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Karakend[a] (Armenian: Քարաքենդ; Azerbaijani: Qarakənd, lit. 'black village'), or Berdashen (Armenian: Բերդաշեն, lit. 'village of the fortress') is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population[2] until the exodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.[3]
Karakend / Berdashen
Qarakənd / Բերդաշեն | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Karakend / Berdashen  Karakend / Berdashen | |
| Coordinates: 39°50′51″N 47°01′49″E | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| • District | Khojavend |
| Elevation | 656 m (2,152 ft) |
| Population (2015)[1] | |
• Total | 1,606 |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
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During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Martuni District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, on November 20, 1991, an Azerbaijani MI-8 military helicopter, carrying a peacekeeping mission team consisting of 13 Azerbaijani government officials, 2 Russian and 1 Kazakhstani Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, 3 Azerbaijani journalists and 3 helicopter crewmen was shot down by Armenian forces near the village.[4][5] All 22 people (19 passengers and 3 crew) on board were killed in the crash.[6]
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Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 12th-century khachkar, the 17th-century church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստվածածին, lit. 'Holy Mother of God'), the chapel of Mets Nahatak (Armenian: Մեծ Նահատակ) built in 1676, a 17th/18th-century shrine and the fortress of Kusaberd (Armenian: Կուսաբերդ), also known as Aghjkaberd (Armenian: Աղջկաբերդ).[1]
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As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, six shops, and a medical centre.[1]
The village had 1,498 inhabitants in 2005,[7] and 1,606 inhabitants in 2015.[1]
"Pitsi Nahatak" chapel
Kusaberd-Aghjkaberd monument
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