A magnificent statue rises high above the Gyumri city as though the monument protects it from all the misfortunes and threats. You can see it from any place in the city. It’s famous Mother Armenia, the monument erected there in 1975.

The creators were well-known sculptors Ara Sargsyan and E. Vardanyan. The architect Rafik Yeghoyan created the basement and the park next to the statue.

There is a number of similar statues in the world. After the Second World War, they appeared in many cities of the USSR. But only the statue of Gyumri, Mother Armenia, has its own legends and peculiarities.

Needless to say that its primal symbolic meaning is the victory in the Second World War. The woman-warrior, the woman-defender, the woman-mother, this is what the gorgeous statue embodies. Besides, it also has secret significance.

The statue looks as though it is threatening the Turks. The relationship between these nations had been rather complicated for many centuries in a row. When the architect was thinking over the location of the monument, he decided to take this fact into consideration and show Armenian independence and its willingness to stay self-sufficient and wholesome even if the country had to fight for it.

In fact, the monument was originally created for Erevan. The grand sculpture was going to be located on the bank of the lake, with its back to Ararat mountain. It was supposed to look as if the statue was offering the symbol of creation to the city. A few original sketches still exist, they demonstrate future Mother Armenia of Gyumri holding a wreath in her hands, and behind her, there are the towers with a clock situated in the central square in Erevan. In addition, the monument was planned to become the main symbol of the capital, its signature. The creators, however, fell into disgrace with the authorities for reasons that remain unclear. And so their creation was “exiled” to Gyumri where it occupied its rightful place.