Gyumri blacksmithing tradition on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list

The blacksmithing tradition of Gyumri was included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The decision was made by the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage during its 18th session in Kasane, Botswana from December 4-9.

“Blacksmithing was one of the popular crafts in Armenia, but as an urban craft, it gained its full expression in Gyumri and flourished in the 19th century. The registration of this national tradition, passed down from generation to generation, in the representative list of UNESCO is of key importance for ensuring its viability, appreciation and popularization,” the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The department also distributed a reference, according to which Armenia ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention “On the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” in 2006. In the following years, “Duduk and his music” (2008), “Armenian khachkar art. The advice of khachkar and khachkar work” (2010), “Sasna tsrer or the performance manifestations of the epic of David of Sassoon” (2012), “Lavash. traditional bread preparation, meaning and cultural manifestations in Armenia” (2014), “Kochari. traditional group dance” (2017), “Armenian calligraphy and its cultural manifestations” (2018), as well as the elements of “Pilgrimage to the Monastery of St. Thaddeus the Apostle” (2020), presented jointly with Iran.