sep precip 0.5-1.3 mm/day; August temperatures reach up to 40 °C
- life shifts to evening — outdoor cafés by the Cascade, wine bars along Saryan street, all packed
- the Vardavar festival (mid-July, variable) — the most widely celebrated Armenian festival; splashing water as a civic ritual
- the Hrazdan river gorge and the Yerevan Lake become usable
- the sightline to Mount Ararat (5137 m) at its clearest
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Vardavar
- the most widely celebrated Armenian festival — splashing water as a civic ritual
- citywide water-fight
Yerevan Wine Days
- Yerevan Wine Days — the annual Armenian wine festival on Saryan street
Golden Apricot Film Festival
- Golden Apricot — Armenia's leading international film festival
Independence Day
- Armenian Independence Day — Republic Square civic ritual
On the record
source-trackedYerevan is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I of Urartu.
Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital."
It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain.
Yerevan features a continental influenced steppe climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk or "cold semi-arid climate"), with long, hot, dry summers and short, but cold and snowy winters.
The summers are usually very hot with the temperature in August reaching up to 40 °C (104 °F), and winters generally carry snowfall and fr[eezing temperatures].
Being on a strategically important place Yerevan was a constant war stage for rival Ottoman, Persian and Russian Empires. It has been repeatedly ruined by those wars or natural disasters.
At the time of Armenia's independence in 1918, when Yerevan was made the capital of an independent Armenia, Yerevan was a town of just 20,000.
The most popular places to drink in the summer tend to be outdoor cafés and café/restaurants. The cafés by Cascade and the wine bars along Saryan are always packed.
The center of Yerevan is compact and easy to get around by foot.
Yerevan is one of the historic centres of traditional Armenian carpet weaving.
It [Yerevan] hosts Vardavar, the most widely celebrated festival among Armenians.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.