Kapan

Kapan (Armenian: Կապան [kɑˈpɑn]) is a town in southeast Armenia, serving as the administrative centre of the Kapan Municipality and also as the provincial capital of Syunik Province. It is located in the valley of the Voghji River and is on the northern slopes of Mount Khustup. Kapan is the most populous town in the Syunik Province as well as the entire region of southern Armenia. According to the 2011 census, the population of Kapan was 43,190, a slight decline from 45,711 in the 2001 census.^[2] According to the 2023 official estimate, the current population of the town is around 41,300.^[3]

Etymology

The name Kapan derives from the Classical Armenian common noun kapan (կապան), meaning 'mountain pass' (related to the verb kapel 'to tie').^[4][5] In later centuries, the name evolved into Ghap’an (Ղափան), which was in use until 1991, when the older form of the name was restored.^[4][6]

History

Ancient history and Middle Ages

The area of modern-day Kapan was first mentioned in the 5th century as a small settlement within the properties of the

Both the

In September 1930, the Kafan raion was formed with Kapan as its administrative center. In 1938, Kapan received city status.[8] Until 1991, the city was called Kafan in Russian and Ghap’an in Armenian.^[14][15]

Following the independence of Armenia in 1991, Kapan became the centre of the newly formed Syunik Province as per the 1995 administrative reforms of the republic. Many streets bearing the name of Bolshevik activists were changed. The town's central square was renamed after Garegin Nzhdeh, while the central park of the town was named after Vazgen Sargsyan.

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Kapan was bombarded by artillery coming from the neighboring Zangilan District of Azerbaijan, causing deaths among the civilian population.^[16] This prompted an Armenian operation to capture several nearby Azerbaijani border villages in December 1992.^[16]

Geography and climate

Kapan is the largest town in the Syunik province as well as the entire region of southern Armenia. It is located in the eastern part of Syunik, within the narrow valley of the

Kapan has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with very warm summers and cold winters. Temperatures can reach up to 38 °C (100 °F) during summer, and can fall to −15 °C (5 °F) during winter.

The

Kapan is a major historic centre of the Armenian civilization within historic Syunik. A sizable Jewish community lived in its own quarter in Kapan during the Middle Ages.^[7]

During the first half of the 19th century, many Russian and German engineers and workers arrived in Kapan to work in the copper mines of the region. In 1850, Greek specialists also arrived in the town. The Greeks built the Saint Catherine Orthodox church near Kapan in 1865.^[20]

The population of Kapan was at its peak with 45,711 citizens as per the 2001 census. However, the population has greatly declined during the first decade of the 21st century to 34,600 as per the 2016 official estimate.

Currently, Kapan is almost entirely populated by ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The town's Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church opened in December 2001 and is regulated by the Diocese of Syunik of the Armenian Apostolic Church, based in the nearby town of Goris.^[21]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1831	196	—
1897	2,272	+3.78%
1926	2,658	+0.54%
1939	8,511	+9.37%
1959	19,315	+4.18%
1976	36,351	+3.79%
2001	45,711	+0.92%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: [22]

The town is served by the Kapan Medical Center, which was fully modernized in 2015.

Culture

The historic part of Kapan is located around 10 km (6 mi) km west of the modern-day town. As one of the historic settlements of Armenia, Kapan and the surrounding areas are home to many heritage monuments of Armenian architecture, including:^[8]

• Baghaberd Fortress of the 4th century, also known as the castle of Davit Bek.
• The medieval bridge of Kapan dating back to 871.
• Tatev Monastery
  of the 9th century, founded in the place of an ancient tabernacle well known in ancient times.
• Vahanavank Monastery of the 11th century.
• Halidzor Fortress of the 17th century.

The town has several statues of prominent Armenian patriotic figures, such as the equestrian statue of Davit Bek erected in 1983, and Garegin Nzhdeh's memorial opened in 2001. Other decorative statues in the town include the bear statue of Kajaran's Key erected in 1966, the statue of the Girl from Zangezur erected in 1978, the World War II memorial opened in 1987, and the memorial to Armenian genocide erected in 1988.

Currently, the town is home to the Kapan Museum of Geology and the Kapan history museum named after Shmavon Movsisyan. Other cultural institutions of Kapan include the Children's School of Fine Arts opened in 1972, the House of Culture opened in 1977, the Children's School of Arts opened in 1981, the public library, the children's and youth creativity centre opened in 1990, the Alexander Shirvanzade drama theatre of Kapan, as well as two schools of music, which opened in 1977 and 1986. A branch of the Modern Art Museum of Yerevan is also operating in Kapan.

