Byurakan

Byurakan Բյուրական
View of Byurakan as seen from the village of Tegher
Coat of arms
40°20′24″N 44°16′13″E / 40.34000°N 44.27028°E / 40.34000; 44.27028
Country	Armenia
Province	Aragatsotn
Municipality	Ashtarak
Government
• Mayor	Zarzand Babayan
Area
• Total	21.27 km2 (8.21 sq mi)
Elevation	1,460 m (4,790 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	4,345
Time zone	UTC+4

Byurakan (Armenian: Բյուրական) is a village in the Ashtarak Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the slope of Mount Aragats. The village is home to several historical sites including the 7th-century Artavazik Church, the 10th-century basilica of Saint Hovhannes and a huge 13th-century khachkar monument.

It is also home to the Byurakan Observatory.

Byurakan Observatory

Byurakan observatory is founded in 1946 by Viktor Hambardzumyan, Armenian scientist. There are several telescopes. The diameter of the biggest telescope is 2.6m (the biggest telescope in Caucasus). There is also a 1m Schmidt telescope.

Gallery

• 
  Road map of Byurakan and surrounding region.
• 
  Basilica of S. Hovhannes of the 10th century
• 
  Artavazik Church of the 7th century with huge khachkar monument behind.
• 
  Huge khachkar monument behind Artavazik Church of the 13th century
• 
  Pillar style khachkar with a Maltese Cross located behind a house in the village.

References

• Byurakan at GEOnet Names Server
• World Gazetteer: Armenia^{[dead link]} – World-Gazetteer.com
• Report of the results of the 2001 Armenian Census
• Kiesling, Rediscovering Armenia, p. 15, available online at the US embassy to Armenia's website