Lori Province


Lori, is a province of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak. It is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin monasteries and the well-preserved Akhtala monastery, where Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks make an annual pilgrimage on September 20–21.
The province was heavily damaged during the 1988 Armenian earthquake.
The province is served by the Stepanavan Airport.

Etymology

The name Lori of Armenian origin, first appeared in the 11th century when King David I Anhoghin founded the fortified city of Lori. The fortress-city became the capital of the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget in 1065. The name Lori later spread through the region and replaced the original name of Tashir.

Geography

Situated at the north of modern-day Armenia, Lori covers an area of . It is bordered by Tavush Province from the east, Kotayk Province from the southeast, Aragatsotn Province from the southwest and Shirak Province from the west. The province is bordered by the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia.
Historically, the territories of modern-day Lori are associated with tha cantons of Tashir, Boghnopor and Dzorapor of Gugark province of Ancient Armenia.
Lori is a mountainous region, dominated by the ranges of Javakheti, Bazum, Pambak, Gugark, Halab and Somkheti. The highest point of the province is Mount Achkasar of the Javakheti range with a height of 3196 meters. The lowest point is 380 meters in the valley of Debed at the northeast of the province.
The main water resource of the province is the Debed river with its tributaries Dzoraget, Pambak and Martsaget.
The climate is characterized with extremely cold snowy winters and mild summers. The annual precipitation level is between.

History

Excavations conducted in 1931 testify that the region of modern-day Lori was most probably settled during the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC. Later, the region became part of the Urartu Kingdom between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. After the Achaemenid invasion, the region became part of the 18th Satrapy of Persia. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Armenia in 331 BC, the region became part of the kingdom within the historic Gugark province, the 13th province of Greater Armenia. In the course of the 4th century, the region was ruled by members of the House of Mihran.
Following the partition of Armenia in 387 between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persia, and the subsequent collapse of Arsacid Armenia in 428, Eastern Armenia including Gugark province became under the rule of Sassanid Persia. In 658, Armenia was conquered by the Arab invaders. At the end of the 9th century, most of the Gugark province became part of the newly established Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. In 979, King Kiurike I founded the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget under the rule of the Kiurikian dynasty and the protectorate of the Bagratid kings of Armenia. The capital of the kingdom was Matsnaberd and the Lori fortress. The Kiurikians ruled the kingdom until 1118 when Tashir-Dzoraget became part of the Kingdom of Georgia.
, 10th century
The Seljuks invaded the region in the early 12th century, but their rule did not last long and in 1118–1122 the Georgian king David the Builder conquered Lori and granted the rule to the House of Orbeli. The Orbeli's revolted unsuccessfully in 1177, after which a Kipchak named Kubasar was appointed spasalari of Lori. Later in 1185, the province became ruled by the Mkhargdzeli dynasty after Queen Tamar of Georgia appointed the Sargis Mkhargrdzeli as its governor. However, the region was devastated by the Mongol invasion of 1236, and the Zakarian dynasty declined by the 2nd half of the 14th century. After fall of the Kingdom of Georgia in 1490, Lori remained part of Kingdom of Kartli until the 16th century.
