The abounding urban heritage of Yerevan intertwines history and modern culture in a way that can make every walk in the city an exploratory experience. Within the 2016 European Heritage Days, one of such walks will be organised under the umbrella of Other Yerevan, an innovative project that aims to put the town’s stunning urban heritage on a virtual map and bring it closer to citizens.

From street sculptures, squares and churches to residential, administrative and commercial buildings, this virtual museum includes dozens of objects whose history and architectural appeal make Yerevan an urban town. Jump-started as an initiative to help conserve and promote Yerevan’s unique urban heritage, Other Yerevan has grown into a comprehensive digital inventory of the town’s iconic buildings, monuments and urban areas.

Selected based on a survey of 70 architects, artists, cultural critics and other professionals, the sites listed on the website are monuments to Yerevan’s architectural and cultural history. At the same time, the project urges the protection of historic and cultural objects that are under a constant threat of being lost due to intensive architectural reconstructions. Moreover, Other Yerevan looks to reinvent the cultural offering of the town by making all its heritage available for exploration via mobile devices.

The Other Yerevan apps is available for Android and represents a unique guide for both locals and visitors. By providing instant information about histories of specific places as people move around it, Other Yerevan helps create new heritage narratives to engage digital audiences.

This September, however, the project will move offline to enrich the European Heritage Days programme in the town. The Other Yerevan walk will be organised by urbanlab.am, an architecture-planning and research-advocacy institution devoted to promotion and democratization of the city’s architectural heritage. The event will help showcasing Yerevan’s architectural jewels dating from different centuries and highlight their histories to educate about the town’s urban heritage.

More information about European Heritage Days in Armenia can be found on this Facebook Page, while the Other Yerevan Walk event could be joined here.