Yerevan's architecture has a very Soviet touch. Of course there are the inevitable concrete apartment blocks, but many of the Soviet official buildings in Yerevan have actually incorporated some of the Armenian genius for stone carvings and are worth a look. The 50th anniversary of Soviet Armenia monument stands on top of a hill. To reach it, one has to go through the "Cascade", a vast flight of stone steps which incorporates recessed fountains and post modern khachkars. It was left uncompleted at the demise of the Soviet Union. Gerard Cafesjian is developing a museum of contemporary art there. The huge statue of Mother Armenia stands on another, bigger, hill. It is 21 meters high and holds a massive sword. She actually replaces a Stalin statue which was removed in 1967 (funnily, the Stalin statue was less high!). The Republic Square (formerly Lenin Square) is surrounded by carefully crafted and carved buildings, such as the finance and economy ministry, the national history museum or a very special post office which houses a stained-glass window behind the counter showing a woman in Armenian clothing holding a telegraph tape (try buying stamps inside, it might still feel like a Soviet experience!!!). The Matenadaran is Armenia's ancient manuscripts library (it preserves more than 17000 of them!). The first Matenadaran for Armenian texts was built in Echmiadzin in the 5th century. Thanks to this system, many originals, lost in their mother languages and known only by their Armenian translations, have been saved from loss. The present building was designed in 1959. At its base is a statue of Mashtots teaching his alphabet to a disciple.