Lori was annexed by Safavid Persia as a result of the 1555 Peace of Amasya and became part of Persia's Kartli-Kakheti province. After Nader Shah's murder in 1747, the Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti became independent and united into a single kingdom by 1762.
, built in 1848
In 1800-01, together with the Georgian provinces of Kartli and Kakheti, Lori and Tavush were annexed by the Russian Empire to become part of the Georgia Governorate. Lori became officially part of the Russian Empire at the Treaty of Gulistan signed on 1 January 1813, between Imperial Russia and Qajar Persia, following the Russo-Persian War of 1804–13.
In 1862, Lori was transferred into the jurisdiction of the Tiflis Governorate. In 1880, Lori became part of the Borchali uyezd of the Tiflis Governorate. In the early 20th century, Lori was mostly populated by Armenians, with several Russian and Greek villages. In May 1918, the Ottoman Turkish forces moved towards Yerevan and Karakilisa. On 25 May 1918, the Armenians led by Garegin Nzhdeh fought against the Turkish forces led by Wehib Pasha, at the vicinity of Karakilisa. On 28 May 1918, the Turks retreated from Karakalisa, Abaran and Sardarabad, paving way towards the declaration of the Republic of Armenia on the same day.
In late 1918, Armenia and Georgia fought a border war over Lori. Lori was claimed by Georgia after 1918, when Georgia declared its' independence from Russian empire. Initally Georgia controlled northern Lori, but were forced out by Armenian forces during the brief Georgian-Armenian war. In January 1919 the British brokered a peace agreement which left northern Lori as a neutral zone between the two countries. When Armenia was invaded by Turkish forces in November 1920, Georgia occupied the whole province, with permission by the Armenian government. Following Armenia's sovietization in December 1920, Lori was incorporated into Soviet period, modern-day Lori was divided into the raions of Kalinino, Tumanyan, Kirovakan, Aragats, Spitak and Stepanavan. After the independence of Armenia, the 6 raions were merged as per the 1995 administrative reform, to form the Lori Province.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 official census, Lori has a population of 235,537, forming around 7.8% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 137,784 and the rural is 97,753. The province has 8 urban and 105 rural communities. The largest urban community is the provincial center of Vanadzor, with a population of 86,199. The other urban centres are Alaverdi, Stepanavan, Spitak, [Shamlugh">Soviet Armenia on 6 November 1921.
During the Soviet period, modern-day Lori was divided into the raions of Kalinino, Tumanyan, Kirovakan, Aragats, Spitak and Stepanavan. After the independence of Armenia, the 6 raions were merged as per the 1995 administrative reform, to form the Lori Province.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 official census, Lori has a population of 235,537, forming around 7.8% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 137,784 and the rural is 97,753. The province has 8 urban and 105 rural communities. The largest urban community is the provincial center of Vanadzor, with a population of 86,199. The other urban centres are Alaverdi, Stepanavan, Spitak, [Shamlugh, Tashir, Akhtala and Tumanyan.
With a population of 4,578, the village of Metsavan is the largest rural municipality of Tavush.

