Ararat

The town of Ararat is located in the Ararat Region, 42 km southeast of the capital Yerevan, and 7 km east of Araks river on the Armenia-Turkey border.

Ararat is best known as a centre of heavy industry. Here the cement plant and gold extraction plant of Armenia are located. It is one of the important towns in the Ararat Province of Armenia, located on the Yerevan-Nakhchivan highway, 19 km south of the provincial centre Artashat. 

The population of the town is around 20,300. The town was officially named Ararat in 1947 after the nearby biblical Mountain of Ararat. 

From the north and east of the town of Ararat are the mountains of Urts. The length of the Urts Mountain Range is 25 km, the height is 2445m. The mountain range is one of the favourite destinations of hikers.

History of Ararat

The foundation of the Ararat cement plant was launched in 1927 in Soviet Armenia, together with the construction of few residential apartments to accommodate the workers. In 1930, the settlement was officially formed as a labour accommodation area.

In 1935, the settlement was enlarged with the inclusion of the surrounding rural areas and developed as a major industrial centre of the Armenian SSR to become an urban-type settlement.

Due to its rapid growth and the gradual increase of the population, it was given the status of a town in 1962. Historically, the territory of the present-day town was part of the Vostan Hayots canton of Ayrarat region of Ancient Armenia.

Ararat has a cultural palace located in the central square near the town hall. The town is also home to an art academy, a sports school, and a youth creativity centre. On September 16, 2009, the statue of sparapet Vazgen Sargsyan was erected at the central square of the town.