Vanadzor (Վանաձոր) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about 128 km north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city had a population of 86,199, down from 148,876 reported at the 1979 official census. Currently, the town has a population of approximately 76,200. Vanadzor is the seat of the Diocese of Gougark of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Vanadzor was previously known as Gharakilisa (Ղարաքիլիսա), meaning "black church" in Turkic. In the official records of the Russian Empire, the city was labelled as Karakilis Bolshoye (Караклисъ Б.). Following the Sovietization of Armenia, the city was renamed Martunashen (Մարտունաշեն, alternatively Martunakan) in 1926 after Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Alexander Miasnikian. On 3 January 1935, it was renamed Kirovakan (Կիրովական), after the popular Russian Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov. A close associate of Armenian First Secretary Aghasi Khanjian, Kirov had been assassinated on December 1 of the previous year. On 25 June 1992, after Armenia gained its independence, Kirovakan was renamed Vanadzor after the Vanadzor River which flows through the city. The name Vanadzor is composed of the Armenian words vank (վանք, "monastery") and dzor (ձոր, "valley"). Thus, the name of the city means "valley of the monastery."
