Matenadaran

The Mashtots Matenadaran - Institute, or Matenadaran (Armenian for library), Yerevan (Armenia ) is the central archive of old Armenian manuscripts. Since 1962, it is named after Mesrop Mashtots the Holy, the developer of the Armenian alphabet. Since 1997 it belongs to the World Documentary Heritage by UNESCO.

The main part of the stock of 17,000 manuscripts dating back to the Matenadaran Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Echmiadzin. 1920 expropriated and transferred to Moscow, the collection arrived in 1939 to Yerevan. The present building in neo -Armenian style was built 1945-1957 by Mark Grigoryan, the former house architect of Yerevan. The magazine was atomic bomb certainly carved into the rock and now suffers from water ingress.

The collection includes outstanding examples of Armenian miniatures. The Etchmiadzin Gospels of 989 in an ivory cover of the 6th century has almost the status of a national relic.

Mughni Gospels in 1060

Russian commemorative coin from 1990