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58-444: Dilijan National Park was established in 2002 on the basis of the state nature reserve, which in its turn was established in 1958 on the basis of the former Dilijan and Kuybishev forest enterprises. The territory of the newly established national park has stayed unchanged. The change of the status of Dilijan State Reserve to Dilijan National Park was conditioned by several objective reasons, such as inevitability of commercial activity in

116-567: A commercial and domestic basis. Its native distribution is unclear, since it may have escaped from cultivation and become naturalized. For example, in Britain , some sources consider it to be a native, others to be an introduction. The species is also occasionally naturalized in scattered locations in North America. It is one of several species in the subgenus Ribes subg. Grossularia . The goose in gooseberry has been seen as

174-838: A corruption of either the Dutch word kruisbes or the allied German Krausbeere , or of the earlier forms of the French groseille . Alternatively, the word has been connected to the Middle High German krus ('curl, crisped'), in Latin as grossularia . However, the Oxford English Dictionary takes the more literal derivation from goose and berry as probable because "the grounds on which plants and fruits have received names associating them with animals are so often inexplicable that

232-528: A height of 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) above sea level . The valley is surrounded with the Lesser Caucasus mountains from the north, and the Semyonovka mountain pass from the south. The mountainous areas -mainly the ranges of Bazum and Pambak mountains- are all covered with thick forests occupying a territory of more than 34,000 hectares (84,016 acres). Reaching up the highest peaks of the mountains,

290-427: A key role in organizing the troops for the battle. Following the brief independence of Armenia in 1918-20 , Dilijan became part of the newly founded Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic . In 1930, it was part of the newly formed Ijevan raion , until 1958 when Dilijan became a town of republican subordination. Following the independence of Armenia in 1991, Dilijan became part of the newly formed Tavush Province as per

348-587: A rich historical and cultural heritage. During the nearby excavations in the prehistoric cemeteries of Golovino and Papanino, bronze items of almost three thousand years old were found, including armours, daggers, pitchers, ear-rings and others were found. All those items could be found either in the Dilijan museum or in the Hermitage Museum. In 1932 the State Theatre was founded in Dilijan under

406-402: Is also rich in its fauna , including brown bear , wolf , marten , otter , lynx , sylvan cat, Persian squirrel, sylvan dormouse, hedgehog , chamois , European red deer , wild hog , pheasant , quail , partridge, Caspian turkey, culver , white-tailed eagle , lammergeyer , pygmy eagles, golden eagle , hawk and others. Lake Parz is one of Dilijan's most attractive natural sites. It

464-586: Is approximately 100 kilometres of trail within the Dilijan region that is complete and open to hikers, with many routes passing by monasteries in the region. As of 2009 , Dilijan had 5 public education schools and 6 kindergartens with 2250 students and 350 children respectively. A music academy and another one for arts are also operating in the town. Dilijan has an operating branch of the Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts . Three intermediate colleges for medicine, arts and crafts are also operating in

522-527: Is especially rich in rare species. Tertiary relict yew and Caucasian rhododendron ( Rhododendron caucasicum ) are the gems of the national park. The small well conserved yew forest located in the basin of the River Polad was designated as a reservation in 1958 ( see Akhnabat Yew Grove Reservation ). The second smaller yew forest has been located on the upper stream of the River Aghstev in

580-458: Is housed in an up-to-date complex built between 2011 and 2016 with an approximate cost of AMD 26 billion (around US$ 54.4 million). Dilijan has an all-seater municipal stadium with a capacity of 2,200 spectators. The Dilijan City Stadium was the home venue of the former Armenian Premier League club Impuls FC . Impuls FC founded in 1985, represented the town in domestic football competitions. However, after spending many successful seasons in

638-466: Is situated in the northern part of the town at a height of 1,400 metres (4,593 feet) above sea level . It has an area of 2 hectares (5 acres) and an average depth of 8 metres (26 feet). To the east of the Lake Parz, at a distance of 3 kilometres (2 miles) from Gosh village, Lake Tzlka is located at a height of 1,500 metres (4,921 feet). Aghstev River with its tributaries passes through the town and

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696-633: Is uncertain whether the Romans were acquainted with the gooseberry, though it may possibly be alluded to in a vague passage of Pliny the Elder 's Natural History ; the hot summers of Italy , in ancient times as at present, would be unfavourable to its cultivation. Although gooseberries are now abundant in Germany and France , it does not appear to have been much grown there in the Middle Ages , though

