Charentsavan (founded in 1947 as Gyumush water-power plant station, up to 1967 – Lusavan, and renamed in 1967 after the poet Yeghishe Charents, in 1961 was granted with the status of a town) is located around 36 km north of the capital Yerevan on the left side of Hrazdan River, at a height ranging between 1600 and 1700 meters above sea level.
The total area of the town is 5,59 km². As of the 2017 census, the population of the town is 20450.
In 1953, after the construction of the Gyumush (now Argel) hydroelectric power plant, Charentsavan became an important industrial center of the republic.
Around 2/3rd of the town’s economy was based on mechanical industries. In 1958, the reinforced concrete plant of Charentsavan was opened, followed by the machine-tools plant in 1959. In 1966, the “Kentronadzul” metal casting plant was opened to become the largest industrial firm of the town. 4 more factories were opened in the 1970s, including the “Lizin” chemicals plant in 1974, the “ArmAuto” metal structures and goods plant, the “Bjni” water bottling plant in 1977, and the knitting plant in 1978 (the products were shipped to Italy). The main directions of the city’s current industry are metallurgy and production of finished metal products (steel and cast iron casting). The town has a railway station. Charentsavan has 6 public schools, 1 intermediate education institute, musical and sport schools, Garzou’s school of Fine Arts, a gallery, Charents House-Museum Branch and a library. The entrance to the city symbolizes the «Renaissance» Monument (by Yeghishe Charents’s “Curly Boy” poem, 1980, sculptor –Khachik Mirijanyan). Translated by Kristina Ghahramanyan
KOTAIK
