Alaverdi, Armenia

Alaverdi
From top left: Alaverdi skyline • Residential neighbourhoods Pambak Mountains • Debed canyon Sanahin bridge of 1195 • Debed River The copper smelter seen from the cable car • Narekatsi church
Alaverdi
Coordinates: 41°08′N 44°39′E / 41.133°N 44.650°E / 41.133; 44.650
Country	Armenia
Marz	Lori
Founded	1899
Government
• Mayor	Karen Paremuzyan
Area
• Total	18 km2 (7 sq mi)
Elevation	1,000 m (3,000 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	13,343
• Density	740/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC (UTC+4)
Area code(s)	(+374) 253
Website	Official website
Sources: Population

Coordinates: 41°08′N 44°39′E / 41.133°N 44.650°E / 41.133; 44.650

Alaverdi (Armenian: , Armenian pronunciation: [ɑlɑvɛɾˈdi]), is a town in the Lori Province at the northeastern part of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located at the only direct rail link between Armenia and Georgia. Situated at the bottom of the Debed river gorge, Alaverdi is an important commercial and industrial centre in northern Armenia.

As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 13,343, down from 26,300 reported in 1989.

Historically, the area around Alaverdi was known as Manasgomer or Manits Gom during the medieval period. Starting from the 17th century, the settlement became to be known as Alaverdi, derived from the name of a 17th-century Turkic Borçalı tribe leader Allahverdi mollaoğlu Tarkhan.

However, Alaverdi was formed as a settlement known as Manes only in 1899, when the copper smelter was opened at the northern outskirts of Sanahin village and residential barracks were built to accommodate the laborers of the smelter. The newly founded settlement was named after the French engineer Manés who was the initiator and the director of the project.

Excavations conducted in 1931 testify that the region of modern-day Alaverdi was most probably settled during the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC. Later, the region became part of the Urartu Kingdom between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. After the Achaemenid invasion, the region became part of the Satrapy of Armenia. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Armenia in 331 BC, the region became part of the Dzorapor canton of the historic Gugark province, the 13th province of Greater Armenia.