Kapan ( hy, Կապան) is a town in southeast

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 ''O ...

, serving as the administrative center of the urban community of

Kapan Kapan ( hy, Կապան) is a town in southeast Armenia, serving as the administrative center of the urban community of Kapan Municipality, Kapan as well as the provincial capital of Syunik Province. It is located in the valley of the Voghji River ...

as well as the provincial capital of

Syunik Province Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. It ...

. It is located in the valley of the

Voghji River The Voghji ( hy, Ողջի, translit=Oġǰi) or Okchuchay ( az, Oxçuçay) is a river on the south slopes of the Lesser Caucasus range, and is a left tributary of Aras. It flows through the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In its upper reach ...

and is on the northern slopes of Mount Khustup. According to the 2011 census, the population of Kapan was 43,190, a slight decline from 45,711 in the 2001 census. However, the current population of the town is around 34,600 as per the 2016 official estimate. Kapan is the most populous town in the

as well as the entire region of southern Armenia.

Etymology

The word Kapan originates from the Armenian verb ''kapel/gabel'' (կապել), meaning "to lock", and points to an old Armenian geographic term for valleys surrounded by interlocked mountain chains. The name means either ‘Locked Gate’ or ‘Fortified Pass’ in

Old Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Grabar, Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at ...

History

Ancient history and Middle Ages

The area of modern-day Kapan was first mentioned in the 5th century as a small settlement within the properties of the

Siunia Dynasty The Siuni or Siwni dynasty () was an ancient Armenian princely () dynasty which ruled the province of Siwnikʻ, with which the dynasty shared its name. They were one of the most important and powerful princely houses in antique and early medieval A ...

. Historically, it was part of the ''Baghk'' canton of Syunik, the ninth province of the historic

Greater Armenia Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք, translit=Mets Hayk) is the name given to the Armenian state that emerged on the Armenian Highlands during the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the 2nd century BC. The term was used to refer prin ...

. Though originally a small settlement, by the late 9th and early 10th century, it was fortified by Prince Jagik, becoming the residence of the Jagikean princes. By the end of the 10th century, the ruler of Syunik, Prince Smbat II, moved to the town of Kapan and founded the

Kingdom of Syunik Kingdom of Syunik ( hy, Սյունիքի թագավորություն), also known as the Kingdom of Baghk and sometimes as the Kingdom of Kapan, was a medieval dependent Armenian kingdom

, proclaiming himself a king under the protectorate of the

Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia ( xcl, Բագրատունեաց Հայաստան, or , , 'kingdom of the Bagratunis'), was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I Bagratuni of the Bagratuni dynasty ...

. As the capital of the Kingdom of Syunik, Kapan flourished throughout the 11th century, reaching around 20 thousand inhabitants, composed of mostly Armenians with a prominent

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

minority, and being a center of trades, crafts, and metallurgy. In 1103, Kapan was entirely ruined by the Seljuk invaders. The medieval Armenian historian

Stephen Orbelian Stepanos Orbelian ( hy, Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան, originally spelled hy, Ստեփաննոս, translit=Stepʻannos, label=none; – 1303) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian and the metropolitan bishop of the province of Syu ...

of Syunik states that the Seljuks began massacring from the Jewish quarter of Kapan. After the fall of the Kingdom of Syunik in 1170, Syunik and the rest of the historic territories of Armenia suffered from the Seljuk, Mongol,

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (W ...

and

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...

invasions, in that order, between the 12th and 15th centuries.

Iranian rule

At the beginning of the 16th century, Kapan became part of the Erivan Province within the

Safavid Iran Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

. In 1722, the principality of Kapan was established by uniting the noble families of Syunik into one state in order to fight against Muslim oppression. By the beginning of the 18th century, Kapan was associated with the Armenian military leader

David Bek Davit Bek or David Beg (; died 1728) was an Armenian military commander and the leader of an Armenian rebellion against invading Ottoman forces and implanted Safavid Muslim tribes in the mountainous region of Zangezur (today the Armenian provin ...

