The settlement is mentioned from the 13th century in the historian Stepanos Orbelian’s work “History of the Sisakan State”. However, the ruins and remains of the old cyclopean fortress and church of the 8th century on the territory of the town testify that the settlement of Jermuk, located near the mineral water springs, existed a very long time ago.

Jermuk used to be the Armenian village of Jermuk. Later it was destroyed by foreigners and a new village was built in its place, which was translated as Istisu. In 1924, it was renamed to Jermuk.

The town also includes the village of Kechut, located 3 kilometers to the southwest. In 2016, according to the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Administrative-Territorial Division”, the villages of Gndevaz, Gerger and Karmrashen were annexed to the Jermuk Urban Municipality.

At the mouth of a tributary flowing into the Arpa River, a mineral waterfall several tens of meters high has appeared. It is especially known for its 36 healing hot springs on the right and left banks of the Arpa River, with hot springs having hydrocarbonate-sulfate composition. There are also nearby Narzan-type water, therapeutic muds, glass raw materials (quartzites).

The healing mineral waters of Jermuk have long been used both by the common people and the princes of Syunat for the treatment of various diseases. This is evidenced by the remains of the swimming pool built in the Middle Ages, which was rebuilt and restored in 1860s by the royal priest Gevorg Khanagyan, and the pool is still popularly called “Pristavi Gel”. Despite its rich historical past, the foundation of today’s new town was laid only in 1940, with the completion of the first sanatorium.

In the following years, Jermuk was built and developed, all opportunities were created for active recreation, health improvement and tourism for both the population and vacationers.

The first general plan of Jermuk was drawn up in 1945 by architect P. Msryan, in 1952 the second one was drawn up by architect P. Manukyan, and in 1960-1962 it was revised, which started a new stage of development. Jermuk. A large bridge was built on the Arpa Gorge in 1975. The construction of the bridge allowed to concentrate housing construction on the left bank of the valley for the residents of two neighborhoods. In the 1980s, the city had about 10,000 residents, a network of sanatoriums and boarding houses for about 2,000 beds, with all the infrastructure and services for active recreation and treatment. Due to objective reasons, the active life of the spa town sharply increased from the 1990s, which began to revive from the end of the 1990s.

The remains of an old swimming pool discovered in Jermuk prove that people used hot springs in the Middle Ages. The old pool was inhabited in the second half of the 19th century, when Jermuk became part of Sharur-Daralaghyazi of Yerevan province.