754-761: The Dilijan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia . The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park . The forested town is home to numerous Armenian artists, composers, and filmmakers and features some traditional Armenian architecture. The town is often referred to as the Armenian Switzerland or Little Switzerland by the locals. Sharambeyan Street in

812-521: The 16th century, and a few years later it is mentioned in one of Thomas Tusser's quaint rhymes as an ordinary object of garden culture. Improved varieties were probably first raised by the skilful gardeners of Holland , whose name for the fruit, Kruisbezie , may have been corrupted into the present English vernacular word. Towards the end of the 18th century the gooseberry became a favourite object of cottage-horticulture, especially in Lancashire , where

870-400: The 1995 administrative reforms. Nowadays, in addition to being one of the most prominent mountain resorts in Armenia, Dilijan is planned to be an international educational centre for both locals and foreigners, through the establishment of many developed schools and educational institutions. Dilijan lies on the banks of Aghstev River with a length of more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) and at

928-502: The 2011 census, Dilijan has a population of 17,712, down from 23,700 reported in the 1989 census. Currently, the town has an approximate population of 16,600 as per the 2016 official estimate. Dilijan does not a have a church building, and the church services are conducted at a building within the Tufenkian Old Dilijan complex. The town's monumental church is currently under construction since April 2016. Dilijan has

986-599: The Dilijan museum of traditional art. The famous Impuls factory of Dilijan for communication systems was opened in 1962 by the Soviets. However it was abandoned in the 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The Armenian government has announced plans to turn Dilijan into a regional financial capital, beginning with the move of much of the Central Bank's operations to Dilijan in 2013. In 2009, it

1044-699: The Dilijan regional financial and banking centre, the United World College Dilijan , the Old Dilijan-Tufenkian Centre, the modern building of Dilijan theatre and the Dilijan Museum. Dilijan is among the favorite destinations for local and foreign tourists. The town has a number of high-class hotels and sanatoriums , allowing the visitors the chance to enjoy the beauty of the National Park as well as

1102-512: The Himalayas and peninsular India. In Britain , it is often found in copses and hedgerows and about old ruins, but the gooseberry has been cultivated for so long that it is difficult to distinguish wild bushes from feral ones, or to determine where the gooseberry fits into the native flora of the island. Common as it is now on some of the lower slopes of the Alps of Piedmont and Savoy , it

1160-510: The Ijevan mountain range and Mount Abeghasar are rich in petrophytes and rare plants. Rocks and cliffs serves as a favorable habitat for numerous rare species such as Armenian Saint John's wort ( Hypericum armenum , saxifrage ( Saxifraga juniperifolia , S. tridactylites ), scorzonera ( Scorzonera rigida ), cephalaria ( Cephalaria media ), small scabious ( Scabiosa columbaria ), jasmine ( Jasminum fruticans ) and others. Mount Abeghasar

1218-730: The Middle Ages have survived in Dilijan, such as the Jukhtak Vank Monastery and Matosavank Monastery. In 1501-02, most of the Eastern Armenian territories including the territories of modern-day Tavush, were swiftly conquered by the emerging Safavid dynasty of Iran led by Shah Ismail I . In 1666, the name Dilijan was mentioned for the first time in the notes of the French traveler Jean Chardin . The territories of present-day Lori and Tavush along with

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1276-422: The area, presence of numerous settlements, including Dilijan town with its mineral water resorts, Yerevan-Ijevan railway line passing through its whole territory and others. Currently, the general plan of the national park is under development, including the clarification of the borders and mapping of economic, recreational and buffer zones of the national park. Between 2017 and 2018, significant redevelopment of

1334-409: The city centre, has been preserved and maintained as the heart of Dilijan's old town, complete with craftsman's workshops, a gallery and a museum . Hiking , mountain biking , and picnicking are popular recreational activities. As of the 2011 census, Dilijan has a population of 17,712. Dilijan is currently the fastest-growing urban settlement in Armenia. In an ancient popular legend, the name of

1392-406: The cultivated varieties, but often of good flavor. The berries are usually green, but there are red, purple, yellow, and white variants. Gooseberry growing was popular in the 19th century, as described in 1879: The gooseberry is indigenous to many parts of Europe and western Asia , growing naturally in alpine thickets and rocky woods in the lower country, from France eastward, well into

1450-582: The development center. Dilijan is connected with Yerevan and central Armenia through the M-4 Motorway. The town is an important connecting point between the capital Yerevan and northeastern Armenia reaching up the border with Azerbaijan . The 2.25 km-long Dilijan tunnel is part of the M-4 Motorway. In the late 1980s the town had a railway station, although since 2012 even South Caucasus Railway freight trains from Hrazdan no longer run given

