{{short description|Memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide}} {{Infobox museum | name = Armenian Genocide Memorial complex (Tsitsernakaberd) | logo = | image = Armenian Genocide Memorial and traiditional red tulipss of alley 2023 2.jpg | image_size = | caption = The memorial complex | alt = | map_type = | coordinates = | type = [[Memorial museum]] | former_name = | established = 1967 (memorial)<br />1995 (museum-institute) | location = [[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]] | collection_size = | visitors = ~200,000<ref>{{cite news|title=On April 24 about 100 thousand visitors at Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute|url=http://armenpress.am/eng/news/759393/on-april-24-about-100-thousand-visitors-at-armenian-genocide-museum-institute.html|agency=[[Armenpress]]|date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616154103/http://armenpress.am/eng/news/759393/on-april-24-about-100-thousand-visitors-at-armenian-genocide-museum-institute.html|archive-date=16 June 2014}}</ref> (up to 150,000 people excluding 24 April)<ref>{{cite news|title=Ցեղասպանությունն' օտարների աչքերով [The Armenian genocide in the eyes of foreigners]|url=http://www.yerkirmedia.am/wap.php?act=news&lan=hy&id=88|agency=[[Yerkir Media]]|date=23 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616155306/http://www.yerkirmedia.am/wap.php?act=news&lan=hy&id=88|archive-date=16 June 2014|location=Yerevan|language=hy|quote=Ծիծեռնակաբերդի հուշահամալիր` չհաշված ապրիլի 24-ը, տարեկան է 120-150 հազար մարդ է այցելում: Նրանցից 80 հազարն օտարազգի են, այդ թվում եւ թուրքեր:}}</ref> | director = [[Edita Gzoyan]] | architect = Arthur Tarkhanyan<br>Sashur Kalashyan | website = {{URL|http://genocide-museum.am/}} }} The '''Armenian Genocide Memorial complex''' ({{langx|hy|Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր}}, ''Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir'', or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, '' Tsitsernakaberd'') is [[Armenia]]'s official memorial [[Armenian genocide recognition|dedicated to the victims]] of the [[Armenian genocide]], built in 1967 on the hill of '''Tsitsernakaberd''' (''Swallow's fortress'' in [[English language|English]]) ({{langx|hy|Ծիծեռնակաբերդ}}) in [[Yerevan]]. Every year on 24 April, the [[Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day]], thousands of [[Armenians]] gather at the memorial to commemorate the victims of the genocide. The people who gather in Tsiternakaberd lay fresh flowers out of respect for all the people who died in the Armenian genocide. Over the years, from around the world, a wide range of politicians, artists, musicians, athletes, and religious figures have [[List of visitors to Tsitsernakaberd|visited the memorial]].
== Name == According to legend, this hill received the name "Tsitsernakaberd" from the name of the [[Swallow|swallows]] living here, who helped the Armenian pagan gods [[Vahagn]] and [[Astłik|Astghik]] convey news to each other.
== History == The idea of a genocide monument has its origins in 1960, when [[Yakov Zarobyan]] succeeded [[Suren Tovmasyan]] as the first secretary of the [[Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union)|Communist Party of Armenia]]. On 16 July 1964, historians [[Tsatur Aghayan]] (the director of the Armenian branch of the Institute of Marxism–Leninism), Hovhannes Injikian (head of the section of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences), and [[John Kirakosyan]] (deputy head of the section of ideology of the Central Committee of the party) sent a highly confidential letter to the Presidium of the Communist Party of Armenia, where they made a series of proposal to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the genocide. Point 8 said: "To build the memorial of the victims of the Armenian people in World War I on account of the income of the population. The memorial must symbolize the rebirth of the Armenian people." On 13 December 1964, Zarobyan sent a report-letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, where the grounds and the meaning of the anniversary and the construction of the "monument dedicated to the Armenian martyrs sacrificed in World War I" were noted.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Doydoyan|first1=Liana|last2=Stepanyan|first2=Vahan|title=Ծիծեռնակաբերդ. Եղեռնի հուշահամալիր (մաս I)|url=http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/details/103218|agency=[[PanARMENIAN.Net]]|date=16 April 2012|language=hy}}</ref>
On 15 February 1965, the Armenian authorities adopted a resolution to complete a memorial honoring the 1.5 million Armenians who perished in the genocide.<ref name="saparov">{{cite journal|last=Saparov|first=Arsène|title=Re-negotiating the Boundaries of the Permissible: The National(ist) Revival in Soviet Armenia and Moscow's Response|journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]]|volume=70|number=6|date=2018|pp=865, 874–875}}</ref> The [[1965 Yerevan demonstrations]] and an unauthorized genocide commemoration in [[Moscow]] involving [[Silva Kaputikyan]] encouraged Soviet authorities to complete the monument in November 1967.<ref name="saparov"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Payaslian |first=Simon |title=The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-0-230-60858-0 |page=185}}</ref> The memorial was designed by architects Arthur Tarkhanyan, Sashur Kalashyan and artist Hovhannes Khachatryan.<ref>Encyclopedia of Genocide: A–H.: Volume 1 – p. 102, Ann Arbor</ref>
== Design ==
The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex has three main structures: the Temple of Eternity, the memorial column, and the memorial wall.
=== Temple of Eternity === [[File:Armenian Genocide Memorial complex.jpg|thumb|The Temple of Eternity]]
The Temple of Eternity consists of 12 stone slabs arranged in a circular shape, curved inward, with an eternal flame in the center. The number 12 was chosen based on geometric laws, but the people believe that these columns symbolize the 12 largest provinces in Western Armenia. In reality, the number of provinces of Western Armenia in the Ottoman Empire was six (Van, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Sebastia, Kharberd), in addition to which there was a separate Cilicia as the vilayet of Adana.
