Shoghakat () is a village in the

Shoghakat Municipality Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

of the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, located near

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

, northwest of the Artanish Peninsula. The village was founded in the 1810s by

Mordvins Mordvins (also Mordvinians, Mordovians; ; no equivalents in Moksha language, Moksha and Erzya language, Erzya) is an official term used in Russia and the Soviet Union to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928. Names While Robert Gordon ...

exiled from Russia. In 1988-1989 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan settled in the village.

Toponymy

The village was formerly known as ''Nadezhdino'', ''Shordzhalu'' and later ''Shorzha'' () until November 2017.

Historical sites

A 17th-century chapel and cemetery are located along the southern outskirts of the village. On the hill overlooking Shoghakat, there are the ruins of another chapel. Remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

fort can be seen in same area.

Nature

The Artanish peninsula of

with a hill of the same name, is located close to the village. Sea-buckthorn (''

Hippophae ''Hippophae'', from Ancient Greek ἵππος (''híppos''), meaning "horse", and φάος (''pháos''), meaning "light", is a genus of flowering plants in the family Elaeagnaceae. They are deciduous shrubs. They are exceptionally hardy plants, ...

'') with wild-growing edible sour berries grow at the shores of Lake Sevan. Planted after the lowering of the level of

in the Soviet period. The vicinity of the village hosts 111 species of butterflies and is recognized as the Prime Butterfly Area "Artanish-Shoghakat". Also the area is known as one of the key birding sites of Armenia.

Climate

The climate of the village is cold and

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

, designated as ''Dfb'' in

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Infrastructure

The village can be accessed via Armenian road M14 (repaired in 2020-21) running along the north-east shore of

either from

Tsovagyugh Tsovagyugh ( ) is a village in the Sevan Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. History The village contains church ruins, and upon an egg-shaped hill to the northeast are the remains of an Iron Age The Iron Age () is the ...

village (in the northwest of Shoghakat) or from

Vardenis Vardenis ( ) is a town in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at Above mean sea level, above sea level, near the south ...

(in the south-east). Another road connects it to the town of

Chambarak Chambarak () is a town and capital of the Chambarak Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The current Chambarak town was formed by amalgamation of three settlements: Krasnoselsk, Lower Chambarak (Nerkin Chambarak) and Upper Chamba ...

in the north-west. In summer, passenger trains of South Caucasus Railways commute from

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, via the towns of

Hrazdan Hrazdan ( ) is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of Kotayk Province, located northeast of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 44,231. During the Soviet Uni ...

and Sevan.

Recreation

The shores of

near the village hosts several popular camping sites. Most popular is perhaps the camping site called "Whishup" (a wordplay with ''

Vishap The ''Vishap'' () is a dragon in Armenian mythology closely associated with water, similar to the Leviathan. It is usually depicted as a winged snake or with a combination of elements from different animals.The name might derive from an ancient Ir ...

'', "dragon" in Armenian) located between the road and lakeshore at about 1.5 km from the village towards Tsovagyugh. Various water sports, like

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding ...

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

, are practiced there and some equipment is available for rent along a sandy beach with a cafe. In summer evenings concerts are held at the stage on the beach. On the opposite side of the Artanish peninsula, the yachting clubs "

Ayas Ayas may refer to: Ayas * Ayas(आयस), Sanskrit for metal, see history of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent * Ayas, Armenian metal band * Aya, Adana, the ancient city of Aegeae and medieval Ajazzo or Laiazzo, now Yumurtalık, Adana Pro ...

" and "Armenian camp" can be found. Sailing and

paddling Paddling, in regard to waterborne transport, is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using at least one hand-held paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel via generatin ...

equipment can be rented there and guided tours on a sailing ship can be booked. A copy of a medieval Armenian sea vessel is placed there. Built in the 90's and named ''Cilicia'' (referring to

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

, where such vessels were built and used) it sailed round Europe, and was brought back to

. There is also a diver's club located nearby.

Municipal administration

After administrative reforms in November 2017, the name of the village was changed from Shorzha to Shoghakat and it was assigned as the administrative centre of the same-name rural municipality including the villages of

Aghberk Aghberk () is a village in the Shoghakat Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The village was populated by Azerbaijanis, who called it ''Ağbulaq'', before the Azerbaijanis in Armenia#Nagorno-Karabakh_conflict, exodus of Azerbaijan ...

, Artanish, Drakhtik, Jil and

Tsapatagh Tsapatagh () is a resort village in the Shoghakat Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province in Armenia, on the northeastern shore of Lake Sevan. Geography and nature The village is located in the vicinity of the Tandzut river delta (not to b ...

Gallery

Shorzha Chapel.JPG, 17th-century chapel on the outskirts of the village Artanish.jpg, Hilltop of Artanish peninsula Շորժա, համայնապատկեր 4.jpg, Shoghakat as viewed from atop the adjacent hill with chapel ruins Railroad station in Shorzha (Gegarkunik, Armenia).jpg, Railroad station Շորժա, հուշարձան նվիրված Արցախյան պատերազմին.jpg, Monument to the fallen in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

Շորժայի գյուղապետարան.jpg, Municipality building

References

External links

* * {{portal bar, Geography Populated places in Gegharkunik Province Erivan Governorate