# Tsitsernakaberd

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Memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide

Armenian Genocide Memorial complex (Tsitsernakaberd) The memorial complex Established 1967 (memorial) 1995 (museum-institute) Location Yerevan, Armenia Type Memorial museum Visitors ~200,000[1] (up to 150,000 people excluding 24 April)[2] Director Edita Gzoyan Architects Arthur Tarkhanyan Sashur Kalashyan Website genocide-museum.am

The **Armenian Genocide Memorial complex** ([Armenian](/source/Armenian_language): Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր, *Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir*, or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, *Tsitsernakaberd*) is [Armenia](/source/Armenia)'s official memorial [dedicated to the victims](/source/Armenian_genocide_recognition) of the [Armenian genocide](/source/Armenian_genocide), built in 1967 on the hill of **Tsitsernakaberd** (*Swallow's fortress* in [English](/source/English_language)) ([Armenian](/source/Armenian_language): Ծիծեռնակաբերդ) in [Yerevan](/source/Yerevan). Every year on 24 April, the [Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day](/source/Armenian_Genocide_Remembrance_Day), thousands of [Armenians](/source/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 [visited the memorial](/source/List_of_visitors_to_Tsitsernakaberd).

## Name

According to legend, this hill received the name "Tsitsernakaberd" from the name of the [swallows](/source/Swallow) living here, who helped the Armenian pagan gods [Vahagn](/source/Vahagn) and [Astghik](/source/Ast%C5%82ik) convey news to each other.

## History

The idea of a genocide monument has its origins in 1960, when [Yakov Zarobyan](/source/Yakov_Zarobyan) succeeded [Suren Tovmasyan](/source/Suren_Tovmasyan) as the first secretary of the [Communist Party of Armenia](/source/Communist_Party_of_Armenia_(Soviet_Union)). On 16 July 1964, historians [Tsatur Aghayan](/source/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](/source/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.[3]

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.[4] The [1965 Yerevan demonstrations](/source/1965_Yerevan_demonstrations) and an unauthorized genocide commemoration in [Moscow](/source/Moscow) involving [Silva Kaputikyan](/source/Silva_Kaputikyan) encouraged Soviet authorities to complete the monument in November 1967.[4][5] The memorial was designed by architects Arthur Tarkhanyan, Sashur Kalashyan and artist Hovhannes Khachatryan.[6]

## Design

The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex has three main structures: the Temple of Eternity, the memorial column, and the memorial wall.

### Temple of Eternity

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

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

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](/source/Johannes_Lepsius), [Franz Werfel](/source/Franz_Werfel), [Armin T. Wegner](/source/Armin_Wegner), [Henry Morgenthau Sr.](/source/Henry_Morgenthau%2C_Sr.), [Fridtjof Nansen](/source/Fridtjof_Nansen), [Pope Benedict XV](/source/Benedict_XV), [Jakob Künzler](/source/Jakob_K%C3%BCnzler) and [Bodil Biørn](/source/Bodil_Katharine_Bi%C3%B8rn).

### Alley of trees

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

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 [visiting](/source/List_of_visitors_to_Tsitsernakaberd) 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](/source/Pope_John_Paul_II), [Pope Francis](/source/Pope_Francis), President of the Russian Federation [Vladimir Putin](/source/Vladimir_Putin), Presidents of France [Jacques Chirac](/source/Jacques_Chirac) and [Francois Hollande](/source/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.[7]

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](/source/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.[8]

The institute also conducts academic research into the genocide and publishes books on the subject and a journal, *International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies*.[9]

## 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](/source/1965_Yerevan_demonstrations)

- [List of visitors to Tsitsernakaberd](/source/List_of_visitors_to_Tsitsernakaberd)

- [Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day](/source/Armenian_Genocide_Remembrance_Day)

- [List of Armenian genocide memorials](/source/List_of_Armenian_genocide_memorials)

- [Yad Vashem](/source/Yad_Vashem) (est. 1953), Holocaust memorial and research institute with a similar concept

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["On April 24 about 100 thousand visitors at Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute"](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). [Armenpress](/source/Armenpress). 24 April 2014. Archived from [the original](http://armenpress.am/eng/news/759393/on-april-24-about-100-thousand-visitors-at-armenian-genocide-museum-institute.html) on 16 June 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ցեղասպանությունն' օտարների աչքերով \[The Armenian genocide in the eyes of foreigners\]"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140616155306/http://www.yerkirmedia.am/wap.php?act=news&lan=hy&id=88) (in Armenian). Yerevan. [Yerkir Media](/source/Yerkir_Media). 23 April 2011. Archived from [the original](http://www.yerkirmedia.am/wap.php?act=news&lan=hy&id=88) on 16 June 2014. Ծիծեռնակաբերդի հուշահամալիր` չհաշված ապրիլի 24-ը, տարեկան է 120-150 հազար մարդ է այցելում: Նրանցից 80 հազարն օտարազգի են, այդ թվում եւ թուրքեր:

