Coordinates: 40°48′46″N 44°29′18″E / 40.81278°N 44.48833°E / 40.81278; 44.48833 Vanadzor (Armenian: Վանաձոր) is the third largest city in Armenia and the capital of the Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located around 128 km north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2009 estimate, the city had a population of 104,800, down from 148,876 reported at the 1979 official census. The city was known as Karakilisa (Gharakilisa) during the Russian Empire. After the fall of the Tsar, Vanadzor was briefly known as Martunakan. After the Sovietization of Armenia, the city was renamed Kirovakan (Armenian: Կիրովական) in 1923, after the Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov. With the independence of Armenia in 1991, Kirovakan was renamed Vanadzor.
The city is in a picturesque setting, with an attractive planned town centre. Mostly crumbling Soviet-era chemical factories dominate much of the valley below the city.
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