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Matenadaran Photo by Marcin Konsek

Top 10 Incredible Facts about Matenadaran – The Museum of Ancient Manuscripts

The Matenadaran , officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world’s largest repository of Armenian manuscripts.

One of the most prominent landmarks of Yerevan, it is named after Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, whose statue stands in front of the building. Let’s take a look at some of the most incredible facts about it ;

1.The museum was established in 1959

It was established in 1959 on the basis of the nationalized collection of the Armenian Church, formerly held at Etchmiadzin. Its collection has gradually expanded since its establishment, mostly from individual donations. In medieval Armenia, the term matenadaran was used in the sense of a library as all books were manuscripts.

The word matenadaran is a compound composed of matean (“book” or “parchment”) and  daran (“repository”). According to Hrachia Acharian both words are of Middle Persian (Pahlavi) origin. Though it is sometimes translated as “scriptorium” in English, a more accurate translation is “repository or library of manuscripts.

2.The building is listed as a national monument by the government of Armenia

Matenadaran Photo by Soghomon Matevosyan

The Matenadaran is located at the foot of a small hill on the northern edge of Mashtots Avenue, the widest road in central Yerevan. The building is listed as a national monument by the government of Armenia and is built in gray basalt. 

It was designed by Yerevan’s chief architect Mark Grigorian, it is influenced by medieval Armenian architecture. According to Murad Hasratyan, the facade of the Matenadaran is influenced by the 11th century Holy Apostles (Arakelots) church of Ani, the grand capital of Bagratid Armenia. 

3.The museum also has several statues of several historical Armenian scholars

Matenadaran Photo by Marcin Konsek

The museum also has several statues of several historical Armenian scholars including; Toros Roslin, Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, Movses Khorenatsi, Mkhitar Gosh and Frik. The statues were erected on the left and right wings of the building’s exterior.

They each represent one field: manuscript illumination, philosophy, cosmology, history, jurisprudence, and poetry, respectively. The statues of Mesrop Mashtots and his disciple Koryun (1962) are located below the terrace where the main building stands. Since the 1970s an open-air exhibition is located near the entrance of the building. 

4.The Matenadaran museum also has a new building that was build recently

New building of Matenadaran shot from air Photo by Aleksey Chalabyan

The Matenadaran museum also has a new building that was build recently. The new building of the Matenadaran was designed by Arthur Meschian, an architect better known as a musician, to house the increasing number of manuscripts. A five-story building, it is three times larger than the old one.

It is equipped with a high-tech laboratory, where manuscripts are preserved, restored and digitized. Meschian noted that he designed the new building in a way to not compete with the old one, but instead be a continuation of it. It was inaugurated on September 20, 2011 on the eve of celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. 

5.The matenadaran museum contains a total of 23000 manuscripts

Currently, the Matenadaran contains a total of some 23,000 manuscripts and scrolls—including fragments. It is, by far, the single largest collection of Armenian manuscripts in the world. Furthermore, over 500,000 documents such as imperial and decrees of catholicoi, various documents related to Armenian studies, and archival periodicals. 

There has been steady growth in the number of manuscripts preserved at the Matenadaran, mostly from gifts from private individuals from the Armenian diaspora. Though when it was established as a distinct institution in 1959, the Matenadaran had around 10,000 Armenian manuscripts. 

6.The manuscripts cover a wide array of subjects

The manuscripts cover a wide array of subjects: religious and theological works (Gospels, Bibles, lectionaries, psalters, hymnals, homilies, and liturgical books), texts on history, mathematics, geography, astronomy, cosmology, philosophy, jurisprudence, medicine, alchemy, astrology and music. 

Others include; grammar, rhetoric, philology, pedagogy, collections of poetry, literary texts, and translations from Greek and Syriac. The writings of classical and medieval historians Movses Khorenatsi, Yeghishe and Koryun are preserved here, as are the legal, philosophical and theological writings of other notable Armenian figures. 

7.The museum holds some of the most significant manuscripts

Among the most significant manuscripts of the Matenadaran are the Lazarian Gospel (9th century), the Echmiadzin Gospel (10th century) and the Mughni Gospel (11th century). The first, so called because it was brought from the Lazarian Institute, is from 887 and is one of the Matenadaran’s oldest complete volumes.

The Echmiadzin Gospel, dated 989, has a 6th-century, probably Byzantine, carved ivory cover. The Cilician illuminated manuscripts by Toros Roslin (13th century) and Sargis Pitsak (14th century), two prominent masters, are also held with high esteem. 

8. The museum has been recognized both nationally and internationally

Matenadaran Photo by Soghomon Matevosyan

The museum has been recognized both nationally and internationally. For example a commemorative Soviet coin dedicated to the Matenadaran, 1990. A 1,000 dram banknote, in circulation from 1994 to 2004, depicting the Matenadaran and the statue of Mashtots.

The Matenadaran collection was inscribed by the UNESCO into the Memory of the World Register in 1997, recognizing it as a valuable collection of international significance. American diplomat John Brady Kiesling described the Matenadaran as a “world-class museum.”

9.There are several hotels and restaurants near the Matenadaran

There are several hotels and restaurants near the Matenadaran. Hotels near Matenadaran – The Museum of Ancient Manuscripts include; Imperial Palace Hotel (0.12 mi), Hotel Meg (0.20 mi), 5 Rooms (0.17 mi), State University Guest House (0.19 mi), and Radisson Blu Hotel, Yerevan (0.38 mi). 

Restaurants near Matenadaran – The Museum of Ancient Manuscripts include; Tavern Yerevan which is 0.21 miles away from the museum, Granatus (0.11 mi), Grand Candy (0.15 mi), Daboo Bar (0.31 mi) and Yerevantsi which is 0.30 miles away. 

10.The Matenadaran is one of the landmarks and major touristic attractions in Yerevan

The Matenadaran has become one of the landmarks and major touristic attractions of Yerevan since its establishment. In 2016 it received some 89,000 visitors, and around 132,600 in 2019. It is one of the most visited tourist attraction in Yerevan and Armenia at large. 

Many foreign dignitaries have visited the Matenadaran, including Leonid Brezhnev (1970), Indira Gandhi (1976), Charles, Prince of Wales (2013), Vladimir Putin (2001), Sirindhorn (2018), Boris Tadić (2009), Sergio Mattarella, José Manuel Barroso (2012), BronisÅ‚aw Komorowski, Heinz Fischer, Valdis Zatlers, and Rumen Radev.