Hovhannes Tumanyan house-museum

The paternal home of Hovhannes Tumanyan, located in the village of Dsegh in the Lori Province, was turned into a house-museum in 1939 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the great Armenian poet’s birth. He was born here on February 19, 1869, and spent his childhood and adolescence in this place. The house was built in the 1860s by the poet’s father, Father Tadevos, the priest of Dsegh. Tumanyan’s first educational experiences were connected to the coeducational school of Stepanavan and the Nersisian School, where his first literary ideas began to form. The museum holds around 300 exhibits, presenting the poet’s personal life, artistic work, and the historical period in which he lived. The rooms of the two-story building are furnished in such a way that visitors can perceive not only his daily life but also the intellectual environment in which the literary genius was born and matured. On the first floor are the kitchen, the large hall, and two exhibition rooms, while the second floor preserves the writer’s bed, writing desk, clothes, and other personal belongings. In the yard stands a bust of the writer, created by sculptor Aytsmenik Urartou. A small chapel has also been built, where the poet’s heart is interred. The house-museum also serves as a cultural events center.