To the South of Yerevan's well-laid out "Garden City"-style downtown area, filled with chic boutiques and European eateries, lies the city's industrial heart. Or should we say post-industrial. Many of these massive "concerns" (soviet-era factory complexes which employed tens of thousands to produce heavy industrial goods sold across the former Communist bloc) lie abandoned and in ruin. Massive industrial cranes lie eerily idle since the day the USSR collapsed. Huge hats from iron smelters rust as their inner areas remain exposed to the elements.
The area also serves as a good example of soviet-era urban planning which placed industrial areas along a metro line running directly from "working-class" residential neighbourhoods to make mass transit easier for workers.
While some of the warehouses and factory floors have been reclaimed by smaller businesses, the rest of the district, is easily accessible via the "Qordzaranayin" (fittingly: "Factory") Metro Station, and is a perfect playground for "ruin porn" photographers or enthusiasts of soviet industrial architecture.
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Find your way with 142 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
The "Artists' Building" in Yerevan is Brezhnev-era apartment tower were many artists, artisans & new occupants practice their craft to this day...
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"The Green Bean Cafe" in Yerevan is a place I go to for meeting someone fast or when I need somewhere quiet to work. Great vegetarian & vegan food!
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It truly is a Soviet masterpiece considering its unique design and build: it is part metro station, part cavern and, once upon a time, part cafe.
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The "Open Air Cinema" in Yerevan in Moscow Cinema has a rich history, and Soviet ruin-porn enthusiasts can access the building all-year round, too!
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"Homeland Handycrafts" in Yerevan is a social enterprise designed to revive traditional Armenian crafts while employing the most vulnerable population...
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"Hanrapetutyan Street" in Yerevan is one of the most central in the city, yet there is so much to see here. The buildings are really beautiful and old...
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"Ardēan": a center for art, architecture and design that has its gallery shop on Abovyan street in Yerevan. I like how they combine technology & tradition.
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The "Mermaids of the Underground" in Yerevan is a sculpture from 1981. The mermaids wear nothing but their hair, which was quite unusual for its time...
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"Shengavit" is an impressive 6000-year-old settlement which is preserved even better than Yerevan's old town! It was an accidental discovery in the 1930s.
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The "Cross-stone Makers" in Yerevan follow a tradition that goes back to 879 AD. The masters' metal tools on the stone create a meditative sound for me...
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The "Komitas Museum" in Yerevan is one of my favorite ones in the city. It gets me thinking about what Armenian music really is about...
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