=== Memorial column === [[File:Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.jpg|thumb|Memorial column]]
Next to the Temple of Eternity is the memorial column, which is 44 meters high. It is divided into two parts: the large and small monuments, which express the idea of the rebirth of the nation.
=== Memorial wall === [[File:Yerevan, memorial wall at Tsitsernakaberd.jpg|thumb|Memorial wall with the names of the settlements of Western Armenia where massacres took place]]
Along the park at the memorial there is a 100-meter wall with the names of towns and villages where massacres and deportations are known to have taken place. On the rear side of the commemoration wall, plates have been attached to honor the people who committed themselves to relieving the distress of the survivors during and after the genocide, among them [[Johannes Lepsius]], [[Franz Werfel]], [[Armin Wegner|Armin T. Wegner]], [[Henry Morgenthau, Sr.|Henry Morgenthau Sr.]], [[Fridtjof Nansen]], [[Benedict XV|Pope Benedict XV]], [[Jakob Künzler]] and [[Bodil Katharine Biørn|Bodil Biørn]].
=== Alley of trees === [[File:Yerevan, Tsitsernakaberd tree garden.jpg|thumb|Trees planted in memory of the victims of the genocide]]
An alley of trees has been planted to commemorate the genocide victims.
== Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute == [[File:Kentron, Yerevan, Armenia - panoramio (23).jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|The main building of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute ]] The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute opened in 1995 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the genocide. The structure of the museum, planned by architects Sashur Kalashian, Lyudmila Mkrtchyan and sculptor F. Araqelyan, has followed a unique design. Since opening, the museum has received tens of thousands of visitors including schoolchildren, college students and huge numbers of tourists from outside Armenia. The Republic of Armenia has turned [[List of visitors to Tsitsernakaberd|visiting]] the museum into part of state protocol and many official foreign delegations have already visited the museum. These delegations have included [[Pope John Paul II]], [[Pope Francis]], President of the Russian Federation [[Vladimir Putin]], Presidents of France [[Jacques Chirac]] and [[Francois Hollande]], and other well-known public and political figures. The museum contains historical documents and is open to the public for guided tours in Armenian, Russian, English, French, and German.<ref>Dictionary of Genocide: A–L, by Samuel Totten, Paul Robert Bartrop, Steven L. Jacobs – p. 21</ref>
The two-story building is built directly into the side of a hill so as not to detract from the presence of the Genocide Monument nearby. The roof of the museum is flat and covered with concrete tiles. It overlooks the scenic Ararat Valley and majestic [[Mount Ararat]]. The first floor of the museum is subterranean and houses the administrative, engineering and technical maintenance offices as well as Komitas Hall, which seats 170 people. Here also are situated the storage rooms for museum artifacts and scientific objects, as well as a library and a reading hall. The museum exhibit is located on the second floor in a space just over 1,000 square meters in size. There are three main indoor exhibit halls and an outer gallery with its own hall. The Genocide Monument is designed to memorialize the victims. The Genocide Museum's mission is rooted in the understanding that the Armenian Genocide is important in preventing similar future tragedies, and in keeping with the notion that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.<ref>[http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/museum_info.php The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute]</ref>
The institute also conducts academic research into the genocide and publishes books on the subject and a journal, ''International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies''.<ref>{{cite web |title=International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies – AGMI Publications |url=https://agmipublications.asnet.am/en/international-journal-of-armenian-genocide-studies/ |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref>
== The Armenian Genocide Memorial improvement project ==
The goal of the improvement project was to organize cultural, entertainment, and sports events that meet the needs of different groups of park visitors.
It is planned to build an open-air museum of ancient Armenian architecture in the park, where a large number of fragments of monuments and khachkars scattered throughout Armenia will be collected, an active recreation area that will open onto the Hrazdan Valley and be connected to the city via vertical transport and a cable car, a sports area with its structures, squares and an aquatic center and quiet recreation area planned on the western side of the park.
== See also ==
* [[1965 Yerevan demonstrations]] * [[List of visitors to Tsitsernakaberd]] * [[Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day]] * [[List of Armenian genocide memorials]] * [[Yad Vashem]] (est. 1953), Holocaust memorial and research institute with a similar concept
== References == {{Reflist}} * [http://genocide.am/ Genocide.am – Photos of Tsitsernakaberd memorial] * {{citation|last=Kiesling |first=Brady |title=Rediscovering Armenia: Guide |publisher=Matit Graphic Design Studio|location=[[Yerevan, Armenia]]|year=2005}}
== External links == {{commons category|Tsitsernakaberd}} {{commons category|Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute}} * [https://avproduction.am/?ln=am&page=culture&id=4 About Armenian Genocide Museum] * [http://www.genocide-museum.am/ Official site] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121101014251/http://360arm.am/vtours.html Tsitsernakaberd - Virtual Tour] * [http://www.armenian-genocide.org/ Armenian Genocide ] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150412173645/http://armeniangenocide100.org/en/ Official Website of Armenian Genocide Centennial ]
{{coord|40|11|9|N|44|29|26|E|region:AM_type:landmark|display=title}} {{Yerevan landmarks}} {{Armenian Genocide}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:1967 establishments in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Armenian genocide commemoration]] [[Category:Armenian genocide memorials]] [[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1967]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Yerevan]] [[Category:Genocide museums]] [[Category:History museums in Armenia]] [[Category:Monuments and memorials in Armenia]] [[Category:Monuments and memorials built in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Museums in Yerevan]]