It was mere coincidence that I stumbled into this bus station. First of all, we need to say that the Soviet Union was keen on representing its ideology even in the smallest details. This is still reflected today in extravagant bus stops in the middle of the Ukrainian or Siberian steppe. Even more money was spent on larger transport hubs. The Northern Bus Station in Yerevan, now mostly abandoned and located far outside of the city, is a perfect example of it, a brutalist masterpiece that unites colours, shapes, and light.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
After arriving in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, I actually wanted to leave the city right away. The massive communist blocks and the traffic feel a bit overwhelming. A few days earlier, a friend of mine had already left for this reason, to get some fresh air in beautiful Dilijan. My plan was to follow him, and so destiny led me from the airport to this impressive bus station.
The Northern Bus Station and Its Modernist Architecture
(Picture: Markus Müller)
When I arrived at the bus station, I noticed the fortress-like tower made of red sandstone. It blends the styles and uses historic Armenian traditions in Soviet shapes, all built with the raw materials available in the Caucasus. The tall, soaring spire did not match the otherwise inconspicuous-looking facade, in front of which the drivers smoked their old-school Soviet papyrosi next to their half-empty marshrutka buses. The nearby vending machine where I wanted to get myself a coffee dispensed the brown liquid without a cup and demonstratively shot the stirring stick after into the void, just leaving a dull clacking sound on the ground. The dreariness of the suburbs captured in a single moment.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
The drivers told me to get a ticket inside the building, and while walking in, I didn't really expect much. Suddenly, when I entered through the gate, I was standing inside an impressive brutalist hall with precisely planned staircases. The massive columns, in combination with the large windows, created an unusual play of light, which would be changing depending on the time of day.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
I immediately knew that I had ended up on a small surprise urbex adventure. To be honest, the Northern Bus Station wasn't entirely abandoned. Actually, there's still a ticket office, but since it was empty at the moment, I wanted to use the time to explore the building. Meanwhile, the cleaning lady mopped the floors, not really knowing why and for whom.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
Apart from the cleaning staff, there weren't any people inside the station. The passengers all preferred to wait together with the marshrutka drivers and their papyrosi cigarettes in front of the building. Inside, I was puzzled about the large advertising posters for air travel to Russia, almost appearing in Soviet or 90s aesthetics. Were they old or new? In any way, they just seemed to undermine the idea of bus travel altogether.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
When was the Northern Bus Station in Yerevan built?
Still surprised about my urbex discovery, I started to research a bit to find out why there's such a masterpiece of streamlines in the middle of nowhere at a random dusty road. Soon names showed up. The two architects Armen Aghalyan and Vardan Avetisyan were behind this bus station. Following their ideas, it was completed and opened in 1988.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
However, due to the devastating earthquake a few months later and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the building soon lost its significance before it even had a chance to bloom. Long-distance bus journeys across the Soviet Republics in particular became less relevant in view of the emerging war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Eventually, the big bus station was downgraded to a mere marshrutka stop.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
How Do I Reach The Northern Bus Station in Yerevan?
To reach the Northern Bus Station in Yerevan, you have to—who would have guessed—take a bus heading north. The best option is first to take the metro to Yeritasardakan station. This unpronounceable place is located at the northwestern end of the garden ring surrounding the inner city and is an important transport hub in Yerevan.
From Yeritasardakan I walked up along Abovyan Road, looking for the right bus or a bus stop. At least the general direction was definitely correct: Abovyan is also the name of the suburb where the Northern Bus Station of Yerevan is located.
Important: You need to get your ticket at one of the few Telcell machines before entering the bus, and it has to be paid with exact change (150 Dram). Because they aren't available at every stop, I gave up soon. Above that, I already couldn't find any functioning machine at the airport, so I just decided to go without a ticket to the Northern Bus Station of Yerevan.
(Picture: Markus Müller)
Many bus lines are heading North from Abovyan Road and also reach this impressive brutalist urbex spot in Armenia's capital. I was successful using number 46, but numbers 1, 253, 259, and 261 could also work.
(Screenshot Yandex Maps)
To find the bus lines, I had to work a bit with a Russian maps supplier, 2GIS. Later I noticed that Yandex Maps also works in English and shows the exact directions to the station. Google Maps, on the other hand, doesn't provide any transport information for Yerevan. Once on the bus, it took around 50 minutes to get to the Northern Bus Station, arriving in the middle of nowhere to smoking bus drivers in front of an impressive brutalist masterpiece.
Read more about brutalist architecture in my article about Casablanca as the laboratory of modernism. Here's also something about Urbex in Bosnia, Urbex in China and Urbex in Albania, specifically in Fier and Sazan Island.