Elevation 1,720 m (5,640 ft) Climate Dfb Local time Tuesday 12:32 AM | First mentioned 5th century Time zone UTC+4 Area 4 km² | |
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Weather -3°C, Wind NW at 23 km/h, 60% Humidity | ||
Maralik (Armenian: Մարալիկ), is a town in the Shirak Province to the northwest of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 5,398, down from 5,782 reported in the 2001 census.
Contents
Map of Maralik, Armenia
Etymology
"Maralik" literally means "little deer" in the Armenian language. According to the popular legend, every year on the feast of Saint Stephen, a mountain deer was willingly approaching to the Saint Stephen Monastery of the town to be sacrificed. The villagers were catching the deer and sacrificing it in memory of Saint Stephen. However, once a hunter killed the deer with his rifle. Since then, no more deers were seen in the area.
History
The village was known as Molla Gokcha until 1828, when the entire territory of the Erivan Khanate became part of the Russian Empire.
Under the Russian rule, many Armenian families from the towns of Mush and Erzurum of Western Armenia were resetteled in the village.
Under the Soviet rule, the village was renamed Kaputan in October 1927. Finally, on 26 July 1935, it was renamed Maralik.
In 1962, Maralik was given the status of town.
The Surp Amenaperkich Church of Maralik built in 1903, is home to many khachkars dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
Population
Population per years is the following.
Culture
Maralik is the hometown of fictional character Petra Arkanian in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series.
Economy
Maralik was an active industrial town during the Soviet period. The cotton-spinning factory of Maralik had more than 2000 employees during the Soviet years. The lights and electronics factory that had around 600 employees in 1962 is currently abandoned. The building materials firm of Maralik is also inactive.