Avan District


Avan, is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. With an estimated population of 51,000, Avan forms the northern gate of Yerevan. Originally, an ancient village on a hill at the northeastern outskirts of Yerevan, Avan was inhabited since pre-Christian times. In the 20th century, during the Soviet rule, the village was incorporated to become part of the capital Yerevan. According to the 2011 census, Avan has a population of 53,231.
Avan is home to the oldest preserved church in Yerevan; the Katoghike Tsiranavor Church dating back to the late 6th century. It was built by the pro-Byzantine unrecognized Armenian Catholicos John of Bagavan to become his seat. The large cemetery contains many khachkars from the 13th to 18th centuries. Adjacent to it across the street is a stepped plinth and broken funerary pillar monument of the 5th or 6th century. A worn inscription may be found along the landings of the second and third steps.

Location

Avan is located on the hills north of the Nor Nork district and east of Kanaker. Avan has common borders with the districts of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun from the east and the district of Nor Nork from the south. It is bordered by the Kotayk Province from the north and west. The district has an altitude ranging between 1250 and 1300 meters, which is almost 250 meters higher than the centre of Yerevan.
The district is unofficially divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Avan blocks, Avan-Arinj and Aghi Hank.
Due to its location at a higher area, Avan is known among the districts of Yerevan for its clean atmosphere.

History

After the 2nd Synod of Dvin of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 554, the Armenian Church reaffirmed its rejection of the Chalcedonian Definition, causing controversy between the Monophysitists and the pro-Byzantine clerics within the Armenian Church. According to the 7th-century Armenian historian Sebeos, the Eastern Orthodox Church has appointed the pro-Byzantine Armenian cleric John of Bagavan as a counter-Cathoicos of the Armenian Church. In 591, John of Bagavan built the Holy Mother of God Katoghike Tsiranavor Church in Avan village as the seat of his then unrecognized Catholicos. The many inscriptions in the Greek and Georgian languages on the church façade, dating back to the 7th and the 13th centuries respectively, suggest that the Avan was still the centre of the breakaway of pro-Byzantine Armenian Church. However, Avan was severely damaged during the devastating Yerevan earthquake of 1679.
After the Sovietization of Armenia, the city of Yerevan was entirely remodeled by architect Alexander Tamanian. By the mid-1960s, within the original plan of Tamanian, new cheaper Soviet apartment blocks with more than five stories were constructed at the outskirts of Yerevan, including the districts of Avan and Nor Nork. As a result of the expansion of the capital city, Avan was eventually absorbed by Yerevan.

Streets and landmarks

Main streets