Matenadaran

Matenadaran
An aerial view of the Matenadaran showing its main/old (center) and new (upper right) buildings
Map
EstablishedMarch 3, 1959; 65 years ago (March 3, 1959)[1]
Location53 Mashtots Avenue, Kentron District, Yerevan, Armenia
Coordinates40°11′31″N 44°31′16″E / 40.19207°N 44.52113°E / 40.19207; 44.52113
TypeArt museum, archive, research institute
Collection size~23,000 manuscripts and scrolls (including fragments)[2]
Visitors132,600 (2019)[3]
DirectorArayik Khzmalyan
ArchitectMark Grigorian, Arthur Meschian
OwnerGovernment of Armenia, Ministry of Education and Science[4]
Websitematenadaran.am

The Matenadaran (Armenian: Մատենադարան), officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts,[a] is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world's largest repository of Armenian manuscripts.[5]

It was established in 1959 on the basis of the nationalized collection of the Armenian Church, formerly held at Etchmiadzin. Its collection has gradually expanded since its establishment, mostly from individual donations. One of the most prominent landmarks of Yerevan, it is named after Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, whose statue stands in front of the building. Its collection is included in the register of the UNESCO Memory of the World program.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference SAE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference HistOver was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Nazaretyan, Hovhannes (10 February 2022). "Զբոսաշրջությունը հաղթահարում է կորոնավիրուսային շոկը [Tourism overcoming coronavirus shock]". civilnet.am. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Կառավարության առընթեր Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի անվան հին ձեռագրերի գիտահետազոտական ինստիտուտի (Մատենադարան) վերակազմավորման մասին". arlis.am (in Armenian). Armenian Legal Information System. 6 March 2002.
  5. ^ Abgarian, G.(1960) "Unfamiliar Libraries VI: The Matenadaran at Erevan." The Book Collector 9 no.2 (summer):146-150.


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