Noragyugh
Yerevan's old "new village"

What is this place

Noragyugh is a historic neighbourhood of Yerevan in the Kentron district, its name meaning "new village" in Armenian. Once one of the villages beside the Yerevan fortress, it is now a low-rise, almost rural pocket of the capital.

The name Noragyugh (Նորագյուղ) joins two Armenian words, nor (new) and gyugh (village), and carries a quiet irony: this "new village" has long been one of Yerevan's oldest neighbourhoods. Together with Nork and Dzoragyugh, it was among the settlements that ringed the Yerevan fortress and gradually merged into the growing city. Today Noragyugh sits within the central Kentron district, at roughly 983 metres above sea level.

For a traveller, Noragyugh is interesting above all for its scale. Among the broad avenues and tower blocks of the centre it has kept a low, almost village-like fabric and an unhurried rhythm. Here the capital, for a few blocks, remembers its rural past, offering a different, more homely Yerevan.

The neighbourhood's future is an open question. In January 2026 the Armenian government approved a major redevelopment plan for the area, "New Yerevan", which would replace the historic district with high-rise construction. That makes seeing the old Noragyugh as it is today all the more worthwhile.