Vardanants Square lies in the historic centre of Gyumri and is one of the city’s most significant places. In Soviet times it was known as May Uprising Square.
Yet the square’s history goes back to the time when Gyumri was called Alexandropol.
As the city’s regular street plan took shape, Market Square was created here, becoming the heart not only of trade but also of the city’s public life. Shops, workshops, administrative and educational institutions and churches gradually appeared along the streets that start from and border the square.
The most notable buildings around the square are the Holy Saviour (Surb Amenaprkich) and Seven Wounds (Surb Yot Verk) churches.
On the square you will also see the multi-figure sculptural group dedicated to Vardan Mamikonyan and the Battle of Avarayr (the Vardanants war), installed in 2008. Its author is sculptor Artush Papoyan. The central figure is Vardan Mamikonyan on horseback, while the other statues depict religious and secular figures connected with the story of Avarayr.
On the square you can see:
- Gyumri City Hall
- The 19th-century Holy Saviour Church
- The 19th-century Seven Wounds Church
- The “Hoktember” (October) cinema, built in 1926
- A hotel built in 1927
