Artsakh State Museum

Artsakh State Historical Museum of Local Lore located at 1, Sasuntsi David str., Stepanakert, was founded in 1939 in spite of the anti-Armenian policy of Soviet Azerbaijan and the years of war in Artsakh. The museum was able to gather and preserve all of the spiritual and material value of the Artsakh people. The museum boasts 50,000 historical-cultural artifacts, presenting the origins of birth and development of the civilization of the territory. Today more than ever the museum has the opportunity to enrich its funds effectively thanks to the archaeological excavation conducted in Artsakh and its findings.

Upon entering the museum the exhibition halls start off with models demonstrating Artakh's natural landscape. Further down is the hall of archeology where models of petrification, early implements of the Stone Age, different bronze subjects (utensils, weapons, adornments), preservations from times of the state of Urartu, amazing ornamented ceramic vessels, Armenian, Roman, Persian, Arabian silver and copper coins, and so on.^[1]

When entering the hall of the Middle Ages, the section starts off with a photo and map of the first churches in Artsakh (4th century): Amaras monastery, founded by Gregory the illuminator, the first Armenian Christian philosopher. There is also a documentary available at this part of the exhibit where evidences of his propagations in South Caucasus are presented.^[1]

An outside view of the museum.

In the department of ethnography the demonstrations begins with the show-case of the Artsakhian family life. Here you could see images and a diorama of a grandmother knitting with distaff while the grandfather sews leather footwear. There is also the old carpet weaving loom and the samples of Artsakh weaving art- carpets of 18-20 cc. In 19c. the center of the Armenian national culture was Shoushi city; of it the old gospel, printed books and photos tell.^[2]

The halls of modern history are rich in documentary artifacts where exhibits telling about the national liberation fight of Artsakhian Armenians against Azerbaijan in 1918–21 are demonstrated. Here the map of Armenia of 1926 is presented, fulfilled on the basis of the union treaty of the 10th of August, 1920, as well as documents confirming the tragic events in Shoushi on the 23d of March, 1920, and telling about the forced annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Soviet Azerbaijan.

The last halls of the museum tell about the modern movement of Artsakh, national-liberation war, about the solidarity of the whole Armenian nation in post-war period with the aims of consolidation of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

There is a small gift shop in the museum, where one can buy booklets, books and photo albums dedicated to Artsakhakh. The museum works every day and is closed on Sundays.

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