SQUARES AND PARKS
Khachkar Park is located
between Nalbandyan and Hanrapetutyan Streets, opposite the Republic Square
station of the Yerevan Metro.
The park was officially opened
on 11 October 2014. It features three ornamental pools, fountains, lawns, and
seating areas.
As part of the events
commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an open-air
exhibition entitled “Cultural Genocide: The Symbolism of Khachkars” was
inaugurated in the park on 20 April 2015. The exhibition presents replicas of
13 khachkars (Armenian cross-stones) destroyed in Western Armenia (Ani, Derjan,
Vaspurakan, Baghesh/Bitlis) and Nakhichevan (Old Jugha and Jahuk).
A fourteenth khachkar was
installed in the park in 2022 to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of
Christianity as the state religion of Armenia and the 20th anniversary of the
visit of Pope John Paul II to Armenia.
At the entrance to the park
(from Nalbandyan Street), four large rough-hewn stone blocks bearing cuneiform
inscriptions have also been installed. These inscriptions are partial
reproductions from the cuneiform annals of King Argishti I (786–764 BC), including
the Khorkhor Chronicle, and King Sarduri II (764–735 BC) of the Kingdom of Van
(Biainili), one of the great states of the Ancient Near East. Also displayed
are copies of the inscriptions from the Khorkhor Chronicle describing the
construction of the Erebuni Fortress (782 BC) and the city of Argishtikhinili
(776 BC).
The monuments are carved from
grey basalt as well as black, red, and brown tuff. The master stone-carver of
all the monuments is Artak Hambardzumyan.
Khachkar Park is one of the
favorite recreational destinations of Yerevan residents.