1508-532: The excavated collections were transferred to the museums of Moscow , Saint Petersburg , Tbilisi , Baku and Yerevan , while the reminder was kept in the Dilijan Geological Museum. During the medieval period, the territory of Dilijan was known as Hovk . Hovk was a favourite forest and a summer resort for the Arsacid kings to show their abilities in hunting. The settlement of Bujur Dili

1566-712: The flora are registered in the Red Book of Endangered Species of Armenia and 4 in the Red Data Book of the USSR . The vegetation of the national park is of mesophilous Caucasian type mainly represented by forest associations. It mainly consists of deciduous species such as oak ( Quercus iberica, Q. macranthera ), oriental beech ( Fagus orientalis ), common and oriental hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus, C. orientalis ), which form homogeneous oak, beech and hornbeam forests as well as mixed forests with different combinations of

1624-525: The forests turn into Alpine meadows . In addition to Aghstev River, many other tributaries flow through the town. The forests of Dilijan cover an area of more than 34,000 hectares. For the enrichment of the natural life around Dilijan, the state forest reserve was founded in 1958 to become known as Dilijan National Park later in 2002. Woods cover 94% of the park territory and with around 40 types of trees and 18 types of bushes, being mostly oaks, beeches, hornbeams, maples, elms, willows, etc. The national park

1682-468: The form of individual trees in an inaccessible terrain. Groups of yew trees and individual trees occur also over the whole territory of the national park. Relict species Caucasian rhododendron is also noteworthy, growing on the northern slopes of the Pambak mountains. Rhododendron occurs in the moist meadow vegetation of subalpine zone and stretches westward to Mount Ampasar (the Pambak mountain range) where

1740-499: The gorge Frolova Balka of the Pambak Mountains. Botanists N. Troitski in 1939 and A. Takhtajan in 1954 reported that this younger forest consisting of 100- to 180-, sometimes 220-year-old trees stretched for 4–5 km from the seventh kilometer of Dilijan highway towards Fioletovo village. N. Troitski mentioned also that in the past yew was more abundant. At present, only the remnants of previous dense forest have survived in

1798-621: The historical sites. The town is also famous for its mineral curing water fountains. The central amphitheatre of Dilijan is the venue of many summer festivals and cultural events. In 2017, the Transcaucasian Trail began construction in Dilijan National Park. When complete, the trail will span the length of Armenia, from the Armenian-Iranian border and into neighbouring Georgia. As of May 2020 there

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1856-441: The inappropriateness in the meaning does not necessarily give good grounds for believing that the word is an etymological corruption". The French for gooseberry is groseille à maquereau , translated as 'mackerel berries', due to their use in a sauce for mackerel in old French cuisine. In Britain, gooseberries may informally be called goosegogs . Gooseberry bush was 19th-century slang for pubic hair , and from this comes

1914-785: The largest rhododendron area of Armenia is situated (see Rhododendron Reservation). The fauna of the national park is also rich. There are about 800 species of beetles as well as numerous species of reptiles : smooth snake ( Coronella austriaca ), Armenian and Dahl's lizards ( Darevskia armeniaca, D. dahli etc.); amphibians : lake frog ( Rana ridibunda ), green toad ( Bufotes viridis ); fish: trout ( Salmo trutta fario ), barbel or Kura beghlou ( Barbus lacerta cyri ). Birds are also abundant represented by 150 species including Caucasian grouse ( Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi ), golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ), bearded eagle ( Gypaetus barbatus aureus ), Caspian snowcock ( Tetraogallus caspius ) and others. Over 40 species of mammals are registered in

1972-477: The legend the area was later known for his name. Historically, the area of modern-day Dilijan -known as Hovk - was part of the Varazhnunik canton of Ayrarat ; the 15th province of the historic Greater Armenia . During excavations conducted in the 1870s, many valuable items were found, dating back to the late Bronze and the early Iron ages (between the end of 2000 BC and the beginning of 1000). Some of

2030-445: The line beyond to Ijevan is out of use. Dilijan is famous for its mineral water, being processed and bottled by the "Dilijan Mineral Water Plant" founded in 1947. The town is also home to the "Aramara" company for fine woodworking founded in 1993, and the "Dili" factory for dairy products founded in 2005. Dilijan is also famous for its hand-made rugs and carpets. The town has its own style of carpet design, with many samples shown at

