Taghavard Թաղավարդ | |
|---|---|
| Tağaverd | |
 | |
  Taghavard | |
| Coordinates:39°40′05.2″N46°55′12.7″E / 39.668111°N 46.920194°E /39.668111; 46.920194 | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| • District | Khojavend |
| Population (2015)[1] | |
• Total | 1,301 |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
Taghavard (Armenian:Թաղավարդ) orTaghaverd (Azerbaijani:Tağaverd) is a village in thedisputed region ofNagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakawayRepublic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnicArmenian-majority population[2] until theexodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.[3]
The nameTaghavard derives from two Armenian words,Tagh, meaningquarter (of a city), andVard, meaningrose.
During theSoviet period, the village was a part of theMartuni District of theNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
Following the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the eastern, lower part of the village,Nerkin Taghavard (Armenian:Ներքին Թաղավարդ, also calledTaghavard Kaler,Թաղավարդ Կալեր),[4][5] continued to be controlled by the breakawayRepublic of Artsakh as part of itsMartuni Province, and the western, upper part of the village,Verin Taghavard (Armenian:Վերին Թաղավարդ), came under the control ofAzerbaijan as part of itsKhojavend District.[6]
In the context of the2023 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes, ArtsakhMP Metakse Hakobyan stated that civilians in the village had been captured by theAzerbaijani Armed Forces.[7][8]
Historical heritage sites in and around Taghavard include the 12th/13th-century monastery of Barevatsari Vank (also known as Jukht/Jokht Pravatsari Vank), the 17th-century Berdahonj Church, and the church ofSurb Astvatsatsin (Armenian:Սուրբ Աստվածածին,lit. 'Holy Mother of God') built in 1840.[1][4]
In July 2021, satellite images released by Caucasus Heritage Watch, a watchdog group made up of researchers fromPurdue andCornell, revealed that Azerbaijani bulldozers had cleared the western half of the village, thereby endangering the St. Astvatsatsin Church. It called on Azerbaijani authorities to prevent damage or destruction.[9]
The population is mainly engaged inagriculture andanimal husbandry. As of 2015, the village had a municipal building, a house of culture, two schools, a kindergarten, three shops, and a medical centre.[1]
The village had 1,315 inhabitants in 2005,[10] and 1,301 inhabitants in 2015.[1]
Capital:Martuni | ||
| Urban communities |  | |
| Rural communities | ||
| Not under Artsakh control |
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