The oldest bridge in Yerevan is being restored
Yerevan’s oldest bridge, the Red Bridge, is being restored. The municipality reports that the restoration will be carried out through public-private cooperation. The bridge’s design has been made in a way that preserves all elements and historical layers. To achieve this, red unprocessed tuff has been brought from the Ararat Plain, and bricks have been sourced from one of the brickworks in Iran that uses ancient methods of production.
Around 80% of the Red Bridge has collapsed. The bridge is 80 meters long and 11 meters high. It consists of 2 large and 1 small span. The latter was intended for crossing a small canal.
Before the Red Bridge, there was an earlier bridge that was destroyed during the 1679 earthquake in Yerevan. It is believed to have been built in the 12th century. It was one of Yerevan’s old bridges. The bridge destroyed in 1679 was rebuilt, and since it was constructed from red tuff, it was named the Red Bridge.
The bridge has been rebuilt and renovated at different times. It is known that in the 17th century, it was restored by the Armenian merchant Khoja Plav, from Kanaker, using his own funds and by the order of the Shah of Persia. For this reason, the bridge is sometimes referred to as Plav’s Bridge. Renovations of the bridge also took place in 1830, 1850, and later years.
The bridge was the only one in Old Yerevan that connected the Yerevan Fortress to Ejmiatsin, Aparan, Talin, and other distant settlements.