Inside One of the Most Impressive Culture Houses in Armenia

Shvanidzor feels like a place time forgot — quiet, sunburned, tucked into the reddish slopes of the Meghri region. The village sits about 11 km northeast of Meghri town and only a kilometer from the Arax River, resting at 600–700 meters above sea level. Once home to around a thousand people, today Shvanidzor has barely 280 residents. The local school has just 20 students. Life here runs slow and steady. But the village hides some serious architectural surprises. Today we will talk about the famous “Shvanidzor culture house”.

For such a small place, Shvanidzor has an unusual amount of heritage packed into its dusty streets. Medieval kahrezes — underground qanat-style water channels — still crisscross the area. Nearby you have centuries-old churches like Gyumerants and St. Stepanos (17th–19th centuries), and the older Berdikar Church dating back to the 12th–13th centuries. There’s even a 16th-century aqueduct and a 17th-century stone bridge quietly holding its ground.

On the way, we stopped at a viewpoint where a beautiful view opens up over the Araks River, which forms the border between Armenia and Iran.

And then there’s the culture house — the reason I came.

In Armenian villages, culture houses are frozen Soviet memories — architectural relics that still reflect the style and spirit of that era. Shvanidzor’s, however, has a special charm. When we arrived, we found the door literally tied shut with twisted wires wrapped around the metal rings. But curiosity won, and I went inside.

The interior of the Shvanidzor Culture House

The moment I stepped into the main hall, I just stopped. The space hit me with its size, symmetry, and a strange sense of dignity. Even abandoned, the hall felt alive. I reacted like a starving kid at a table full of food — pulling out my camera, running from corner to corner, trying to catch every angle. You don’t often see culture halls like this anymore.

There was one disappointment, though. I knew the projection room once had vintage Soviet posters — the kind that survive for decades in the dark. But they were gone.

The projector room of the Shvanidzor Culture House

Sadly, this is becoming a pattern. With tourism rising across Armenia, especially among visitors exploring Soviet heritage and urbex sites, old posters have started disappearing. Rumor has it they have high demand on the black market.

As I’m writing this article at the end of 2025, the situation is shifting again. The village school is now being renovated, so classes are taking place right inside the culture house — on the stage. Kids are reciting their lessons where concerts and performances once happened. It’s oddly fitting: the building is stepping back into its original purpose, even if in an unexpected way.