2088-606: The middle forest zone and especially the upper limit of higher forest zone. Coniferous forests ( pine - Pinus , juniper - Juniperus and yew - Taxus ) occupy a limited territory in the national park and occur in patches. Pine often makes dense forests in the basin of the River Hovajur on the slopes of the Areguni and Pambak ranges in the vicinity of serpentine Dilijan highway. There are many pine trees in Dilijan and on nearby slopes. Juniper sparse forests spread in

2146-431: The national park are well known as medicinal plants ( Saint John's wort - Hypericum spp., mint - Mentha , thyme - Thymus , ziziphora - Ziziphora , etc.), edible plants ( sorrel - Rumex , falcaria - Falcaria , cow parsnip - Heracleum , etc.), forage ( clover - Trifolium , sainfoin - Onobrychis , sea-holly - Eryngium , etc.) or decorative plants ( iris , orchids , etc.). The western rocky slopes of

2204-472: The national park such as red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), lynx (Lynx), wolf ( Canis lupus ), wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), wild cat ( Felis silvestris ), roe ( Capreolus capreolus ), badger ( Meles meles ), squirrel ( Sciurus anomalus ) and others. Dilijan National Park is important for the conservation of forest landscapes, recreation and health protection purposes, as well as economic activities due to

2262-594: The national park. The River Aghstev and its main tributaries – the Rivers Hovajur, Shtoghanajur, Bldan, Haghartsin and Getik run through the national park. There are Parz Lich (Clear Lake), Goshi Lich (Gosh Lake) and Tzrkalich (Leech Lake) as well as other minor lakes. The flora of Dilijan National Park includes 902 species of vascular plants , namely Lycopodium (1 species), Horse-tails (1), Ferns (12), Gymnosperms (7) and Angiosperms (881). About 40 rare species of plants occur in this territory. 29 species of

2320-708: The neighboring Georgia , became part of the Russian Empire in 1800-01. The territories became an official region of Russia as per the Treaty of Gulistan signed between Imperial Russia and Qajar Persia in October 1813, following the Russo-Persian War of 1804–13 . Since the town became under the Russian rule in 1801, the population of Dilijan had gradually grown. In 1868 the first public education school

2378-425: The park's tourism offer was undertaken, including the rehabilitation of the existing ecotourism trail network, together with the addition of an 80 km-long section of the Transcaucasian Trail . The national park stretches over the slopes of the Pambak, Areguni, Miapor, Ijevan (Kaeni) and Halab mountain ranges at the altitude of 1070–2300 m above sea level. The mountain meadows above this altitudes do not belong to

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2436-458: The presence of favorable conditions. The most important cultural monuments located in Dilijan National Park include Haghartsin Monastery (10-13th centuries), Goshavank (12-13th centuries), Jukhtak Vank (11-13th centuries), Matosavank (10-13th centuries) and Aghavnavank (11th century). Dilijan Dilijan ( Armenian : Դիլիջան ) is a spa town and urban municipal community in

2494-508: The saying that babies are "born under a gooseberry bush". The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and width, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers are produced, singly or in pairs, from the groups of rounded, deeply crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. The fruits are berries , smaller in wild gooseberries than

2552-476: The species mentioned. Georgian oak ( Q. iberica ) forests occur on the southern slopes of the middle forest zone and oriental beech forests on the northern slopes. In the upper zone forest consists of Q. macranthera . Hornbeam occurs mainly in mixed forests. Oriental hornbeam reaches up to 1500 m above sea level, while common hornbeam spreading all over the forest zone up to 2000 m. Different species of lime ( Tilia ), maple ( Acer ) and ash ( Fraxinus ) grow in

2610-654: The summer and cold with snowfalls in winter. With its montane climate , Dilijan is a town-resort with favorable oxygen regimen, unique landscape features and curative mineral water. The majority of the population in Dilijan are ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church , under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Tavush based in Ijevan . There is also a small community of Russians who are spiritual Christians known as Molokans . As of

2668-586: The supervision of the honored USSR artist Hovhannes Sharambeyan, while the school of music was founded in 1946. On 26 January 2013, the American University of Armenia and the Central Bank of Armenia inaugurated a new state-of-the-art library at the Knowledge for Development Center in Dilijan. On the same day, the Dilijan branch of Tumo Center for Creative Technologies was also opened in

2726-409: The surrounding forest. Its origins are from the northwestern part of the Pambak mountain range, at a height of 2,980 metres (9,777 feet). Aghstev River has a length of 133 kilometres (83 miles). Many tributaries flow into Aghstev such as Bldsan, Ghshtoghan, Haghartsin and Getik rivers. The climate in Dilijan is classified as warm summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb) with cool weather during

