ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Khanlar 7 Monuments

Azerbaijan (Country) / Northern Artsakh (Area) / Khanlar (District) / Khanlar (City)

Location

Khanlar is situated on the right bank of the river Gandzak, 9 kilometres south of Gandzak City, between 650 and 700 metres of altitude above sea level.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

Foundation
1804 y․

The site of present-day Khanlar City used to be occupied by a settlement whose date of foundation remains obscure. In 1804 it provided a place of living for some stock-breeding Turks comprising 25 houses with 104 inhabitants.

Collected Acts of the Caucasian Archaeological Commission, vol. 2, Tiflis, 1868, p. 596.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

The authorities planned to allocate the site of Khanakhlar to the Armenians for the establishment of a village, but it was delivered to some German resettlers who laid the foundations of the future colony there between 1817 and 1819: “...it was named after Duchess of Mecklenburg and Schwering Helen Pavlovna.”

“Nor-Dar,” 1891, No. 167, p. 3.
“Meghu Hayastani,” 1874, No. 19, p. 3.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

1819 y․

The available sources are not unanimous in mentioning the exact year of the establishment of the settlement, but probably, it dates back to 1819.

A record states the following with this connection, “On 12 May, the German inhabitants of Helendorf held a solemn celebration of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of their colony dating from 1819...” (“Nor-Dar,” 1894, No. 84, p. 1). Another source reads, “...The small German colony of Helendorf, established in 1825, is famous for the diligence of its inhabitants...” (“Nor-Dar,” 1890, No. 119, p. 2).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

Historical Introduction
1819 y․

The Armenians of Gandzak showed a most benevolent attitude towards the German resettlers. With that regard, Governor of Georgia Major General Khaven wrote the following in a letter (3 February 1819) addressed to Caucasian Vice-Roy A. P. Yermolov, “...the Armenians of Yelizavetpol gave a friendly welcome to the immigrants from Vurtemberg. Some of them even provide these people with food absolutely free of charge, rendering some other services to them. With this letter, I express my gratitude to Yelisavetpol’s Armenian population for their praiseworthy attitude.”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 57. list 2, file 4, p. 1 (the Russian original reads, “...Елисаветпольские армяне приняв Виттембергских колонистов дружелюбным образом, некоторые из них снабжают сих новых поселенцев без получения платы съестными припасами и оказывают другие возможные пособия. Я за удовольствие себе поставляю объявить Елисаветпольскому Армянскому обществу ...сию бумагу мою благодарность за таковой похвальный поступок...”).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

Construction Activity
1886 y․

From the very day of its foundation, Helenendorf had a well-worked out plan. According to a traveller who visited the colony in 1886, it represented a fine-looking settlement “...with regular streets, houses and gardens.”

“Ardzagank,” 1886, No. 19, p. 280.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

1890 y․

In the late 1890s, the village was described in the following manner, “Regular, wide, straight and old streets that are about a verst long, both their sides planted with aspens, poplars and pine-trees imparting particular attractiveness to the colony. Almost in the centre rises a church built of finely-cut red stone, in the Gothic style. It is adjoined by a two-year state unisex school on one side, and a fine, two-floor house with a small garden on the other... ...The houses range from single- to three-storey ones, with large yards and small kitchen gardens in front of them.”

Lalayan, Yer. Gandzak District. In: “Azgagrakan Handes,” vol. 5, Tiflis, 1899, No. 1, p. 354.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

Population
1817 y․

The Germans. The 1,440 families, which left Vurtenberg in 1817 and resettled in Helendorf, comprised both adventurers and people who had left their homeland out of certain religious motives.

A Collection of Materials for the Description of the Tribes and Localities of Caucasia. Part 29, Tiflis, 1901, p. 1, in Russian.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

In the course of time, the colony was inhabited by Armenians and people of other nationalities so that in 1898 it consisted of 1,806 Germans as well as 30 Armenian, 10 Turkish and 5 Russian houses.

A Collection of Materials for the Description of the Tribes and Localities of Caucasia. Part 29, Tiflis, 1901, p. 10.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.

1860 y․

The Armenians. The early Armenian resettlers arrived in Helenendorf in the 1860s. As stated in an archive document of 1902, “...more than thirty-five people from Gandzak City, the adjacent and remote villages as well as some other places took up residence here...”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 56, list 6, file 437, p. 42.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.

1891 y․

In 1891 “Helenendorf had a permanent Armenian population of 30 houses, whose number increased tenfold in summer, for the village was a beloved summer resort among the wealthy inhabitants of Gandzak...”

“Nor-Dar,” 1891, No. 167, p. 3.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.

1898 y․

In 1898 Echmiatzin’s spiritual powers agreed to rent out 33 dessiatinas of the site of Arablu, belonging to Gandzak’s St. Hovhannes Church, to Helenendorf Armenians for a place of living, but the transaction was delayed and finally annulled.

