Alexandropol (Gyumri) in the early 20th century

The city of Alexandropol (Gyumri) in an archival photograph from the early 20th century. The city was founded in the 8th century BC and is first mentioned in the 5th century BC. Gyumri is the second-largest city of Armenia and is also called its cultural capital. Because of its strategic position it passed from one empire to another, changing its names: under the Persians it was called Kumayri, in the Russian Empire Alexandropol, and in the USSR Leninakan.

On the left of the photograph are churches with conical domes, and in the distance, on a hill, another church. In the foreground are low stone houses with flat roofs and an unpaved street along which people are walking. The number “8” is in the lower right corner.