, who led the liberation campaign of the Armenians of Syunik against the Iranians and the invading Ottoman Turks. Bek started his battles in 1722 with the help of thousands of local Armenians, including

Avan Yuzbashi Avan Yuzbashi (; ca. 1670–1735) was an 18th-century Armenian military leader in Karabagh, and an important figure of the Armenian liberation struggle during the 1720s in Karabagh. Biography Avan and his family were originally from Lori. They ...

and

Mkhitar Sparapet Mkhitar Sparapet ( hy, Մխիթար Սպարապետ; ''sparapet'' meaning "general-in-chief") (? 1730), also known as Mkhitar Bek, was an 18th-century Armenian military commander and participant in the Armenian armed rebellion in the Syunik reg ...

, who liberated Syunik. The centre of Bek's struggle was the

Baghaberd Baghaberd ( hy, Բաղաբերդ; also David Bek's Castle) is a 4th to 12th century Armenian fortress located along a ridge overlooking the Voghji River, northwest of the village of Kapan in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Baghaberd is at an ele ...

Fortress northwest of Kapan and the

Halidzor Fortress The fortress of Halidzor ( hy, Հալիձորի բերդ) is along a hill overlooking the Voghji River to the north, near the village of Kapan, which is southwest in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Halidzor Fortress is above sea level. Hist ...

southwest of Kapan, where he died in 1728. In 1747, Kapan was incorporated into the

Nakhichevan Khanate The Nakhichevan Khanate ( fa, خانات نخجوان, translit=Khānāt-e Nakhchevān; Azerbaijani:ناخچیوان خانلیغی,Naxçıvan xanlığı; hy, Նախիջեւանի խանութիւն, translit=Naxijewani xanowt'iwn) was a khanate ...

and by 1750, Kapan became part of the newly formed

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Iranian suzerainty in Karabakh and adjacent areas. The Karabakh Khanate came under ...

. It was turned into a significant urban settlement during

Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

ian rule by the end of the 18th century.

Russian rule

In 1813, the territory of historic Syunik, including the region of Kapan, officially became part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

as a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1804–13 and the following

Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (russian: Гюлистанский договор; fa, عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy Distr ...

signed between Russia and Iran. In 1828–30, many Armenian families from the Iranian cities of

Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest ci ...

and

Salmas Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...

t migrated to the region. In 1868, it became part of the

Zangezursky Uyezd The Zangezur uezd was a county ('' uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Gerusy (present-day Goris) from 1868 until its formal abolition and partition between the Soviet republics of Arm ...

within the

Elisabethpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate st ...

of the Russian Empire. By the last quarter of the 19th century, Kapan formed an important urban community for the region as a result of merging several villages together.

Modern history

Both the Republic of Armenia and the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian A ...

claimed Kapan between 1918 and 1920. As a result of the

Sovietization Sovietization (russian: Советизация) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modelled after the Soviet Union. This often included ...

of Armenia in December 1920, Kapan was included in the Republic of Mountainous Armenia under the commandment of

Garegin Nzhdeh Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Garegin Nzhdeh ( hy, Գարեգին Նժդեհ, ; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and political thinker. As a member of the A ...

, who fought against the Bolsheviks between 26 April and 12 July 1921. After the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

entered the Zangezur region in July 1921, Kapan, along with the towns of

Goris Goris ( hy, Գորիս) is a town and the centre of the urban community of Goris, in Syunik Province at the south of Armenia. Located in the valley of the Goris (or Vararak) River, it is 254 km from the Armenian capital Yerevan and 67 ...

Sisian Sisian ( hy, Սիսիան) is a town and the centre of the urban community of Sisian, in the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on the Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan- Meghri highway, at a road distance of 217 km southe ...

and

Meghri Meghri ( hy, Մեղրի) is a town and the center of the urban community of Meghri, in Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official es ...

, fell under the Soviet rule, where it was administered as part of the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

. In September 1930, the Kafan raion was formed with Kapan as its administrative center. In 1938, Kapan received city status. Until 1991, the city was called ''Kafan'' in Russian and ''Ghapan'' () in Armenian. Following the independence of Armenia in 1991, Kapan became the centre of the newly formed Syunik Province as per the 1995 administrative reforms of the republic. Many streets bearing the name of Bolshevik activists were changed. The town's central square was renamed after

, while the central park of the town was named after

Vazgen Sargsyan Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, ; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from ...

. During the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

, Kapan was bombarded by artillery coming from the neighboring

Zangilan District Zangilan District ( az, Zəngilan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qubadli, Jabrayil, the S ...

of Azerbaijan, causing deaths among the civilian population. Hakobyan, Tatul (2021). ''Artsʻakhyan oragir: Kanachʻ u sev'' arabakh Diary: Green and Black Yerevan: Lusakn. 229–230. This prompted an Armenian operation to capture several nearby Azerbaijani border villages in December 1992.

Geography and climate

Shikahogh state reserve, Syunik, Armenia

Kapan is the largest town in the Syunik province as well as the entire region of southern Armenia. It is located in the eastern part of Syunik, within the narrow valley of the

with a length of from the east to the west, at the southeastern slopes of the

Zangezur Mountains The Zangezur Mountains ( hy, Զանգեզուրի լեռներ or Սյունյաց լեռներ, az, Zəngəzur dağları) are a mountain range that defines the border between Armenia's southern provinces of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Azerbaija ...

, between the Bargushat and Meghri ridges. The town is about north of the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian border. With a height of 3201 meters, Mount Khustup is the highest peak of the region. The elevation of Kapan is 750–1050 meters

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

, with an average height of 910 meters. Two tributaries of the

, Vachagan and Kavart, flow through the town. Kapan has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BSk'') with hot summers and cold winters. Temperatures can reach up to during summer, and can fall to during winter. The Shikahogh State Preserve, founded in 1958, is located around south of Kapan, near the

Shikahogh Shikahogh ( hy, Շիկահող) is a village in the Kapan Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. Etymology The name of the village originates from the term (), meaning ''"Red land"''. Demographics Population The National Statistica ...

village. The preserve is home to about 1,100 species of plants, 70 of which have been registered in the Red Book of Armenia. The fauna of Shikahogh has not been fully explored, but studies have revealed rare species of animals such as

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near thre ...

, bear, viper, and hedgehog.

Demographics

Kapan is a major historic centre of the Armenian civilization within historic Syunik. A sizable Jewish community lived in its own quarter in Kapan during the Middle Ages. During the first half of the 19th century, many Russian and German engineers and workers arrived in Kapan to work in the copper mines of the region. In 1850, Greek specialists also arrived in the town. The Greeks built the Saint Catherine Orthodox church near Kapan in 1865. The population of Kapan was at its peak with 45,711 citizens as per the 2001 census. However, the population has greatly declined during the first decade of the 21st century to 34,600 as per the 2016 official estimate. Currently, Kapan is almost entirely populated by ethnic Armenians who belong to the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. The town's Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church opened in December 2001 and is regulated by the

Diocese of Syunik Diocese of Syunik ( hy, Սյունյաց թեմ ''Syunyats t'em'') is one of the largest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the Syunik Province of Armenia. It is named after the historic province of Syunik; the 9th province of th ...

of the

, based in the nearby town of

. The town is served by the Kapan Medical Center, which was fully modernized in 2015.

Culture

The historic part of Kapan is located around km west of the modern-day town. As one of the historic settlements of Armenia, Kapan and the surrounding areas are home to many heritage monuments of Armenian architecture, including: *

Fortress of the 4th century, also known as the castle of

Davit Bek Davit Bek or David Beg (; died 1728) was an Armenian military commander and the leader of an Armenian rebellion against invading Ottoman forces and implanted Safavid Muslim tribes in the mountainous region of Zangezur (today the Armenian provin ...

. *The medieval bridge of Kapan dating back to 871. *

Tatev Monastery The Tatev Monastery ( hy, Տաթևի վանք, Tat'evi vank') is a 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the village of Tatev in the Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refe ...

of the 9th century, founded in the place of an ancient tabernacle well known in ancient times. *

Vahanavank Vahanavank ( hy, Վահանավանք) is a 10th-11th century Armenian monastic complex located approximately 5 kilometers west of the town of Kapan in the Syunik Province of Armenia, situated at the foot of Tigranasar mountain along the right ...

