Artik

Artik Արթիկ
The City of Artik, October 2009
Artik Արթիկ
Coordinates:
Country	Armenia
Marz	Shirak
Founded	1939
Government
• Mayor	Arsen Abrahamyan
Area
• Total	9 km2 (3 sq mi)
Elevation	1,859 m (6,099 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	19,534
• Density	2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT (UTC+4)
Postal code	3001-3007
Area code(s)	(+374) 244
Website	Official website
Sources: Population

Artik (Armenian: Արթիկ), is a town located in the Shirak Province of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of 19,534, down from 25,100 reported in the 1989 census.

General information

Artik has several monuments and churches. At the central square there is a World War II monument. A short distance from the square are the two churches: Saint Marine built in the 5th century and Saint Gevorg built in the 7th century. Saint Gevorg is the larger of the two and had previously been turned into a storehouse under the Soviets. The first attempt to restore the church was made in early 1990s. Both churches are in partial ruins, with restoration interrupted by the collapse of the USSR. On January 6, 2006 a fund-raising campaign was announced in the city of Artik to reconstruct Saint Gevorg. There is also another 18th-century church in a cave as well as a well preserved church of Lmbatavank (Saint Stepanos) built in the 7th century standing on a hillside. The church was reconstructed between 1955-1956. During 1960 excavations, a Bronze-Age cemetery was discovered under the stones.

Population

Population per years is the following.

Year	1831	1873	1897	2001	2004
Pop.	647	2359	2950	17561	17500

Education

There are seven schools in Artik. During the Soviet era, all schools were 10-year schools. Recent modernazition of the Armenian schools implemented the high-school concept and School #3 was converted into a high school. Schools continue to struggle with declining enrollment due to population outmigration.

In addition to a number of private vocational colleges in Artik, the largest higher educational institution is the Artik Industrial-Technological College ("Tekhnikum") with an enrollment of 246 in 2000.

Sports

FC Tufagorts Artik had represented the city in the Armenian Premier League between 1992-1995 when it was dissolved due to financial reasons. They used the Artik City stadium for their home games.

Gallery

• Artik S. Gevorg 1.JPG

  Surb Gevorg Church, 7th century

• Artik S. Gevorg 2.JPG

  Surb Gevorg Church

• Artik S. Marine Church southeast, 5th c.JPG

  Surb Marine Church southeast façade, 5th century

• Lmbatavank.JPG

  Surb Stepanos Church at Lmbatavank, 7th century

• Artik-center.jpg

  The centre of Artik

External links

• Armeniapedia.org: Artik