Kentron (Armenian: Կենտրոն վարչական շրջան, romanized: Kentron varch’akan shrjan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It comprises the downtown, the commercial centre of the city. As of the 2011 census, the district has a population of 125,453.
The word kentron literally means "centre" in Armenian, and has the same etymological root as the English word, ultimately from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, "centre"). Its Western Armenian cognate is getron (Armenian: կեդրոն).
Overview
The district is unofficially divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Kond, Noragyugh, Pokr Kentron, Nor Kilikia, Kozern and Aygestan.
Kond and Noragyugh are among the 7 original neighbourhoods of old Yerevan.
The administrative building of Kentron districtPoplavok lake at the Circular Park
After Armenia fell under Soviet rule between 1920 and 1921, Yerevan became the first among the cities in the Soviet Union for which a general plan was developed. The "General Plan of Yerevan" developed by the academic Alexander Tamanian, was approved in 1924. It was initially designed for a population of 150,000. The city was quickly transformed into a modern industrial metropolis of over one million people. New educational, scientific and cultural institutions were founded as well.
Tamanian incorporated national traditions with contemporary urban construction. His design presented a radial-circular arrangement that overlaid the existing city and incorporated much of its existing street plan. As a result, many historic buildings in the centre (modern-day Kentron district) of Yerevan were demolished, including churches, mosques, the Safavid fortress, baths, bazaars and caravanserais.
Within the years, Kentron has become the most developed district of Yerevan, something that created a significant gap compared with other districts in the city. Most of the educational, cultural and scientific institutions were centred in the Kentron district. It also became home to administrative buildings of Armenia, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly of Armenia, the Central Bank of Armenia, the National Security Service and most of the ministry buildings.
Panoramic view from the Kentron district (from left to right): The City Hall clock tower, Ardshinbank (foreground), Glendale Hills residential buildings (background), the Yerevan Ararat Brandy Factory tower, the Russian Embassy, the Mountains of Ararat in the overall background.
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