Ayrum

The town of Ayrum is located in the northern part of Armenia, in Tavush Region and borders on Georgia. It is situated on the bank of Debed river, about 550 meters above sea level. It is 206 km (128 mi) northeast of the capital Yerevan and 73 km (45 mi) north of the administrative centre Ijevan.

The town's climate is characterized by cold, snowy winters and mild summers. Ayrum has a population of 2,000. 

The name of the town is derived from the Armenian word which means "burning". According to the Soviet Encyclopedia, the area has been called Ayrum after being burnt by the enemies a long time ago. The area of the present-day town was part of ancient Gugark which was the 13th province of Greater Armenia. The eastern part of Ayrum was a part of the Koghbapor canton.

In 1937 the settlement was founded as a small village called Banavan, which was within the Noyemberyan region of Soviet Armenia. It was founded mainly for the workers of a newly-established food canning factory which was located near the town. The village developed as an important centre for the food-processing industry and in 1960 got the status of an urban-type settlement. 

During excavations conducted in the archaeological site located 3 km southwest of Ayrum, the remains of a Bronze Age cyclopean fortress were found, along with small metallic sculptures of humans and animals, which date back to the 10th-7th centuries BC.

The locals are ethnic Armenians whose ancestors came from Yerevan and the village of Archis during the 1960s. They are involved in agriculture and the production of canned food: "Ayrum Cannery" has been working here since 1937 and the "Ayrum Fruits" food-processing factory since 2014. In recent years, a zeolite processing plant "Zeolite Pro" was opened in Ayrum.

In 2016, Ayrum was enlarged including villages of Archis, Bagratashen, Debetavan, Deghdzavan, Haghtanak, Lchkadzor and Ptghavan. The town has a house of culture and public library.