The Hovhannes Shiraz House-Museum (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Հովհաննես Շիրազի տուն-թանգարան) was founded in 1983 in the

Kumayri historic district The Kumayri historic district, also known as the Kumayri Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, is the oldest part of Gyumri with its own unique architecture. It has more than a thousand buildings dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries. The d ...

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, and opened in 2003. The museum is devoted to the exhibition and preservation of the

poet

Hovhannes Shiraz Hovhannes Shiraz ( hy, Հովհաննես Շիրազ) (April 27, 1914 – March 14, 1984) was an Armenian poet. Biography Shiraz was born Onik Tadevosi Karapetyan in the city of Alexandropol, then part of the Russian Empire (now Gyumri, Armen ...

's personal belongings, manuscripts and works. The building was built in 1886, with red

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

stone of the Shirak province, and was the home of a wealthy merchant named Qeshishyan. During most of the Soviet period, it was used as a storehouse. In July 1983, not wanting to wait until Shiraz's death to honour him, government officials offered Shiraz a home to live in. However, the poet only lived in this house for a year, as he died in March 1984. In order to preserve his legacy, the building later became a house-museum by the resolution of the

Government of Armenia A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, Executive (government), e ...

. Due to the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

, the museum's refurbishment was interrupted, and 8 homeless families found shelter in the house. The

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

Housing Purchase Certificate Program assisted to relocate displaced families living in the house after the earthquake to permanent housing. This permitted the museum, in collaboration with the Government of Armenia and the City Hall of Gyumri, to restore the public space as a house-museum. Today, the western facade has a luxurious gate that leads to a large courtyard. The museum consists of six rooms. The first presents information about the poet's childhood. The second room is furnished as it was during Shiraz's lifetime. The other four rooms house the author's creative works, paintings, sculptures, etc. On display is a painting by the American author,

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

, thanking Shiraz for his hospitality in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. The House-Museum is located on 101 Varpetats Street, Gyumri 3104, Armenia.

Gallery

File:Museum of Hovhannes Shiraz 27-08-2019.jpg File:House-museum of Hovhannes Shiraz in Gyumri 05.jpg File:House-museum of Hovhannes Shiraz 06.jpg File:Museum Hovhannes Shiraz.jpg File:Թանգարան` Շիրազի, Գյումրի.JPG File:House-museum of Hovhannes Shiraz 08.jpg File:Shiraz Museum in Gyumri 01.jpg File:Shiraz Museum in Gyumri 03.jpg File:Hovhannes Shiraz,1.jpg File:Հովհաննես Շիրազի տուն-թանգարան, Գյումրի (8).JPG File:Հովհաննես Շիրազի տուն-թանգարան, Գյումրի (1).JPG File:Հովհաննես Շիրազի տուն-թանգարան, Գյումրի (6).JPG

References

External links

Museum official site
Museums in Armenia Buildings and structures in Gyumri Buildings and structures completed in 1886 Museums established in 2003 {{Armenia-museum-stub