The Wings of Tatev cableway connecting Halidzor village with the Tatev Monastery is located 24 km (15 mi) north of Kapan. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in one section only.^[23]

Media

Kapan has two local TV companies: Khustup TV and Sosi TV. Khustup TV was founded in 2004 and covers the entire region of Syunik.^[24] Sosi TV was founded in 2012 and covers the central and southern parts of Syunik.

Transportation

The M-2 main road that connects the capital Yerevan with southern Armenia and the Iranian border passes through Kapan.^{[citation needed]}

In late 2008, the road between Kapan and Meghri on the Iranian border was redeveloped. However, the Kapan-Zangilan-Mincivan railway line is currently inactive.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the

Kapan is struggling to cope with the realities of post-Karabakh war and post-Soviet society. However, there are signs of growth and development. Kapan is primarily a mining centre, hence its Qajar-era Persian name of Ma'dan, meaning 'mine'.^{[citation needed]}

Kapan has been a major centre for the production of many non-ferrous metals. The Kapan mining company is currently owned by Chaarat, a British company. It is currently working the Shahumyan deposit and produces around 65,000 ounces of gold equivalent in copper and zinc concentrates per year.^{[citation needed]}

Kapan is home to many industrial firms. The largest firms are Kapan CHSHSH for building materials founded in 1947, the Kapan machine tools plant founded in 1972, the Sonatex knitting factory founded in 1985, and Marila LLC for meat and dairy products founded in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Tourism is growing in the region of Kapan. The nearby Wings of Tatev aerial tramway connecting

Kapan is the education centre of southern Armenia. It has 13 public education schools, 3 music schools and 3 sport academies.^[citation needed]

The Kapan campus of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia^[30][31] is home to two faculties:

• Faculty of Technologies and Sectoral Economics,
• Faculty of Natural Sciences and Communication Systems.

Sport

Football is the most popular sport in Kapan. FC Gandzasar Kapan, founded in 2004, represented the town in the Armenian Premier League, playing their home games at Gandzasar Stadium. The club has won third place in the Armenian Premier League on three occasions: in 2008, 2011 and 2012–13. Gandzasar have the highest average attendance at home games in the league.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2013, Gandzasar Kapan opened their football pitches, including one with artificial turf. The academy became the first developed technical football centre in the Syunik Province.^[32]

Kapan is also home to the Davit Hambardzumyan Children and Youth Sport School, operated by the municipality since its inauguration in 1969. More than 200 athletes are involved in the sport school. The Kapan Futsal Club is a professional futsal team based in Kapan, playing their home games at the Davit Hambardzumyan Children and Youth Sports School in the Armenian Futsal Premier League.^{[citation needed]}

The Kapan Sport School of Artistic Gymnastics has been operating since 1977. Currently, about 170 young athletes attend there. In 1989, another sport school specializing in athletics was opened in the town, designated for around 100 young athletes.^{[citation needed]}

Basketball and boxing are also popular in Kapan.^{[citation needed]}

International relations

Consulates

In October 2022, Iran opened a consulate general in Kapan.^[33] In 2023, Russia^[34] and France^[35] announced plans to establish consulates in Kapan.

Twin towns – Sister cities

• Glendale, California, United States^[36]
• Borisov, Belarus

Notable people

• David Ambartsumyan, Soviet Armenian diver
  , European champion
• Tatoul Markarian, ambassador of Armenia to the European Union
• Armen Movsisyan, former Minister of Energy of Armenia
• Armenian Opera Theater
• Lusine Gevorkyan, lead singer of Russian nu metal bands Tracktor Bowling and Louna
• Artsvik Harutyunyan, singer and Armenia's entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
• Levon Aghasyan, Olympic athlete
• Vardan Ghazaryan, football coach and former player

References

Bibliography

• OCLC 1037283914
  .

• Korkotyan, Zaven (1932). Խորհրդային Հայաստանի բնակչությունը վերջին հարյուրամյակում (1831-1931) [The population of Soviet Armenia in the last century (1831–1931)] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Pethrat. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2022.
• Tsutsiev, Arthur (2014). Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus (PDF). Translated by Nora Seligman Favorov. New Haven:
  ISBN 9780300153088. Archived
  (PDF) from the original on June 17, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kapan.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kapan.

• American Corner Kapan
• Kapan town portal