Country Armenia Founded 1939 Time zone GMT (UTC+4) | Marz Shirak Elevation 1,859 m (6,099 ft) Postal code 3001-3007 | |
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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.
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History
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.
Demographics
Population per years is the following.
Economy
The town of Artik is famous for its tufa stones. It is home to many stone-processing plants that produce travertine, tufa and basalt, including the "ArtikTuf" form established in 1928, the "TufaBock Factory" founded in 1997, and the "Karastgh" stone-processing factory operating since 2005.
Artik is also home to the "Vartan-Anahit LLC" for metal-plastic products, the Artik Cheese Factory, the "Eliz Group" for dairy products, the "Artik Factory for Vacuum Stoves", and the "Artik Steklomash" metal casting factory.
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 intermediate college of industry and technology, with an enrollment of 246 in 2000.
Sport
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.
Artik Futsal represents the town in the Futsal League of Armenia.