Matenadaran

The complete collection of antiquity and manuscripts at Matenadaran

Have you ever wondered how people have written books in ancient times? How have they kept them safely? Finally, how have those books appeared in our hands? All your questions will get their answers in Matenadaran, the house of thousands of manuscripts. Here, books have more than 1500 years of history and have suffered from so many disasters and hardships and have survived finding their final home right here in Yerevan.

Matenadaran or Institute of Ancient Manuscripts after St. Mesrop Mashtots is a repository of ancient manuscripts. It is home to 23000 manuscripts. They are from different parts of Armenia. The Institute is the largest repository of manuscripts in the world. Being there you will see manuscripts, fragments of manuscripts, documents, old printed books, precious bindings, individual miniatures, and more.

And all the books and remained pieces are full of astounding miniatures. The skilled artists have done the miniatures in such a minute and fragile way. Sometimes it seems as if no hand has ever touched them.

Feel the breath of the ancient books! 

Touch the real beauty which does exist in the books!

Come and see the treasures of ancient times!