Matenadaran

"Matenadaran" Mesrop Mashtots Scientific Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts is a scientific research institute and museum with an exceptionally valuable manuscript collection.

 The basis of the Matenadaran collection is the manuscript collection of the Holy Etchmiadzin, which was created in 1920. nationalized in 1939 moved to Yerevan, and in 1959 it found its final resting place at the top of Mashtots Avenue, the capital's main street, in the building built by architect Mark Grigoryan, in Matenadaran.

 In 1997 Matenadaran was registered in UNESCO's "World Memory" list and is considered one of the most important places for the preservation and development of Armenian national memory.

 The solution of the front part of the building has its prototype in the architecture of Ani, the capital of medieval Armenia, and some architectural reworkings of other medieval structures are used in the interior structure. In 1962 Matenadaran is named after Mesrop Mashtots, the author of the Armenian alphabet. Later, due to the expansion of activities and the growth of the collection, in 2011, according to the project of architect Artur Meschyan. the new and spacious scientific building of Matenadaran is being built.

 Currently, about 20,000 manuscripts (in Armenian and other languages) stored in Matenadaran cover almost all fields of Armenian ancient and medieval science and culture: history, geography, grammar, philosophy, law, medicine, mathematics, cosmology, notarial science, translation and national literature, miniature painting, music. and theater.

 In addition to Armenian manuscripts, the Matenadaran holds manuscripts in Greek, Arabic, Persian, Assyrian, Latin, Ethiopian, Georgian, Hebrew and other languages. Thanks to the Armenian translations made in the Middle Ages, many originals were saved from loss, which were not preserved in their native languages, known only in Armenian translation. Along with scientific research, restoration of manuscripts and various publishing works, Matenadaran continues the work of collecting manuscripts through donations and purchases.

 Matenadaran, which is the treasury of our people's intellectual heritage, today is an institution of international recognition and high ranking, combining the functions of a scientific research institute and a museum, which has also become one of the landmarks of the capital city of Yerevan and Armenia.