Goris

Goris
Գորիս

State :

Armenia

Province :

Sjunik

Coordinates :

39 ° 30 ′ N , 46 ° 20 ′ E Coordinates: 39 ° 30 ′ N , 46 ° 20 ′ E

Height :

1370 m

Residents :

23,019 (2009)

Time zone :

UTC + 4

Community type:

city

Mayor :

Vachagan Adunts

Website :

goriscity.am (Armenian)

Goris

Goris ( Armenian Գորիս ; Russian Горис ) is a city in the Armenian province of Syunik , around 250 km from the capital Yerevan and 70 km from the provincial capital Kapan .

Goris received the rank of city in 1885 in the then Russian Empire . The city has 23,019 inhabitants according to the 2009 calculation and is 1370 m above sea level. The city is located in a basin of the Vararak River, surrounded by high sandstone mountains. A chessboard-like course of the street is characteristic of the city.

View over the city from the south

Some restored townhouses and the museum in honor of the Armenian poet Axel Bakunz are worth seeing . One has a good overview of the valley basin from the city mountain called Jerankatar. Other destinations in the vicinity are the old Armenian monastery Tatev and the rock caves of Chndzoresk .

Goris is a regional industrial center, although after the Karabakh War an economic decline followed, which the city still suffers from today. The destruction caused by the war cannot be overlooked in the streetscape. In view of the increasing number of foreign visitors - mostly Americans of Armenian origin - a lot of work is being done on the tourist infrastructure. There is a hotel of European standard as well as several bed & breakfasts available.

Goris is a regional transport hub. The M2 trunk road runs through the city from Yerevan over the 2480 m high Tashtun Pass to Tabriz in Iran . It is currently the only connection between the two countries. In Goris, the strategically important M12 branches off from this road , which leads to Stepanakert (Xankəndi) in Nagorno-Karabakh .