“Murj,” 1898, No. 4, p. 565.
National Archives of Armenia, fund 461, list 1, file 15, p. 1.
In another source we find that the Armenians of Helendorf gave up the idea of settling down in Arablu due to some unfavourable conditions (National Archives of Armenia, fund 56, list 18, file 337, p. 15).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.

1906 y․

In 1906 the Armenians of Helendorf again applied to the spiritual authorities who met their petition and allocated them a plot of 15 dessiatinas for an annual rent of 500 rubles.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 461, list 1, file 15, pp. 4, 7-8, 11.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.

1931 y․

In 1931 Helenendorf had a population of 4,305. Ten years later, however, it was stripped of its German residents who were exiled to Kazakhstan. In 1970 the former German colony, whose name had changed into Khanlar, represented a city mostly inhabited by Turks who amounted to 12,700.

Grand Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 24, Moscow, 1932, pp. 497-498.
Soviet Armenioan Encyclopedia, vol. 5, Yerevan, 1979, p. 13.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 400.

1988 — 1989 yy․

With the deportation of the Armenian inhabitants of Khanlar between 1988 and 1989, it turned into a purely Turkish settlement.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 400.

Monuments
1899 y․

Archaeological monuments. The neighbourhood of present-day Khanlar abounds in tumuli dating as far back as the Bronze Age. In 1899 German archaeologist E. Resler excavated and studied part of them: “I started my excavations with the interesting burial mounds preserved near the colony of Helenendorf. In 1899 I unearthed 29 barrows on the right bank of the river Gandzak: as attested by the archaeological finds, they trace back to the Bronze Age. The work was a great success. The burial mounds, that represented monuments of coarse sand and pebble having different dimensions, contained between 1 and 3 graves, filled with sand and stone (very few of them were covered with slabs). The skeletons lay backwards, or sideways, huddled up or in a sitting position. In one of the graves, the deceased person lay his face downward, with a jug on both sides of his waist bones. The majority of the graves had a north-west-southeast-facing position. The study of the skulls revealed that the dead were of Aryan origin. Almost all the graves contained various sacrificed animals as well as a great amount of pottery which were supposed to satisfy the deceased people’s needs in their after-life.”

Resler, E. Archaeological Research in Transcaucasia. In: “Kavkaz,” 1903, No. 173, p. 2 (the Russian original reads, ”...Сперва я начал раскопку интересных курганов близ колонии Еленендорф. В 1899 году я открыл на правом берегу реки Гянджи 29 курганов, заключавших в себе могилы, которыя по находкам должны быть отнесены к т. н. бронзовому веку. Раскопки увенчались прекрасным результатом. Курганы различных размеров, возведенные большею частью из жесткаго глинистаго песка и речных камней, содержали обыкновенно от 1 до 3 грунтовых могильных ям. Редко могила была крыта плитами, наполнены же оне были песком и камнями. Костяки лежали или на спине, или на боку в согнутом положении, или же наконец в сидячем положении. В одном случае покойник лежал на животе, лицом к земле а кистями прикасаясь к двум сосудам, стоявшим по обеим сторонами в области плеч. Преобладающее направление могил и костяков было с. з. - ю. в. Черепа покойников дали возможность вывести заключение о культурном народе арийскаго происхождения. Почти в каждой могиле были найдены также остатки разнообразных жертвенных животных, наполнявших часть многочисленных сосудов, помещенных около мертвецов для их продовольствия на пути в загробную жизнь...”).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 400.

Description

The archaeological finds included ornate bronze necklaces with remnants of chains, needles, enameled buttons, stone spearheads and various other articles. In the autumn and winter of the same year, Resler excavated another 18 tumuli.

Resler, E. Archaeological Research in Transcaucasia. In: “Kavkaz,” 1903, No. 179, p. 2.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 400.

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Helenendorf

The available statistical data relating to the number of the Armenians of Helendorf Colony between the late 19th and early 20th centuries represent the following picture:

Dates	Armenian Houses	Armenians (Male)	Armenians (Female)	Total (Armenians)	Notes	Source
1893	60					“Nor-Dar,” 1893, No. 39, p. 1; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.
1897	65					National Archives of Armenia, fund 461, list 1, file 10, p. 1; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.
1906		219	140	359		National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3915, p. 24; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.
1907				255		National Archives of Armenia, fund 56, list 1, file 240, p. 2; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.
1910		71	38	109		National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3917, pp. 55-56; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.
1925	90					National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 2635, p. 8; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 399.

Population:

Dates	German Houses	Germans (Male)	Germans (Female)	Total (Germans)	Notes	Source
1894	200					“Ardzagank,” 1894, No. 58, p. 2; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.
1898				1806		A Collection of Materials for the Description of the Tribes and Localities of Caucasia. Part 29, Tiflis, 1901, p. 10; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.
1908				2234		Caucasian Calendar for 1910, Tiflis, 1909, p. 251; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 398.