Ethnic groups and religion

The majority of Lori are ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is the Diocese of Gougark, headed by Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian. The Saint Gregory of Narek Cathedral in Vanadzor is the seat of the diocese.
However, small communities of ethnic Russian Molokans are mainly found in the villages of Fioletovo and Lermontovo, and in less numbers in the villages of Sverdlov, Mikhayelovka, Privolnoye, Pushkino, Medovka and the town of Tashir. The total number of Molokans in Lori is 3,882 individuals. There are few Orthodox Russians and Ukrainians in Vanadzor, Stepanavan and the village of Amrakits.
According to the Diocese of Gougark, as of February 2016, Lori is home to 259 places of worship, of which 3 monasteries as well as 36 churches and 23 chapels are active.
The 793 individuals of the Yazidi community are found in the southern villages of the province including Lermontovo and Lernantsk.
Lori is also home to a tiny Greek community of 655 individuals who speak the Pontic dialect. Small Greek communities could be found in the towns of Alaverdi, Akhtala, Stepanavan, Noyemberyan and Vanadzor. The majority of the Yaghdan village is Greek.

Administrative divisions

As a result of the administrative reforms in November 2017, Lori is currently divided into 57 municipal communities, of which 7 are urban and 50 are rural:
MunicipalityTypeArea Population
CentreIncluded villages
Akhtala MunicipalityUrbanAkhtalaAkhtala aroghjaranin kits, Bendik, Chochkan, Mets Ayrum, Neghots, Pokr Ayrum, Shamlugh, Verin Akhtala
Alaverdi MunicipalityUrbanAlaverdiAkner, Akori, Jiliza, Kachachkut, Haghpat, Tsaghkashat
Spitak MunicipalityUrban5.513,000Spitak
Stepanavan MunicipalityUrban1412,800StepanavanArmanis, Katnaghbyur, Urasar
Tashir MunicipalityUrbanTashirBlagodarnoye, Dashtadem, Getavan, Katnarat, Kruglaya Shishka, Lernahovit, Medovka, Meghvahovit, Noramut, Novoseltsovo, Saratovka
Tumanyan MunicipalityUrbanTumanyanKober kayaran, Shamut, Lorut, Ahnidzor, Atan, Marts, Karinj
Vanadzor MunicipalityUrban3282,200Vanadzor
Antaramut MunicipalityRuralAntaramut
Antarashen MunicipalityRuralAntarashen
Arevashogh MunicipalityRuralArevashogh
Arjut MunicipalityRuralArjutArjut kayaranin kits
Aznvadzor MunicipalityRuralAznvadzor
Bazum MunicipalityRuralBazum
Chkalov MunicipalityRuralChkalov
Darpas MunicipalityRuralDarpas
Debet MunicipalityRuralDebet
Dsegh MunicipalityRuralDsegh
Dzoraget MunicipalityRuralDzoraget-
Dzoragyugh MunicipalityRuralDzoragyugh
Fioletovo MunicipalityRuralFioletovo
Geghasar MunicipalityRuralGeghasar
Ghursali MunicipalityRuralGhursali
Gogaran MunicipalityRuralGogaran
Gugark MunicipalityRuralGugark
Gyulagarak MunicipalityRuralGyulagarakAmrakits, Gargar, Hobardzi, Kurtan, Pushkino, Vardablur
Halavar MunicipalityRuralHalavarHaydarli, Kilisa
Hartagyugh MunicipalityRuralHartagyugh
Jrashen MunicipalityRuralJrashen
Karaberd MunicipalityRuralKaraberd
Karadzor MunicipalityRuralKaradzor
Katnajur MunicipalityRuralKatnajur
Khnkoyan MunicipalityRuralKhnkoyan
Lermontovo MunicipalityRuralLermontovo
Lernantsk MunicipalityRuralLernantsk
Lernapat MunicipalityRuralLernapat
Lernavan MunicipalityRuralLernavan
Lori Berd MunicipalityRuralLori BerdAgarak, Bovadzor, Hovnanadzor, Koghes, Lejan, Sverdlov, Urut, Yaghdan
Lusaghbyur MunicipalityRuralLusaghbyur
Margahovit MunicipalityRuralMargahovit
Mets Parni MunicipalityRuralMets Parni
Metsavan MunicipalityRuralMetsavanDzyunashogh, Mikhayelovka, Paghaghbyur
Nor Khachakap MunicipalityRuralNor Khachakap
Norashen MunicipalityRuralNorashen
Odzun MunicipalityRuralOdzunAmoj, Ardvi, Arevatsag, Aygehat, Hagvi, Karmir Aghek, Mghart, Tsater
Pambak MunicipalityRuralPambakPambak kayaranin kits
Sarahart MunicipalityRuralSarahart
Saralanj MunicipalityRuralSaralanj
Saramej MunicipalityRuralSaramej
Sarchapet MunicipalityRuralSarchapetApaven, Artsni, Dzoramut, Gogavan, Petrovka, Privolnoye
Shahumyan MunicipalityRuralShahumyan
Shenavan MunicipalityRuralShenavan
Shirakamut MunicipalityRuralShirakamut
Shnogh MunicipalityRuralShnoghKarkop, Teghut
Tsaghkaber MunicipalityRuralTsaghkaber
Vahagnadzor MunicipalityRuralVahagnadzor
Vahagni MunicipalityRuralVahagni
Yeghegnut MunicipalityRuralYeghegnut

During the recent years, many rural settlements in Lori became abandoned, including the villages of Gyulludara, Kizilshafak and Kizkala.

Culture

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the monasteries of Haghpat, Sanahin, Kobayr and Bardzrakash in Dsegh served as centers of Armenian culture, theology and science. Scholars such as Hovhannes Imastaser, Grigor Tuteordi, Davit Kobayretsi, Grigor Magistros worked in these monasteries.
The House-museum of Hovhannes Tumanyan in Dsegh is among the notable cultural structures in Lori.

Fortresses and archaeological sites

Lori is connected to other parts of Armenia through a railway, a motorway and a network of regional roads. The M-6 Motorway passing through the province, connects the capital Yerevan with the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The M-8 Motorway connects Lori with Tavush Province at the east
The provincial centre Vanadzor has a railway station that also connects the city with northern and central Armenia. In April 2012, the Zamarlu bridge was opened at the Vanadzor-Ayrum railroad section to secure a safe passage of the trains on this segment. Currently, the Vanadzor-Fioletovo railroad section is under construction within the frames of the Armenian railway development programme.
The Stepanavan Airport located near the town of Stepanavan is currently under reconstruction and is expected to be ready during 2019.

Economy

Agriculture

The agriculture of Lori forms around 7.5% of the annual total agricultural product of Armenia. Approximately, 40% of the population in Lori are involved in agricultural activities, including farming and cattle-breeding. Almost 66.3% of the total area of the province are arable lands, out of which 17% are ploughed. The main crops of the province are grains, followed by potato and vegetables.
There is a large poultry farm in the town of Spitak.

Industry

As of 2016, the province has a contribution of around 6% in the annual total industrial product of Armenia. Lori is a major centre for metallurgical business, building materials production, as well as dairy products.
The Dzoraget Hydroelectric Power Station is located in the Dzoraget village of Lori, on the shores of Debed River. It is in operation since on 15 November 1932 with the full installed capacity of 22.32 MW. As of 1980, the plant uses three generators with an installed capacity of 26.2 MW. The Dzoraget Hydro Power Plant is considered to be small size power plant.

Tourism

The mountainous nature, the mild summer climate and the green forests of Lori attract a large number of visitors during the summer season. Many sanatoriums, hotels, resorts and spas serve the province, mainly around Vanadzor, Stepanavan, Alaverdi, Dsegh and along the rivers of Dzoraget and Deped.
The Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lori has 3 nature protected areas, including the Gyulagarak Sanctuary, the Margahovit Sanctuary, and the Rhododendron caucasicum Sanctuary near Aghstev river.
The Stepanavan Dendropark as well as the Vanadzor Botanical Garden are major destinations for ecotourism lovers.

Education

was one of the major educational centres throughout the history. The historic University of Sanahin opened in 966 AD by the efforts of the Bagratuni queen Khosrovanush, was located in the area of modern-day Sanahin.
Currently, Vanadzor has 2 universities: the "Vanadzor State University named after Hovhannes Tumanyan", and "Mkhitar Gosh Armenian-Russian International University". Branches of the Yerevan State University and National Polytechnic University of Armenia are also operating in the city.
The State College of Alaverdi offers an opportunity in pedagogical studies with a duration of two years, while the Tumanyan branch of the "Northern University" offers degrees in nursing and dental prosthesis.
As of the 2015–16 educational year, Lori has 162 schools.
The Vanadzor Technological Center is operating since October 2016. It is intended to promote the business and technology environment in the entire region of Lori.

Sport

, handball and winter sports are popular in Lori. There are football stadiums in Vanadzor, Alaverdi, Akhtala and Tumanyan.
Lori Vanadzor, FC Vanadzor, Debed FC and FC Akhtala had represented the province in the domestic football competitions. However, they were all dissolved due to financial difficulties.
The FFA Vanadzor Football Academy opened its doors on 29 October 2016. In 2017 the newly founded Lori FC made its debut in the Armenian First League, representing the city of Vanadzor.
Vanadzor is a major centre for winter sports in northern Armenia with a ski resort near the city.

Notable natives