SQUARES AND PARKS

1950

 Architect: Arshavir Minasyan

Garegin Nzhdeh Square is located in the Shengavit Administrative District of Yerevan.

Originally, the square was named after the Armenian public and political figure, journalist, and literary critic Suren Spandaryan. In 1991, it was renamed in honor of Garegin Nzhdeh (Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan), the distinguished Armenian military, political, and statesman and founder of the Tseghakron national ideology.

The square is the second largest in Yerevan and one of the city's major transportation hubs. It measures approximately 200 × 130 m. The square has a rectangular layout with a semicircular southwestern end.

Development of the square began in 1950. The project involved architects Arshavir Minasyan, Tiran Marutyan, Vagharshak Belubekyan, Eduard Sarapyan, Hrant Karapetyan, Levon Melkonyan, and others. Residential complexes were constructed in several stages. The ground floors of the residential buildings accommodated shops and other public facilities. Two high-rise buildings emphasize the entrance to the square from the direction of Yerevan Lake.

Originally, the center of the square featured an oval, tree-lined park with a basin and a pair of fountains. A tram line passed through the square. The park was distinguished by decorative urns adorned with bird sculptures, fish sculptures, red sand covering the ground, and other ornamental elements.

In the mid-1970s (by 1975), the fountains were transformed into illuminated musical ("singing") fountains. They were designed and built, by decision of the Yerevan City Council, by radio engineer Abraham Abrahamyan—the creator of the similar fountains in Republic Square—and his creative team.

In the second half of the 1980s, the fountains and basin were relocated to the park west of the square, where Shoghakat Park was later established. Their former site was redeveloped with the square's underground public center (1986–1992) and the Yerevan Metro's Spandaryan Station (renamed Garegin Nzhdeh Station in 1992) (renovation architects: Levon Gevorgyan, Vitali Gevorgyan, and Gagik Hovhannisyan).

In 1990, a bronze statue of Suren Spandaryan (sculptor: Tom Gevorgyan) was erected in the square.

Garegin Nzhdeh Square is one of Yerevan's principal public spaces and transportation hubs.