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Doydoyan, Liana; Stepanyan, Vahan (16 April 2012). ["Ծիծեռնակաբերդ. Եղեռնի հուշահամալիր (մաս I)"](http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/details/103218) (in Armenian). [PanARMENIAN.Net](/source/PanARMENIAN.Net).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-saparov_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-saparov_4-1) Saparov, Arsène (2018). "Re-negotiating the Boundaries of the Permissible: The National(ist) Revival in Soviet Armenia and Moscow's Response". *[Europe-Asia Studies](/source/Europe-Asia_Studies)*. **70** (6): 865, 874–875.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Payaslian, Simon (2007). *The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present*. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 185. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-230-60858-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-230-60858-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Encyclopedia of Genocide: A–H.: Volume 1 – p. 102, Ann Arbor

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Dictionary of Genocide: A–L, by Samuel Totten, Paul Robert Bartrop, Steven L. Jacobs – p. 21

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute](http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/museum_info.php)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies – AGMI Publications"](https://agmipublications.asnet.am/en/international-journal-of-armenian-genocide-studies/). Retrieved 18 March 2021.

- [Genocide.am – Photos of Tsitsernakaberd memorial](http://genocide.am/)

- Kiesling, Brady (2005), *Rediscovering Armenia: Guide*, [Yerevan, Armenia](/source/Yerevan%2C_Armenia): Matit Graphic Design Studio

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Tsitsernakaberd](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tsitsernakaberd).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Armenian_Genocide_Museum-Institute).

- [About Armenian Genocide Museum](https://avproduction.am/?ln=am&page=culture&id=4)

- [Official site](http://www.genocide-museum.am/)

- [Tsitsernakaberd - Virtual Tour](https://web.archive.org/web/20121101014251/http://360arm.am/vtours.html)

- [Armenian Genocide](http://www.armenian-genocide.org/)

- [Official Website of Armenian Genocide Centennial](https://web.archive.org/web/20150412173645/http://armeniangenocide100.org/en/)

[40°11′9″N 44°29′26″E / 40.18583°N 44.49056°E / 40.18583; 44.49056](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Tsitsernakaberd&params=40_11_9_N_44_29_26_E_region:AM_type:landmark)

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v t e Armenian genocide Background Armenians in the Ottoman Empire Armenian question Turkish nationalism Hamidian massacres (1894–1897) Young Turk Revolution (1908) Adana massacre (1909) Balkan Wars (1912–1913) 1914 Armenian reforms 1914 Greek deportations Congress at Erzerum Ottoman Empire in World War I Battle of Sarikamish Genocide Causes Deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 Tehcir Law 20 Hunchakian gallows Confiscation Forced labour Mass rape Concentration camps Deir ez-Zor Ra's al-'Ayn Terminology By region Adana Aleppo Bitlis Diyarbekir Erzurum Harput Muş Sivas Trebizond Van Demography Pre-genocide population Genocide casualties Post-genocide population Hidden Armenians Survivors Vorpahavak Resistance Armenian militia By location Zeitun Van Musa Dagh Urfa Shabin-Karahisar Azakh Rescue of Armenians Turkish opposition Perpetrators Committee of Union and Progress Talaat Enver Djemal Djevdet Reshid Bahaeddin Şakir Special Organization Iğdır Millî Cumhuriyeti [tr] Kars Aras Oltu Şura Hükûmeti [tr] International response May 1915 Triple Entente declaration Imperial Germany Press coverage Foreign aid and relief Near East Foundation National Armenian Relief Committee Prosecution Courts-martial Malta exiles Operation Nemesis Assassination of Talaat Pasha Treaty of Lausanne Cultural depictions Ravished Armenia (book, film) The Forty Days of Musa Dagh The Promise others Aftermath Witnesses and testimonies Recognition United States Reparations Denial Hidden Armenians Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day 100th anniversary Memorials Tsitsernakaberd notable visitors Related Late Ottoman genocides Greek genocide Assyrian genocide Armenian genocide and the Holocaust Assassination of Hrant Dink Hitler's reference to the Armenian genocide

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tsitsernakaberd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsitsernakaberd) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsitsernakaberd?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.