Gyumri is the administrative center of the Shirak region and is located about a 1.5-hour drive from Yerevan.
The original name of the city was Kumayri, known since the time of the Urartian Kingdom (9th century BC). Over the centuries, the name evolved into Gyumri due to natural phonetic changes.
After the second division of Armenia in 387 and the collapse of the Arshakid dynasty in 428, the region of Shirak became part of the Persian Empire.
In the 7th century, when waves of Arab influence spread across the South Caucasus, Shirak fell under Arab control. Later, in the 9th century, when the Bagratid Armenian dynasty came to power, the region began to prosper as the neighboring region of Ani, the Armenian capital at the time.
Soon after, Shirak fell under the rule of the Seljuks, followed by the Mongols, and later once again by Persia.
Not much is known about the medieval history of Gyumri and the Shirak Region. At the beginning of the 19th century, Armenians from Kars and Erzurum moved to this area as a result of the Russo-Turkish War, which significantly increased the region’s population.
Between 1924 and 1990, during the Soviet period, the city was renamed Leninakan in honor of Vladimir Lenin. After Armenia gained independence, the city returned to its historical name, Gyumri, as it had been called for centuries.
At the end of the First World War, the city was occupied by Turkish troops. In 1920, when Armenia joined the USSR, the territory was officially recognized as part of Soviet Armenia.
The city suffered a lot after the massive earthquake in 1988. Yet many 19th-century buildings that survived both Soviet reconstruction and the devastating earthquake, preserve the colorital atmosphere of the ancient city. In the narrow streets of Gyumri, old, damaged houses still remind us of the earthquake, and the restoration of many of them is still ongoing.
The architecture in Gyumri is distinct from that of Yerevan — many buildings are made of dark stone tuff, with facades and engravings of typical Armenian reliefs and iron balconies.
Gyumri is often considered the cultural capital of Armenia, known for its humor, artists, and black tuff stone architecture.
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