Vank ( hy, Վանք) or Vangli ( az, Vəngli) is a village ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' in the

Martakert Province Martakert Province ( hy, Մարտակերտ) is a province of the Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The population is mainly Armenian. The province has 43 communities of which one is considered urban and 42 ...

of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' in the

Kalbajar District Kalbajar District ( az, Kəlbəcər rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin, Khojaly, Agdam, Tarta ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, in the disputed region of

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mos ...

. The village has an ethnic

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989. The 13th-century Gandzasar Monastery, and the 9th-century Khokhanaberd fortress are located near Vank.

History

The village of Vank (meaning monastery in Armenian) was founded in the 9th century, and was named as such for its proximity to Gandzasar Monastery. Although the current structure of Gandzasar was built in the 13th century, a church or monastery existed at the site several centuries before then. The village was previously also known by the name Vankashen. The village is surrounded by several historical monuments dating to the Middle Ages. The most prominent among them is the thirteenth-century monastic complex of Gandzasar (built from 1216–38), which overlooks the village and was built by the Armenian ruler of the

Principality of Khachen The Principality of Khachen ( hy, Խաչենի իշխանություն, Khacheni ishkhanutyun) was a medieval Armenian principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day Nagorno-Karabakh). The provinces of Artsakh and Utik were ...

, Prince Hasan-Jalal Dawla. Khokhanaberd, a 9th-century mountaintop fortress is also located near Vank, which served as a castle and residence of rulers of the

House of Hasan-Jalalyan The House of Hasan-Jalalyan ( hy, Հասան-Ջալալյաններ) was an Armenian dynasty that ruled the region of Khachen (Greater Artsakh) from 1214 onwards in what are now the regions of lower Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh and small part o ...

. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

period, the village was a part of the Mardakert District of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...

. In the years following the conclusion of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

(1988-1994), the village has seen an increase in investment from the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

. Levon Hairapetyan, a Russian-based Armenian businessman and a native of Vank, has funded the reconstruction of homes, the local school, and sponsored the building of a zoo, and the nearby Hotel Eclectica, which resembles a ship.Noble, John et al. ''Georgia Armenia & Azerbaijan, 3rd ed''. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 2008, p. 306. In October 2008, Vank was also one of several venues in Nagorno-Karabakh for a mass wedding of 560 Armenian couples.Hayrapetyan, Anahit.
Nagorno-Karabakh: Mass Wedding Hopes to Spark Baby Boom in Separatist Territory
" ''Eurasianet''. October 23, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2010.

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include the 12th-century church of ''Yeghtsun Khut'' ( hy, Եղցուն Խութ), the 12th/13th-century monastery of '' Havaptuk'' ( hy, Հավապտուկ), a 12th/13th-century cemetery, Gandzasar monastery (1216-1238), a 13th-century

khachkar A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...

, a 13th-century village, and the medieval shrine of ''Yeghegyan Nahatak'' ( hy, Եղեգյան Նահատակ).

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...

. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, an art school, a kindergarten, 18 shops, two hotels, and a medical centre. The community of Vank includes the village of Nareshtar.

Demographics

Vank had a population of 1,284 in 2005, and 1,574 inhabitants in 2015.

Gallery

Xoxanaberd.JPG, The remains of Prince Hasan-Jalal's fortress of Khokhanaberd (on left), as seen from Gandzasar Paysage Gandzasar - 3.JPG, Vank as seen from Gandzasar Monastery Vank Hotel.jpg, Hotel ''Eclectica'' in Vank Vank Village 004.jpg, Lion of Vank Գյուղատեղի, Վանք ArmAg (1).jpg, Entrance to the village Княжеский дворец Хачена7.jpg, Walls of Khokhanaberd, close by are the ruins of the monastery of Havaptuk 2014 Wank, Szkoła (01).jpg, School in Vank

References

External links

* Musaelian, Lusine.
A Taste of China in Karabakh
" IWPR. CRS Issue 408, September 5, 2007.
Gandzasar.com: Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
*

* {{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Kalbajar District Populated places in Martakert Province