The Republic Square of Yerevan
If you ever come to Armenia, and particularly to the capital city Yerevan, you definitely must visit one of the most amazing and beautiful places in the city, the Republic Square! It is the heart of Yerevan.
It is situated in the center of Yerevan. Because of its central position, the main streets of the city, like the Amiryan and Abovyan streets intersect it. The previous name of the Square is “Lenin Square”.
The Republic Square
Nowadays, the Square hosts a lot of important concerts and many people from different regions of Armenia arrive to enjoy the concert. This, however, is not the only reason since those people also arrive in order to admire the magnificent view of the Republic Square.
If you look from above, the Square has an oval shape and at the first sight looks like an Armenian traditional carpet.
The Republic Square
Due to its location, it’s often called “the heart of Yerevan”.
Republic Square is one of the most favorite destinations for tourists from any part of the world.
To reach to the square, one can take a bus, a minibus or an underground and then get off at “The Republic Square” station
When you get there, you will see the famous Yerevan Singing Fountains which is next to the Art Gallery and History Museum.
Yerevan Singing Fountains
Both tourists from different parts of the world and the locals come there to see the gorgeous, unique and breathtaking view of the singing fountains. They decorate the Republic Square with their beauty.
Yerevan Singing Fountains
Fountains work every day starting from late May till October. The show generally starts at 9 pm and lasts till 11 pm.
The fountains are also making wonderful and lovely music. There are various genres such as classical music, contemporary jazz, rock, and pop. You will hear the world’s classical music masterpieces along with the national music.
The fountains and the colors of them also change according to the song rhythm.
The way the water streams and changes its shapes is so mesmerizing and entertaining. It is totally worth to visit!
Many Eastern European cities have similar fountains. At least for Armenians, however, the Yerevan Singing Fountains is very special, different and also incredibly beautiful.
People come from different parts of the city, after having a meal or after having some walk, in order to enjoy the fountains and get into the wonderful atmosphere.
You can visit the fountains both during the day and at nights. You will see the pure white heaven like fountains under the sunlight if you go there in the daytime. Otherwise, the colorful magical singing fountains will accompany you under the starry night sky!
in 2007, the fountains were modernized. And now they feature computer controlled water performances.
The program is so dazzling and astonishing that one will never get tired of watching it. It is also not surprising that for a lot of residents and visitors coming to watch the fountains is a tradition.
The show is completely free and is a lively, dynamic, crowded and a very pleasant place during hot summer evenings. It generally always ends with the song of Charles Aznavour – “Eternal Love”.
Watch the videos below and enjoy the awesome fountains!
Yerevan Singin Fountains History
Abraham Abrahamyan
translated from MediaMax
The singing fountains of Yerevan were originally designed by an engineer and scientist Abram Abrahamyan.
Here’s what Larisa Abrahamyan(Abraham’s wife) said;
Abraham Abrahamyan (from Abraham’s archives)
“Being a radiologist by profession, my husband was often trying to synthesize the light and the music. It was his hobby. When we moved from Kharkov to Yerevan, he started dealing with the artistic illumination of the monuments of the capital.
Then he collected a team of young professionals. They started working on the “Singing Fountains” project in Yerevan’s main square.
The team worked on the project for about three years. I (Larisa) was present at the opening. As if we were in a fairy tale! Before that, nobody had ever witnessed such a scene…
In 1978, Abrahamyan’s team won the State Prize award of the Armenian SSR in the field of science and technology.
After the opening of “Singing Fountains,” my husband received applications from different USSR republics. Due to the direct and active participation of Armenian engineers, during several years singing fountains were also opened in Batumi, Moscow, Sochi, Kharkov.
In addition, the 1976 “Singing Fountains” model was presented at the exhibition in Buenos Aires.”
From an interview with Abraham Abrahamyan (“Polytechnic” newspaper, 20.04.1974)
“Yerevan Singing Fountains were built according to the decision of Yerevan City Council on the occasion of the formation of the Armenian SSR and the 50th anniversary of the Communist Party of Armenia.
by Alexander Tiagni-Rjadno
From the very first day, the fountains became one of the most favorite resting places for the citizens. Every evening thousands of residents of the city, also Soviet and foreign tourists come here to enjoy popular melodies and watch the fountains “dance”.
The principle of working on fountains is as follows: The musical program is recorded on a magnetic tape. Then, with the help of electric filters, the audio frequencies are divided into three rows. Each has its own color light wave and mechanical control wave.
The melody “controls” the colors and the intensity of the light. The equipment is complicated. In order to achieve the desired result, we have acquired the achievements of radio electronics, automation, lighting technology and electronics.
Under my leadership, a team of professionals, who were involved in the design of the fountains, was composed of staff from different design and research organizations.
The group consisted of engineers Y. Ghazaryan, A. Kashoyan, S. Sargsyan, R. Mirzoyan, A. Yeghyan and others.
Yerevan fountains are the only ones in the USSR territory. As far as I know, there are three color fountains abroad (near Paris, Casablanca and New York). The principle of exploiting them, however, is different.
The music controls not only the colors and fountains but also the power signals previously recorded on the other side of the magnetic tape.”
During the Soviet era, the fountains were operating from April to November 29. It was the day of the establishment of the Soviet regime.
More photos of the gorgeous singing fountains:
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