Tumanyan (), is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia's northern

Lori Province Lori (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia (country), Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. ...

, on the banks of the Debed River and in the middle of the Debed Canyon. It's north of the capital Yerevan, and from Tbilisi. The nearby villages of Kober kayaran,

Shamut Shamut (), is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, ...

, Lorut, Ahnidzor,

Atan Atan may refer to: Mathematics * arctangent (), a trigonometric function ** atan2, the two-argument function implementing the arctangent in many computer languages Places * Atan, Armenia * Atan, Iran Atan () is a village in Alamut-e Pain ...

, Marts and Karinj are also part of the Tumanyan community.

Etymology

At its foundation in 1926, the town was known as ''Dzaghidzor'' (). However, it was renamed ''Tumanyan'' on July 4, 1951, in honour of the famous Armenian poet

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan (, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, q ...

History

Historically, the area of modern-day Tumanyan was included in the Dzorapor () canton of the historic

Gugark Gugark (, , ) was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia. Etymology Etymologically, Gugark in Armenian language denotes land of Gugars. word ...

province, the 13th province of Greater Armenia. Prior to the foundation of the

Republic of Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to the east, and Ir ...

in 1918, the area was part of the Borchali uyezd of

Tiflis Governorate Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. ...

, within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In late 1918,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

fought a border war over the region of Lori. In January 1919, the Lori neutral zone was established by the British forces. Following Armenia's Sovietization in December 1920, Lori was finally incorporated into

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...

on 11 February 1921. In 1926, the village of ''Dzaghidzor'' was founded on the right bank of

Debed The Debed () or Debeda ( ka, დებედა) is a river in Armenia and Georgia. It also serves as a natural boundary between Armenia and Georgia at the village Sadakhlo, Georgia. The Debed is long, and has a drainage basin. The river or ...

river. In 1930, it was included within the newly founded ''Tumanyan raion''. In 1934,

refractory metals Refractory metals are a class of metals that are extraordinarily resistant to heat and wear. The expression is mostly used in the context of materials science, metallurgy and engineering. The definitions of which elements belong to this group di ...

mines were found north of Dzaghidzor village. The production of fireproof materials extracted from the mines of Dzaghidzor was launched in 1939. With the rapid growth of the village, Dzaghidzor was granted the status of an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

in 1947 and it was about this time when architect Sos Manukyan designed the modern layout of the central part of Tumanyan, with a town square, parks, school, house of culture and other public spaces. In 1951, the settlement was renamed ''Tumanyan''. During the 1950s, the Kober railway station was opened on the left bank of Debed river, around northwest of Tumanyan, to serve the Tumanyan fireproof materials factory opened in 1951. In 1995, the government of independent Armenia reaffirmed the status of Tumanyan as an urban settlement within the

. Besides the town of Tumanyan, the nearby villages of

, Karinj, Lorut, Marts, Kober kayaran and Ahnidzor are also under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Tumanyan.

Geography

Tumanyan is situated on a plateau on the right bank of

river at a height of 810 meters above sea level. It occupies an area of around 1 km². Tumanyan is characterized with a

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

climate. The weather is relatively hot during the summer season and mildly cold during winter. The annual precipitation level ranges between .

Demographics

The residents of Tumanyan are mainly Armenians, most of whom belong to the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, as well as mainly Russian artists who moved to Tumanyan after the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The population of Tumanyan reached its peak during the 1960s when the town reached 2,864 in 1964. However, the population has been declining since the 1970s, due to the rapid downfall in the economy of the region. As of the 2011 census, the population of Tumanyan was 1,710. Currently, the town has an approximate population of 1,414 as per the 2021 census. Here is the population timeline since the foundation of Tumanyan in 1926:

Culture

The 12th-century Armenian Monastery of Kobayr is located at the northern outskirts of Tumanyan. Many kahchkars (cross-stones) are also found in the town, dating back to the 9th, 13th and 14th centuries. A ruined fortress known as ''Avanakar'' dating back to the 14th century is found at the southern outskirts of the town. Just south of Tumanyan is the semi-ruined Bardzrakash Monastery, only accessible by foot. Currently, Tumanyan is served by a cultural palace located above the central square, a public library, the Tumanyan Matchbox Label Museum and an art academy. The statue of poet

is found at the northwestern entrance to the town. The town of is home to 2 public education schools as well as a pre-school kindergarten.

Transportation

Tumanyan is located on the on M-6 Motorway that connects

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

with

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

via

Vanadzor Vanadzor (, ) is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city h ...

. The Kober railway station operating since the 1950s is located on the left bank of Debed river, around northwest of Tumanyan.

Economy

The growth of the town during the 1950s was mainly based on the establishment of Tumanyan fireproof materials factory in 1951. It was founded on the basis of the nearby refractory metals mines. However, after the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the production of the plant was significantly dropped. Currently, the population of the town are mainly involved in tourism. agriculture and cattle-breeding. The town is a jump-off point for river rafting and many hiking trails, hosts the Tumanyan Matchbox Label Museum, and has homestays and a hostel. It is also home to Abastan, an international artists colony in an old factory building. At the end of the summer, Tumanyan is home to the Tumanyan International Storytelling Festival. In 2015 Tumanyan community welcomed

Children of Armenia Fund Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) (Armenian language, Armenian: «Հայաստանի Մանուկներ» բարեգործական հիմնադրամ (ՔՈԱՖ)) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit, Non-governmental organization, non-government ...

with its programs: Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS), Student Councils, Debate Clubs, English Language Instruction, Social and Psychological Assistance, Health and Lifestyle Education, School Nutrition & Brushodromes, Women Health Screenings Support for Reproductive Health. Creativity Lab, Cafeteria and Brushodrome, SMART Room were created and renovated in the community by COAF.

Sport

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

is among the most popular sport in Tumanyan. There is a football training field at the centre of the town. Other popular sports in Tumanyan include martial arts, wrestling and chess.

References

{{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Lori Province Hovhannes Tumanyan