Black Fortress in Gyumri

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This fortress is located in Gyumri, Shirak province. It was built in 1834. Like the underground structures of Ani, one of the capitals of Armenia, underground roads were built to the fortress, which led from the fortress to the current monument of the Mother of Armenia Red Fortress. It is included in the list of immovable monuments of history and culture of Gyumri.

Historical overview

Originally, the fortress was a defense structure of Alexandropol (now Gyumri) and served as a military prison. Only after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, when the Russians occupied Kars, Kars fortress became a large fortress of defense, and the Alexandropol fortress became an artillery storehouse.

Excavations of the castle

As a result of a number of excavations it became clear that the territory of the fortress was the oldest inhabited part of the city. The first research was conducted in the second half of the XIX century, around 1875. Excavations were also carried out by an expedition of the Kumayri reserve-museum. As a result of excavations a small settlement with a sanctuary, a small statue, an ox, and a mausoleum of antiquity were found. The whole plain, from the tower to the end of the castle, is a magnificent archaeological monument, mostly a mausoleum. The fortress has preserved cultural heritage from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

Entrance to the fortress is free.