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All Armenia Dilijan Khanjian Villa
Khanjian Villa is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

AO Edited

Khanjian Villa

The luxurious circular mansion built for a Communist leader now lies abandoned.

Dilijan, Armenia

Added By
Ani Djaferian
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The beautiful circular villa is now in ruins.   Armineaghayan/CC BY-SA 3.0
The beautiful circular villa is now in ruins.   Pandukht/CC BY-SA 4.0
The ruins of Khanjian villa.   Ani Djaferian / Atlas Obscura User
The ruins of Khanjian villa.   Ani Djaferian / Atlas Obscura User
The ruins of Khanjian villa.   Pandukht/CC BY-SA 4.0
Khanjian Villa from above   Ani Djaferian / Atlas Obscura User
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In the hills overlooking the city center of Dilijan, Armenia, lie the ruins of a circular villa built in 1936 for Aghasi Khanjian, an important political figure of the time.

Khanjian was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia and held the post for six years. He was a popular figure in the country.

Dilijan, which has a favorable climate and forested surroundings, was, and still is, one of the country's most sought-after resort areas. Khanjian, too, was taken by its beauty and had this villa built as a summer house. It was designed in the Armenian modernist style of the early 20th century.

Unfortunately, the same year that it was built, Khanjian died during an interrogation. The details surrounding his death are foggy, but some believed it was ordered by prominent Georgian party leader Lavrenti Beria, who saw Khanjian as a threat to his power.  

The mansion built for for the Armenian leader lies in shambles today, but the distinctive circular design can still be seen.

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Abandoned Abandoned Houses Soviet History Modernism Architecture Politics Houses Mansions Homes
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Added By

Ani Djaferian

Edited By

Kavya Ram Mohan

  • Kavya Ram Mohan

Published

August 28, 2017

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Sources
  • http://www.dilijan.am/Dilijan/site/index.php?lang=en&show=objects&showID=3&s=4
  • http://dilijan.luys.am/en/home/see
  • http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/Dilijan
  • http://dilijan2013.fide.com/en/main-page/1-news-en/204-dilijan-2013
Khanjian Villa
15 Maxim Gorky St
Dilijan
Armenia
40.7373, 44.862025
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