Gumri

Gyumri Գյումրի
City Urban Community
From top left: Gyumri skyline • Mother Armenia Cathedral of Gyumri • Sev Berd Fortress Independence Square • Dzitoghtsyan Museum Vartanants Square and Gyumri City Hall
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Hayrakaghak ("Father-city")
Gyumri Location of Gyumri in Armenia
Coordinates: 40°47′22″N 43°50′51″E / 40.78944°N 43.84750°E / 40.78944; 43.84750
Country	Armenia
Province	Shirak
Founded as Kumayri by the Cimmerians	8th century BC
Rebuilt as Alexandropol by Nicholas I of Russia	1837
Government
• Mayor	Samvel Balasanyan
Area
• Total	54 km2 (21 sq mi)
Elevation	1,509 m (4,951 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	121,976
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Gyumretsi
Time zone	AMT (UTC+4)
Postal code	3101-3126
Area code(s)	(+374) 312
Vehicle registration	45 am
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.gyumricity.am
Sources: Population

Coordinates: 40°47′22″N 43°50′51″E / 40.78944°N 43.84750°E / 40.78944; 43.84750

Gyumri (Armenian: Գյումրի, pronounced [ɡjumˈɾi]), is an urban municipal community and the second largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative centre of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city was known as Alexandropol, it was one of the largest cities of Russian-ruled Eastern Armenia with a population similar to that of Yerevan. It was renamed to Leninakan during the Soviet period. The city's population grew above 200,000 prior to the 1988 Spitak earthquake, when it was devastated. As of the 2011 census, the city had a population of 121,976, down from 150,917 reported at the 2001 census.

Gyumri is the seat of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The area of modern-day Gyumri was known as Kumayri during the period of the Kingdom of Urartu. It is likely that the name has been originated from the Cimmerians who conquered the region and probably founded the settlement. Under the domination of the Turkic tribes, Kumayri was Turkified as Gümrü. In 1837, Kumayri was renamed Alexandropol after of Tsar Nicholas I's wife, Princess Alexandra Fyodorovna. Between 1924 and 1990, the city was known as Leninakan in honor of Vladimir Lenin. Following independence, the original name Kumayri was used until 1992, when Gyumri was chosen as the name of the city.