Mother Armenia

어머니 아르메니아

Mother Armenia is a huge statue of a woman holding a sword in Victory Park, high above the city of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The figure is 22 metres tall, and with its pedestal the monument is about 51 metres high.

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At a glance

Country: Armenia
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Built: 1967
Height: 51 m
Type: Statue

Quick answers

Where is Mother Armenia?

Mother Armenia is in Yerevan, Armenia.

When was Mother Armenia built?

Mother Armenia was built in 1967.

How tall is Mother Armenia?

Mother Armenia is about 51 m tall.

A sword-bearing female figure in Victory Park watching over Yerevan, symbolising peace through strength.

The statue is a symbol of peace through strength. Her sword stands for the idea that Armenia can defend itself. It was installed in 1967 and designed by the sculptor Ara Harutyunyan. The monument stands in a place that once held something very different: a monumental statue of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, which was removed in 1962. The pedestal under Mother Armenia was designed to look like an Armenian church.

What was here before?

A statue of Stalin by the sculptor Sergey Merkurov was unveiled on 29 November 1950 as a World War II victory memorial. It was one of the last big Stalin monuments still standing. In spring 1962 it was taken down, and one soldier was killed and many were injured during the removal. The Stalin statue had been considered a masterpiece of its sculptor.

The clever pedestal

The pedestal was designed by the architect Rafayel Israyelian to look like a plain three-aisled Armenian basilica, a type of church. He later said he knew the fame of dictators does not last, so he built something simple that could outlive the statue. When Mother Armenia replaced the Stalin figure in 1967, the same pedestal stayed. Inside it is light and pleasant, and it reminded people of the seventh-century St. Hripsime Church at Echmiadzin.