Monastery of the 11th century. *

of the 17th century. The town has several statues of prominent Armenian patriotic figures, such as the equestrian statue of Davit Bek erected in 1983, and

's memorial opened in 2001. Other decorative statues in the town include the bear statue of ''Kajaran's Key'' erected in 1966, the statue of the ''Girl from Zangezur'' erected in 1978, the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

memorial opened in 1987, and the memorial to

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

erected in 1988. Qajarani banali

Currently, the town is home to the Kapan Museum of Geology and the Kapan history museum named after Shmavon Movsisyan. Other cultural institutions of Kapan include the Children's School of Fine Arts opened in 1972, the House of Culture opened in 1977, the Children's School of Arts opened in 1981, the public library, the children's and youth creativity centre opened in 1990, the Alexander Shirvanzade drama theatre of Kapan, as well as two schools of music, which opened in 1977 and 1986. A branch of the

Modern Art Museum of Yerevan The Modern Art Museum of Yerevan (MAMY, Armenian: ) is an art museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It is located on Mashtots Avenue at the central Kentron District of the capital city of Armenia. The museum was founded in 1972 by the efforts of the pain ...

is also operating in Kapan. The Wings of Tatev cableway connecting Halidzor village with the Tatev Monastery is located north of Kapan. It is the longest reversible

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

built in one section only.World's longest cable car line opens to Armenia

PhysOrg.com Phys.org is an online science, research and technology news aggregator offering briefs from press releases and reports from news agencies (a form of journalism sometimes pejoratively called churnalism). The website also produces its own science ...

. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.

Media

Kapan has two local TV companies: Khustup TV and Sosi TV. Khustup TV was founded in 2004 and covers the entire region of Syunik. Sosi TV was founded in 2012 and covers the central and southern parts of Syunik.

Transportation

The M-2 main road that connects the capital Yerevan with southern Armenia, the Iranian border, and the

Artsakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

, passes through Kapan. In late 2008, the road between Kapan and

on the Iranian border was redeveloped. However, the Kapan- Kovsakan- Mijnavan railway line is currently inactive. Prior to the

, the nearby defunct airport accommodated the

YAK-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Yak ...

and AN-14 cargo aircraft. In February 2017, the governor of Syunik Province, Vahe Hakobyan, announced that the airfield would become a modern airport serving the town of Kapan and southern Armenia, and on June 6 a test landing was conducted at the airfield with the governor on board. According to the plan, the reconstruction of

Kapan Airport Syunik Airport ( hy, Սյունիքի Oդանավակայան, translit=Syuniki' Odanavakayan) is located east of Kapan, the sixth largest city in Armenia, and the largest city in the province of Syunik. On December 5, 2020, the Civil Aviation ...

was expected to be completed in 2018, with an estimated cost of US$2 million. By February 2020 the airport reconstruction was close to completion and it was expected to reopen in May 2020.

Economy

Kapan is struggling to cope with the realities of post- Karabakh war and post-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

society. However, there are signs of growth and development. Kapan is primarily a mining centre, hence its

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

era Persian name of معدن (Ma'dan, meaning "mine"). Kapan has been a major centre for the production of many non-ferrous metals. The Kapan mining company is currently owned by Chaarat plc, a British company. It is currently working the Shahumyan deposit and produces around 65,000 ounces of gold equivalent in copper and zinc concentrates per year. Kapan is home to many industrial firms. The largest firms are the "Kapan CH.SH.SH." for building materials founded in 1947, the Kapan machine tools plant founded in 1972, the Sonatex knitting factory founded in 1985, and Marila LLC for meat and dairy products founded in 2010. Tourism is growing in the region of Kapan. The nearby cableway of the Wings of Tatev connecting Halidzor village with the Tatev Monastery has greatly contributed in the development of the sector. Many hotels and mountain resorts are set to open in the near future, while the upcoming opening of the

Syunik Airport Syunik Airport ( hy, Սյունիքի Oդանավակայան, translit=Syuniki' Odanavakayan) is located east of Kapan, the sixth largest city in Armenia, and the largest city in the province of Syunik. On December 5, 2020, the Civil Aviation ...

of Kapan will increase tourist access. Ark Ecological NGO, headquartered in Kapan, has been working on the development of

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

in the Syunik region since 2013, and is currently building

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

infrastructure to connect Kapan and the Tatev Monastery.

