Yerevan Cascade
A giant limestone staircase with fountains and modern sculptures, leading up to views of the city and Mount Ararat.
About
The Cascade is a wide stairway of pale stone rising from the centre of Yerevan up a hillside, flanked by terraced gardens, fountains and flower beds. Along the way are works by well-known sculptors, among them the round, playful figures of Fernando Botero.
Inside the structure, a series of escalators and exhibition spaces, part of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, lets you ride up through galleries. At the top you can see the city spread below, and on a clear day Mount Ararat rising beyond.
History
The idea of a monumental stairway leading up the hillside appeared in the 1920s plan for Yerevan by the architect Alexander Tamanian, who shaped much of the modern city. It was only built in the Soviet period, with work starting in the 1970s and the first parts opening in 1980, but construction stopped in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the structure was left unfinished for many years. In the 2000s the American-Armenian philanthropist Gerard Cafesjian funded its completion, and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts opened inside the Cascade in 2009. The complex has 572 steps on the outside and is often described as one of the city’s favourite places for an evening walk. At the top, the Monument to 50 Years of Soviet Armenia and the Victory Park with the Mother Armenia statue lie nearby. Modern sculptures dot the gardens, and the whole slope is lit up at night.