Vanadzor (Վանաձոր vɑnɑˈd͡zɔɾ) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city had a population of 86,199, down from 148,876 reported at the 1979 official census. Currently, the town has a population of approximately 76,000. Vanadzor is the seat of the Diocese of Gougark of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In the official records of the Russian Empire, the city was labelled as Karakilis Bolshoye (Караклисъ Б.). Following the Sovietization of Armenia, the city was renamed Martunashen (Մարտունաշեն, alternatively Martunakan) in 1926 after Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Alexander Miasnikian. On 3 January 1935, it was renamed Kirovakan (Կիրովական), after the popular Russian Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov. A close associate of Miasnikian and Aghasi Khanjian, Kirov had been assassinated on December 1 of the previous year. On 25 June 1992, after Armenia gained its independence, Kirovakan was renamed back to its initial name Vanadzor after the Vanadzor River which flows through the city. The name Vanadzor is composed of the Armenian words vank (վանք, "monastery") and dzor (ձոր, "valley"). Thus, the name of the city means "valley of the monastery."
The area of present-day Vanadzor has been settled since the Bronze Age, based on the tombs and other historic remains found on the nearby hills of Tagavoranist and Mashtots. In antiquity, the area fell into the canton of Tashir of Gugark, the 13th province of the Kingdom of Armenia. Later, the region was ruled by the other Armenian dynasties of the Arsacids and the Bagratunis. The area was part of the Kingdom of Lori from the 10th century until the beginning of the 12th century. With the invasion of the Seljuk Turks, the region came under the rule of the Seljuk Empire. The settlement was called Gharakilisa (meaning black church in Turkic) by the Seljuks possibly as early as the 13th century, the name being taken from the black-stoned Armenian church of the Holy Mother of God on a nearby hill.