Vank, Nagorno-Karabakh

File:Gandzasar Monastery1.jpg Monastery near Vank]]

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.{{cite book |last1=Hakobyan |first1=Tadevos Kh. |last2=Melik-Bakhshyan |first2=Stepan T. |last3=Barseghyan |first3=Hovhannes Kh. |date=2001 |title=Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of toponymy of Armenia and adjacent territories] |volume=4|url=http://www.nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&query=%D5%BE%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%84 |location=Yerevan |publisher=Yerevan State University Publishing House |pages=759–60 |language=hy}} Although the current structure of Gandzasar was built in the 13th century, a church or monastery existed at the site several centuries before then.{{cite book|last=Mkrtchyan|first=Shahen|author-link=:hy:Շահեն Մկրտչյան|title=Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха [Historical and architectural monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh]|chapter=Гандзасар [Gandzasar]|date=1989|publisher=Parberakan|location=Yerevan|edition=2nd|pages=14–19}} 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, Prince Hasan-Jalal Dawla.{{cite book|last=Hewsen|first=Robert H.|author-link=Robert H. Hewsen|title=Armenia: A Historical Atlas|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|year=2001|isbn=0-226-33228-4|pages=119–120}}{{cite web|last=Mkrtchyan|first=Gayane|url=http://armenianow.com/features/7610/a_wonder_in_karabakh_a_visit_to_th|title=A Wonder in Karabakh: A visit to the "mysterious" attraction of Vank|date=August 31, 2007|agency=ArmeniaNow.com|access-date=June 14, 2013|archive-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101134/http://www.armenianow.com/features/7610/a_wonder_in_karabakh_a_visit_to_th|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Sargsyan |first1=S. S.|date=1996 |title=Խոխանաբերդ. նորահայտ վիմագրեր Խաղբակյանների մասին.|trans-title=Khokhanaberd: newfound inscriptions about the Khaghbakyans |url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/42453/edition/38018/?language=hyw |journal=Lraber |volume=3 |issue= |pages=96–105 |language=hy|doi= |access-date=17 January 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Hakobyan |first1=Tadevos Kh. |last2=Melik-Bakhshyan |first2=Stepan T. |last3=Barseghyan |first3=Hovhannes Kh. |date=2001 |title=Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of toponymy of Armenia and adjacent territories] |volume=2|url=http://www.nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&pageNumber=1805 |location=Yerevan |publisher=Yerevan State University Publishing House |pages=764–65 |language=hy}}

During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Mardakert District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

In the years following the conclusion of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994), the village has seen an increase in investment from the Armenian diaspora. 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,"[https://www.thefocus.news/travel/holidaying-in-lands-that-dont-exist-artsakh/ Holidaying in lands that don’t exist: Artsakh]." The Focus. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020. 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. "[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav102408.shtml Nagorno-Karabakh: Mass Wedding Hopes to Spark Baby Boom in Separatist Territory]." Eurasianet. October 23, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2010.

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include the 12th-century church of Yeghtsun Khut ({{langx|hy|Եղցուն Խութ}}), the 12th/13th-century monastery of Havaptuk ({{langx|hy|Հավապտուկ}}), a 12th/13th-century cemetery, Gandzasar monastery (1216-1238), a 13th-century khachkar, a 13th-century village, and the medieval shrine of Yeghegyan Nahatak ({{langx|hy|Եղեգյան Նահատակ}}).

The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. 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.

Vank had a population of 1,284 in 2005,{{Cite web|url=http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-1.pdf|title=The Results of the 2005 Census of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|website=National Statistic Service of the Republic of Artsakh}} and 1,574 inhabitants in 2015.

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

{{Reflist}}

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• Musaelian, Lusine. "[http://iwpr.net/report-news/taste-china-karabakh A Taste of China in Karabakh]." IWPR. CRS Issue 408, September 5, 2007.
• [http://www.gandzasar.com/ Gandzasar.com: Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh Republic]
• {{in lang|hy}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20091223010246/http://www.gandzasar.am/gandzasar.am/index1.html The Hasan-Jalalyans, Charitable, Cultural Foundation of Country Development].
• {{GEOnet2|32FA8814F5CD3774E0440003BA962ED3}}

{{Aghdara District}}{{Martakert Province}}

{{Portal bar|Geography}}

Category:Populated places in Aghdara District