Museum of History of Armenia

The Museum of History of Armenia is the country's national museum, occupying the lower two floors of a building on Republic Square in central Yerevan. It opened in 1920 (Armenian-language sources say 1919), and today holds roughly 400,000 objects across five departments: archaeology, numismatics, ethnography, modern history and restoration.

Numismatics dominates the count — coins and related material make up 45% of the catalogued collection — with archaeology close behind at 35%. Ethnography accounts for 8%, documents another 12%. The numbers don't line up neatly with the five departments, a small reminder that how a collection gets counted and how it gets displayed aren't always the same thing.

Since 1948 the museum's researchers have kept publishing a running series of excavation reports, along with studies on Armenian architecture and ethnography. It's dry reading for most visitors, but that body of work underpins a lot of what's now known about the country's archaeological record.

Plan for a full morning if you want to see the whole collection. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 to 18:00, and Sunday, 11:00 to 17:00.

The museum stands on Republic Square, in central Yerevan.