Armenia 50 Dram 2012

History

50 Dram 2012, KM# 217, Armenia, Regions of Armenia and Yerevan, Lori

Obverse. Photo © Central Bank of Armenia

Description

Lori is a province (marz) of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak. It is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin monasteries and the well-preserved Akhtala monastery, where Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks make an annual pilgrimage on September 20–21. The province was heavily damaged during the 1988 Armenian earthquake.

Obverse	Temple (church, mosque, synagogue, pagoda etc.) Monastery The center of obverse depicts the monastery complex of Haghpat. Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank (Armenian: Հաղպատավանք), is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia. The monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III, probably in 976. The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River in northern Armenia's Lori region. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment from prying eyes and also in response to a kind of monastic humility. The monastery has been damaged many times. Sometime around 1130, an earthquake destroyed parts of Haghpat Monastery and it was not restored until fifty years later. It also suffered numerous attacks by armed forces in the many centuries of its existence and from a major earthquake in 1988. Nevertheless, much of the complex is still intact and stands today without substantial alterations. ԼՈՌՈՒ ՄԱՐԶ
Reverse	Denomination. 50 ԴՐԱՄ
Edge	Reeded (milled)