Hermon, Armenia

The historical Armenian name of the village is Grkiq, and in 1991 for an unknown reason it was renamed after Hermon - a mountain in the border between Syria and Lebanon. Until 1988, Azerbaijanis lived in the village of Ghavushugh (Hermon), and then it was resettled by Armenians displaced from Azerbaijan and Artsakh. During the Soviet era, the Azerbaijani-populated Kalasar was merged with Ghavushugh, now known as Hermon. Currently, Kalasar is not inhabited, but the ruins of the church and many Armenian tombstones can still be seen.

Yeghegnadzor-Vardahovit, Yeghegnadzor-Goghtanik roads pass through Hermon. The village has a beautiful nature, with the Aretes River flowing alongside it. Kalasar (Kalaser) village is included in the administrative territory of Hermon community. It is located on the southern slope of the Ardenis mountain range, in the valley of the Yeghegis River, a right-hand tributary of Arpa, 1 km northwest of Hermon village and about 17 km northeast of the Province center. Previously, Kalasar was part of the Sharur-Daralayaz administrative district within the Erivan Governorate.

The population dynamics of Hermon over the years:[3]

The population is engaged in animal husbandry, arable farming, cultivation of fruit trees.

Located to the northwest of Hermon village, the Arates monastery holds historical significance as part of the Vayots Dzor gavar within the Syunik Province of Greater Armenia. The monastery complex comprises four large and five small interconnected buildings. According to ancient inscriptions, the churches within the complex are referred to as Saint Sion, Saint Karapet, and Holy Mother of God. While the monastery is believed to have been founded in the 7th century, the earliest written records date back to the 9th century. Saint Karapet, founded in the 11th to 12th centuries, features a notable gavit designed by the architect Siranes in the 13th century. In the 13th century, the ishkhan of Vayots Dzor, Tarsayich Orbelyan, donated several villages to the Arates monastery, after which the monastery became the summer residence of Noravank. From the 10th to the 14th centuries, the monastery served as a significant center for manuscript writing.

Situated 3 kilometers southwest of Hermon village, on the mountainside, lies the Hermon Monastery (Knevank) that dates back to the 11th to 15th centuries. It was a prominent religious and cultural center of the Syunik Province of Greater Armenia. It was established in 936 by Smbat, the throne ishkhan of the Syunik historical province, and bishop Hakob. In 1338, Master Tiratur, an apprentice of Yesai Nchetsi, settled at the monastery and founded a new school known as the School of the Hermon Monastery, which operated until the late 15th century. For around a century, the monastery was home to a manuscript writing school, resulting in the preservation of over twelve manuscripts and exegesis that have come down to us.

Located 3 kilometers southwest of the village is the St. Gregory Church, constructed in the 16th century.

There is a nine-year primary school, a house of culture, a hotel complex and a village hall in the village.

• Hasan Mirza

• Report of the results of the 2001 Armenian Census, Statistical Committee of Armenia
• Hermon, Armenia at GEOnet Names Server