Education

Kapan is the education centre of southern Armenia. It has 13 public education schools, 3 music schools and 3 sport academies. The Kapan campus of the

National Polytechnic University of Armenia The National Polytechnic University of Armenia () is a technical university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Established as the Karl Marx Institute of Polytechnic in 1933, it provides educational and research programs in various fields of technology ...

is home to two faculties: *Faculty of Technologies and Sectoral Economics, *Faculty of Natural Sciences and Communication Systems.

Sport

Gandzasar Stadium, Kapan, Armenia, May 2012

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

is the most popular sport in Kapan.

FC Gandzasar Kapan Football Club Gandzasar Kapan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Գանձասար Կապան), commonly known as Gandzasar, is an Armenian football club based in the town of Kapan, Syunik Province. Translated from the Armenian, "Gandz-a-s ...

, founded in 2004, represents the town in the

Armenian Premier League The Armenian Premier League ( hy, VBET Հայաստանի Պրեմիեր Լիգա, known as the VBET Armenian Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the top football competition in Armenia. From 1936 to 1991, the competition was held as a re ...

, playing their home games at

Gandzasar Stadium Gandzasar Stadium ( hy, Գանձասար մարզադաշտ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kapan, the capital of Syunik Province, Armenia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Gandzasar. With a capacity of 3, ...

. The club has won third place in the Armenian Premier League on three occasions: in 2008, 2011 and 2012–13. Gandzasar have the highest average attendance at home games in the league. In May 2013, Gandzasar Kapan opened their football pitches, including one with artificial turf. The academy became the first developed technical football centre in the Syunik Province. Kapan is also home to the Davit Hambardzumyan Children and Youth Sport School, operated by the municipality since its inauguration in 1969. More than 200 athletes are involved in the sport school. The Kapan Futsal Club is a professional

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

team based in Kapan, playing their home games at the Davit Hambardzumyan Children and Youth Sports School in the

Armenian Futsal Premier League The Premier League is the premier futsal league in Armenia. It was founded in 1998. The Premier League, which is played under UEFA rules and is organized by the Football Federation of Armenia, currently consists of 5 teams. 2017-18 teams Curren ...

. The Kapan Sport School of

Artistic Gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

has been operating since 1977. Currently, about 170 young athletes attend there. In 1989, another sport school specializing in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

was opened in the town, designated for around 100 young athletes.

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and boxing are also popular in Kapan.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Borisov,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Notable people

David Ambartsumyan David Hambardsumyan ( hy, Դավիթ Համբարձումյան, June 24, 1956, in Kapan – January 11, 1992, in Yerevan) was an Armenian diver, who twice became European champion. He was a bronze medalist at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and ...

, Soviet Armenian diver, European champion *

Tatoul Markarian Tatoul Markarian ( hy, Թաթուլ Խիկարի Մարգարյան; born April 1964) was appointed Armenian Ambassador to the United States on March 19, 2005, by President Robert Kocharian. He holds the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinar ...

, ambassador of

to the European Union *

Armen Movsisyan Armen Movsisyan (Արմեն Մովսիսյան) (13 January 1962 – 21 September 2015) was the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia (2001–2014). He was born in Kapan Kapan ( hy, Կապան) is a town in southeast Armenia, ...

, former Minister of Energy of Armenia * Karen Sargsyan, principal choirmaster of the

Armenian Opera Theater Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( hy, Ալեքսանդր Սպենդիարյանի անվան օպերայի և բալետի ազգային ակադեմիական թատրոն, ''Aleksandr Spendiaryani anvan operayi yev bale ...

* Lusine Gevorkyan, lead singer of Russian

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

bands

Tracktor Bowling Tracktor Bowling was a Russian nu metal band, formed in Moscow in 1996. History The band formed in 1996. In 2000, their demo-track record "Mutatsiya" ("Mutation") gained early success and netted them a budding reputation as leaders of the Moscow a ...

and

Louna Louna is an Alternative rock, alternative/Punk rock, punk rock band, formed in Moscow in 2008 by Tracktor Bowling musicians Lousine Gevorkian and Vitaly Demidenko. Their debut album, ''Let's Get Louder'', was released in 2010. In total, the gro ...

* Artsvik Harutyunyan, singer and Armenia's entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 * Levon Aghasyan, Olympic athlete

References

External links

American Corner Kapan

Kapan town portal
{{Authority control Populated places in Syunik Province Communities in Syunik Province Populated places established in the 5th century