About this experience
A walk through the former Alexandropol is a journey back to the 19th century when a outpost was built by order of the Russian Emperor to defend against the Ottomans. You will learn how Gyumri became one of the three largest trade and cultural centers of the South Caucasus, explore the old houses of merchants and military personnel, and visit memorials linked by the common historical memory of the two states.
What to expect
Travel to the roots, to the imperial Alexandropol
On a walk through the Old Town, you will learn about Nicholas I's visit, the foundation of the Russian fortress, and the times when Alexandropol defended the borders of the Russian Empire from the Ottomans. I will tell you how Russian presence contributed to the development of the only city in Armenia where 19th-century architecture and unique traditions have been preserved. We will discuss the period when it was considered the third largest and most important trade and cultural center in the South Caucasus. About the crafts districts and military settlements around the citadel, which still bear Russian names like 'Slobodka', 'Cossack Post', and others. Along the way, I will also show you the surviving witnesses of that ancient era—houses of merchants and military personnel, workshops, and shops operating since the pre-revolutionary era.
About famous guests and Russian monuments
You will learn about Griboedov who visited here and Pushkin's Caucasus wanderings, who described Gyumri in the book 'Journeys to Arzrum'. Additionally, you will visit the chapel of Archangel Michael on the Hill of Honor and the church of Arseny of Serbia, where we will remember the Russo-Turkish war again, along with some episodes from the Soviet era when a children's sanatorium was placed on the site of the memorial and the cemetery of Russian officers. To wrap up, you will visit the monument to Mother Armenia, erected after the Great Patriotic War, and look at the Black Fortress founded by Russian troops in the mid-19th century and serving for a long time as an outpost against Turkey.
