Ashtarak Fortress

Armenia, Armenia

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Ashtarak Fortress is a ruined medieval fortress in the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located about 18–20 km west of Yerevan on the road to Gyumri, near the banks of the Kasagh River.

The town itself is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia, with ancient Roman maps showing it as the “Serpent City” (Shtrang‑Urpya) because of its winding position along the river, and Ashtarak literally means “tower” in Armenian, a name that reflects both the town and its fortress.

Historically, a fortress existed on a hill above the town, but according to local sources it was dismantled in the 1860s, and the site now associated with Ashtarak Fortress is the small, ruined structure known as Pokaberd (sometimes called Pokaberd Fortress), which sits on a hill overlooking Ashtarak and consists of surviving stone walls, towers, and battlements that are remnants of a medieval defensive complex. 

Ashtarak is more famous today for its cluster of three 13th‑century churches (Spitakavor, Marmashen, and the church of Ashtarak) and for the nearby 7th‑century Karmravor chapel, but the fortress remains a local landmark that visitors can reach on a short walk or drive from the town center, offering a modest view of the surrounding hills and the Kasagh gorge and evoking the town’s long history as a strategic point on the route between Yerevan and northern Armenia.