Goygol (city)
Goygol | |
|---|---|
City & Municipality | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| Rayon | Goygol |
| Founded | 1819 |
| Elevation | 697 m (2,287 ft) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
| • Total | 37,280 |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+5 (AZT) |
| Area code | +994 230 |
Goygol (also, Shakashen, Xanlar, Chanlar, Elenendorf, Helenendorf, Khanlar, Kol-Yelendorf, and Yelenendorf) is a city and municipality and the capital of the Goygol Rayon in northwestern Azerbaijan. It is about 10 km (6 mi) south of Ganja, Azerbaijan's second largest city. The city of Göygöl has a population of 37,200 (est. 2010). The municipality includes the city of Göygöl and the village of Qızılqaya.[2]
History
An extensive cemetery was excavated in the 1990s, with many bronze weapons (swords, daggers, axes), some jewelry (rings, bracelets, necklaces), and clay black dishes with the geometric designs,[3] some of which are on display at the local museum. Helenendorf was founded in 1819 by Germans from Württemberg, brought as a colony under orders of Czar Alexander to help settle the region that had just been acquired from the Safavid dynasty under the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813.[4]
The town was renamed to Khanlar in 1938 in honor of the Azerbaijani labor organizer Khanlar Safaraliyev.[3] In 1935–1941 the German population was deported to Siberia on Joseph Stalin's orders. Traces of the German settlement can be seen in the school buildings and the parish church built in 1854.
Emptied houses of the Germans in 1941 were settled by Armenians from surrounding villages (mainly Banants, Murut, Getashen and Voskanapat). So according to the census of 1941-1943, the population of Khanlar was 90 percent Armenian and 10 percent Assyrians. In 1946, Azeris living in the Ararat and Vardenis districts of the Armenian SSR informed the administration of the Azerbaijani SSR of their desire to move to Azerbaijani territory. The officials decided to move them into the empty houses of the Assyrians, who had also been deported to the Altai region after the Germans.
From 1946-1978, the proportion of the Azeri population of the city of Khanlar increased to 38 percent, and by 1988 Azeris settled 69 percent of the city. In 1991, all the Armenians were deported (see "Operation Ring").
In 2008, Khanlar was renamed Goygol after a nearby lake, Göygöl.
Economy
A large wine machinery plant, which aids in the processing of grapes, is located in Khanlar, as was a state-owned cattle-breeding farm (1990).[3]
See also
Notes
- ^ The state statistical committee of the Azerbaijan Republic
- ^ "Belediyye Informasiya Sistemi" (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on September 24, 2008.
- ^ a b c Template:Ru icon Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Khanlar.
- ^ "Xanlar şəhəri". Retrieved 1 May 2011.
References
- Goygol (as Xanlar) at GEOnet Names Server
- Ulrich Mohl: Schwäbischer Pioniergeist im Kaukasus - Die russlanddeutsche Kolonie Helenendorf. In: Schwäbische Heimat. Heft 2002/3, ISSN 0342-7595
External links
- "Helenendorf: Azerbaijan's First German Settlement" Azerbaijan International , a magazine;
- Satellite view of Khanlar City, Khanlar Raion, Azerbaijan from GoogleMap
