HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

1898, restored: 1905

State index: 1.6.202

Architect Ivan Vagapov,

Restoration architect Vasily Mirzoyan

The building is located at 6 Amiryan St. (former 28/6).

The Yerevan administration of the “St. Nina” Caucasian Women’s Charitable Society founded the gymnasium in 1850 using its own funds. It operated as a state institution, following state programs and offering instruction in Russian. The Yerevan governor from 1849 to 1859, Major General Ivan Nazarov, supervised the school, with Vice-Governor Nikifor Blavatsky actively participating in its administration.

In 1884, by order of the trustee of the Caucasian Educational District, the school was reorganized into a three-class women’s progymnasium. The charitable society introduced a fourth class in 1893. By 1898, the school was fully reorganized into the St. Hripsime Girls' Gymnasium, which included preparatory, elementary, middle, and higher levels, comprising seven main classes and an eighth additional class, along with two departments (Russian language and mathematics). The reorganization was completed in 1904.

During the 1917-1918 academic year, the gymnasium had 526 students, of whom 352 were Armenian and 119 were Russian.

As the institution's reputation grew, the school undertook the reconstruction and expansion of its educational facilities. Around 1859 or 1860, the school rented two houses with a garden on Nazarovskaya Street (now Amiryan), situated in the northwestern part of the block between Astafyan Street (now Abovyan) and Karavan-sarai Street (now Yeznik Koghbatsi). The school acquired these properties in 1868.

In the same year, construction began on the St. Gr. Illuminator Church across the street, on the site of the present Yeghishe Charents School. Consequently, the land plot initially allocated to the Hripsime School was returned to the church.

By 1879, the school had constructed a new building to accommodate a preparatory class, office, and kitchen. By early 1884, the complex included the main building, five classrooms, dormitories, a dining room, the headmistress's apartment with two rooms, and a small wing housing the residences of the educators, paramedic, and guard.

In 1884, architect Mikhail Von der Nonne designed a two-story building for the school, but it appears this design was not implemented at that time. The school’s expansion continued into the 1890s.

Between 1892 and 1893, architect Ivan Vagapov constructed a two-story wing with nine rooms in the courtyard. By 1898, the school, with contributions from architect Vasily Mirzoyan, completed the main building on Nazarovskaya Street. This building included classrooms, an office, a teachers’ room, a library, study rooms, the headmistress’s apartment, and a dining room.

In 1903-1904, the school added a second floor to a neighboring private house, converting the first floor into classrooms and using the new second floor for dormitories. In 1905, architect Vasily Mirzoyan further expanded the complex with a two-story right wing that included a basement. The basement housed warehouses, a kitchen, and rooms for service personnel; the first floor contained two classrooms and a physics study room; the second floor had three rooms for educators and an additional classroom. The rear part of the building included staircases.

Additionally, the school constructed a separate hospital with three rooms and a bathroom in the courtyard.

During the years of the First Republic of Armenia, the state nationalized the building, and it became an Armenian girls’ school. The school conducted instruction in Armenian, with special attention to Armenian studies subjects. Part of the building housed the Ministry of Public Care and Labor.

In 1921, the school was reorganized into a second-level institution for both sexes. During the Soviet era, various cultural and educational institutions operated within the building.

In 1982, the Yerevan City Council allocated the gymnasium building to the Yerevan History Museum, which had been situated in the Blue Mosque area since the 1930s. Due to extended renovations, the museum did not move into the building until 1994, remaining there until 1997. The museum then relocated to the St. Shahumyan School No. 1 building. In 1995, the school privatized the gymnasium building, and it has remained abandoned since 1997.

The gymnasium is located along the red line of Amiryan Street. The building features a semi-closed structure with rooms arranged around an inner courtyard. The main two-story building has a rectangular plan measuring 43.2 by 17.3 meters, excluding projections. A 2.5-meter-wide corridor connects the classrooms, which average 40-50 square meters in size and have a height of 3.5 meters. The central part of the volume is emphasized, with the vestibule on the first floor and a hall above it, surrounded by a mezzanine. The grand staircase and a stairwell with spiral steps lead to the hall, which defines the adjoining right wing.

The symmetrical main southwestern facade features a dominant central axis with the main entrance. The second floor includes three high arched openings, while the remaining windows are rectangular with frames. The building is constructed with roughly hewn stone, and its decorative interior design is notable for its unique features: cornices with stepped projections, columns on pedestals, and complex capitals adorned with scrolls, leaf carvings, and rosettes. The metal railings of the internal staircases also feature distinctive decorations.

The street-side facade is finished with brick and cement plaster, while the other walls are made of stone. The ceilings are flat and wooden, and the roofs are sloped with a concave middle section. The interior of the building has undergone renovations.

  “Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality