History Museum of Armenia

History Museum of Armenia is the biggest museum in Yerevan and a must to visit while in Yerevan. Located in the Republic Square, it is easy to reach from any location of Yerevan.

The History Museum of Armenia was founded in 1919 by the parliament decision of the First Armenian Republic. It was called Ethnographic-Anthropological Museum-Library from the onset. Currently it is equipped with a national collection of about 400,000 objects and has the following departments: department of Archeology, department of Numismatics, department of Ethnography, department of Modern History, department of Restoration.

The 5 departments of History Museum

The Museum has five departments: Department of Archeology, Department of Numismatics, Department of Ethnography, Department of Modern History, Department of Restoration.

The archeological exhibits include collections dating from 100,000-12,000 BC of Paleolithic era. The Paleolithic objects were discovered from various settlements in Armenia. You may find here ancient tools like handaxes and nucleuses made of obsidian, dazit and basalt. You may also find Neolithic-Chalcolithic collections (8th millennium – second half of the 4th millennium BC), Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Collections (second half of the 4th millennium – 15th-12th cc. BC), collections of Urartu (Kingdom of Van) (9th century BC- beginning of the 6th c. BC), collections of the 6th-4th cc. BC, Hellenistic collections (4th c. BC – 3rd c. AD), Medieval collections (4th-15th cc.).

The numismatic collections include collection of coins, collection of banknotes, collection of stamps and collection of medals. The collection of coins include diverse coins from the 5th century BC to the 20th century. You may see here Greek, Achemenian, Hellenistic, Hellenistic Armenian, Roman, Byzantine, Sasanian, Arabian, Medieval Armenian, Crusaders’, Seljuk, Georgian, Mongol, late Persian, Ottoman, Russian and European coins. The banknotes includes issues of the 18th-20th centuries of numerous countries, among which especially valuable are the payment means of various states and governments that functioned on the territory of Armenia and former Russian Empire in 1918-1922.

Among enthnographic collections are samples from the 17th-20th century decorative-applied art, lifestyle and production means throughout the regions in Armenia.

Finally, the collection of negatives comprise negatives made in 1878-2000 that refer to the history of Armenia of various eras.

The museum working days and hours

The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00am to 18:00pm. On Sundays, it is open from 11:00 to 17:00. The museum is closed on Mondays and National Holidays and memorial days. The tickets cost AMD 1000 per person.