Gyumri

Gyumri Գյումրի
City and urban community
From top down, left to right; Abovyan street view • City Hall • Cathedral of Gyumri • Dzitoghtsyan Museum of National Architecture • Independence Square • Gyumri skyline
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Hayrakaghak ("Father-city")
Gyumri Location of Gyumri in Armenia Show map of Armenia Gyumri Gyumri (Shirak) Show map of Shirak
Coordinates: 40°47′22″N 43°50′51″E / 40.78944°N 43.84750°E / 40.78944; 43.84750
Country	Armenia
Province	Shirak
Founded as Kumayri by the Urartians	8th century BC
Rebuilt as Alexandropol by Nicholas I of Russia	1837
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Samvel Balasanyan
Area
• Total	54 km2 (21 sq mi)
Elevation	1,509 m (4,951 ft)
Population  (2011 census)
• Total	121,976
• Estimate  (1 October 2019)	112,600[1]
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Demonym	Gyumretsi
Time zone	UTC+4 (AMT)
Postal code	3101-3126
Area code	(+374) 312
Vehicle registration	45 am
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.gyumricity.am
Sources: Population[2]

Gyumri (Armenian: Գյումրի,^[a] pronounced [ɡjumˈɾi]) 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 was known as Alexandropol,^[b] it became the largest city of Russian-ruled Eastern Armenia with a population above that of Yerevan. The city became renowned as a cultural hub, while also carrying significance as a major center of Russian troops during Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century.

The city underwent a tumultuous period during and after World War I. While Russian forces withdrew from the South Caucasus due to the October Revolution, the city became host to large numbers of Armenian refugees fleeing the Armenian Genocide, in particular hosting 22,000 orphaned children in around 170 orphanage buildings. It was renamed Leninakan^[c] during the Soviet period and became a major industrial and textile center in Soviet Armenia.^[3] The city's population rapidly grew to above 200,000 prior to the 1988 Spitak earthquake, when it was devastated, with the city's population being reduced to 121,976 as of the 2011 census. The city was renamed Gyumri under modern independent Armenia soon after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and post-earthquake reconstruction efforts continue.

Today, Gyumri continues to grapple with the lasting effects of the 1988 earthquake, but remains known as the cultural hub of Armenia due to the many artists and craftsman who originated from the city. The city is also in particular notable for the large Kumayri historic district that managed to mostly survive the 1988 earthquake, dating back mainly to the 19th century and being one of the few surviving places in the world with authentic urban Armenian architecture.^[3]

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