Goygol Tour Guide
About Goygol
Goygol is known as the settlement of Germans that happened In the 19th century when the administrative center of the Goygol region was called Helenendorf ( in honor of the daughter of Paul I and Maria Feodoronva – Helena of Mecklenburg). It was founded on 22 august 22 1819 in the place of the ancient village of Khanliglar by two thousand german settlers who fled from Swabia after the invasion of napoleon and the famine of 1816. Later in 1938, Helenendorf was renamed into ‘khanlar’ (in honor of Azerbaijani revolutionary Khanlar Safaraliyev) and existed under this name until 2008, when it started to be called ‘Goygol’. At the same time, the majority German settlers were forcibly deported form these places to Kazakhstan at the end of 1941. Now, the Goygol region symbolizes the friendship between Azerbaijan and Germany. The local government has emphasized a lot in preserving this old heritage and history of German settlers in this region. It has 30 historical and architectural monuments that are preserved and open for the local and foreign tourists.
It has number of other sites including the Gabriel church built in the village of Shakhriyar in 1674, the mausoleum Anagid in the chaykend village, Church of St mary, Albanian church (300 m from the village of Yeni – Zond ) , Maiden tower in the village of Uchbulag, as well as cemeteries related to the period of the late bronze age – early Iron Age and located in the territory of the villages of Gushgara and Balchili. Currently, about 60 thousand people live in the Goygol region.
Goygol Lake
The Goygol Lake was formed as a result of devastating earthquake happened in 1139 and now it is one the big reservoirs in the mountains of Azerbaijan. One of the largest lakes in the country – Goygol Mountain Lake – is located on the northern slopes of Murovdag Mountain, at an altitude of 1576 meters above sea level. It is 2.5 km long and 0.6 k wide at the widest point. The coastline of the lake is 6460 meters, while the average depth is 30 meters (in the deepest place, it reaches 93 meters). Goygol and its surroundings are one of the top tourism attractions of the region. This is also known for health tourism where people believe that the air of these places is beneficial to the people suffering from the respiratory tract and nervous system diseases. The resort area Hajikend is located around the lake. It is a favorite tourist destination that is being visited by thousands of local and foreign tourists around the world.
Klein’s House
This house is preserved as one of the lost heritage of German settlers and is one of the top tourist attractions of the region. The last descendant of the Swabian immigrants Victor Klein died in 2007 at the age of 72, and his house was turned into a museum, according to his own will. The house was built in 1886 by Klein’s father and has remained almost unchanged since that time. Before the opening of the museum exhibition, the house and its area underwent the necessary restoration. The house exhibits various household items, personal belongings and documents of the owner, as well as other materials on the life of the German colonists in Azerbaijan. Interestingly, this is not the only preserved German house – there are also additional 300 houses that were once built by settlers and are now well preserved.
This is one of the largest churches of Caucasus and. The construction of the Lutheran Church (kirche) in Helendorf began in 1854 and lasted for three years. In 1857, the new church which got the name “the church of St John” opened its doors to the first parishioners. In 1941, after the deportation of Germans form the region, the church was closed. In different periods of time, the church housed a military and a sports school. Since 2005, the building of the church has been used as a museum of local history and ethnography. In 2008, with the support of the German association of technical cooperation, the building has been renovated. It is currently used as a historical monument. Cultural events are often held in the church hall. The Church is now a popular tourism attraction of Goygol region.