2784-598: The top tier of the Armenian football league system, the club was dissolved in 2013 due to financial difficulties, like many other Armenian football teams. Dilijan is twinned with: Ribes reclinatum Ribes uva-crispa , known as gooseberry or European gooseberry , is a species of flowering shrub in the currant family, Grossulariaceae . It is native to Europe, the Caucasus and northern Africa. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both

2842-432: The town is named after a shepherd called Dili. The shepherd Dili was in love with his master's daughter, however her father was against it and ordered to kill the shepherd. For many long and dark days, the sorrowful mother was mourning and looking for her only son all over the area and desperately crying, "Dili jan, Dili jan .. " ("Jan is an Armenian endearment term added to the name of a friend or family member). According to

2900-541: The town, and the famous open-air theatre -known as Rotonda- was built in 1900. The theatre became a favorite place for locals and the visiting Russian intellectuals. At that period, many modern houses were constructed in a unique traditional architectural style. Many wealthy Armenians from Tiflis and other areas of Transcaucasia began to build their own villas in Dilijan. The architecture in Dilijan has been characterized with gable tiled roof, wide patterned oriel and whitewashed walls. The style has quickly been spread all over

2958-418: The town. With a cost of US$ 80 million, the Central Bank of Armenia's Educational Center was opened in Dilijan in 2013. Around 150 employees of the Central Bank moved from Yerevan to Dilijan along with their families on the step towards the transformation of the town into a regional financial center. In 2014, the United World College Dilijan , a part of the global educational movement United World Colleges ,

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3016-1030: The valley of the River Getik especially near the river mouth as well as on the dry slopes of the Ijevan Mountains. Juniperus foetidissima Willd. is the most predominant species among four juniper species occurring in the national park. There are well conserved juniper stands on the rocky slopes of Mount Abeghakhar in the basin of the River Aghstev. The forests in the national park are rich in fruit trees and bushes such as oriental apple - Malus orientalis , walnut - Juglans regia , cornel - Cornus mas , plum - Prunus spp., blackthorn - Prunus spinosa , pear - Pyrus communis subsp. caucasica , gooseberry - Grossularia reclinata ( Ribes reclinatum ), medlar - Mespilus germanica , common hazelnut - Corylus avellana (see also Hazelnut Reservation), various species of Blackcurrant - Ribes spp., and hawthorn - Crataegus spp. Many species occurring in

3074-668: The villages at the Aghstev river valley. At the beginning of the 20th century, many traditional crafts have been developed in Dilijan including metalsmith , carpet weaving, fine arts, wood engraving and other types of folk crafts. During the Battle of Karakilisa in May 1918, Dilijan was the main base of the Armenian military groups, under the commandment of General Tovmas Nazarbekian , assisted by Garegin Nzhdeh and Nikolay Gorganyan . Playing

3132-461: The wild fruit was held in some esteem medicinally for the cooling properties of its acid juice in fevers ; while the old English name, Fea-berry , still surviving in some provincial dialects, indicates that it was similarly valued in Britain, where it was planted in gardens at a comparatively early period. William Turner describes the gooseberry in his Herball , written about the middle of

3190-402: Was announced by the Armenian government that Dilijan will turn into a developed financial centre for Armenia and the region. According to government officials, many of the operations and responsibilities of the Central Bank of Armenia will move the northern town-resort of Dilijan, starting from 2013. Currently, many significant financial and cultural institutions are operating in the town such as

3248-433: Was founded during the 13th century near the area of modern-day Dilijan. The monasteries of Haghartsin and Goshavank were built between the 10th and 13th centuries. The monastery complexes have quickly developed and have served as cultural and educational centers. Haghartsin is one of the iconic examples of the developing Armenian architecture during the Middle Ages. Many other important religious and educational centers of

3306-451: Was opened in Dilijan. Auspicious conditions for cultural development have appeared at the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th centuries. Many theatre groups were organized during the 1890s and the first library of the town was opened in 1908. In the second half of the 19th century, Dilijan became a well-known mountain resort the town began to grow gradually. By the end of the 19th century, many entertaining centres were opened in

3364-704: Was opened in the town. The construction of the Dilijan Central School was launched in 2013 by the Ayb Educational Foundation with the cooperation of the Central Bank of Armenia . In autumn 2015, the newly built state-of-the-art school was officially opened. In 2017, the Monte Melkonian Military College of the Ministry of Defence of Armenia was moved from the capital Yerevan to Dilijan. It

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