Kachaghakaberd

Kachaghakaberd (Armenian: Կաչաղակաբերդ, Azerbaijani: Qaxaç qalası) is a mountain-top fortress in the Martakert Province of the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh, or Tartar Rayon of de jure Azerbaijan[1]

Khachaghakaberd fortress between Kolatag and Patara
Kachaghakaberd / Qaxaç qalası
Armenian: Կաչաղակաբերդ
Azerbaijani: Qaxaç qalası
LocationMeshali, Khojali, Azerbaijan (de jure)
Lesnoy, Ivanyan, Republic of Artsakh (de facto)
TypeFortress, in the Principality of Khachen
Completion date9th century

The Janapar Trail runs very near to the Fortress. A short side trail will take you to the top of the Fortress.

Architecture

The fortress was an important fortification of the medieval Armenian Principality of Khachen that thrived in the High Middle Ages [2] and is located at a height of more than 1700 meters, surrounded by vertical limestone cliffs with the heights of 50–60 meters, has a hard-to-reach entrance from the southern side of the fortress. During its history no one could ever storm the fortress. Parts of the defensive walls remain standing.[3]

The territory of the fortress occupies a large area, though it seems small. Many rooms, secret passages cut into the cliffs, and special loopholes for throwing stones at enemies are inside its territory.[4] The water supply problem was solved by a unique method: two rock-cut reservoirs to store rain and melt-water are in the center of the fortress. Fresh water was brought from a spring at the foot of the mountain.[5]

Etymology

Kachaghakaberd is translated from Armenian as magpie's fortress, a combination of the words կաչաղաք (kachaghak, designating the bird magpie) and բերդ (berd, meaning fortress).[6][7]

gollark: Yes, but I don't want to spend ages on crafttweakering them to be less horrible.
gollark: Because the recipes are annoying, basically, otherwise I'd use it.
gollark: I managed to work a 3D printer from CC via one.
gollark: Actually... CC seems to be able to interact with OC stuff via a relay.
gollark: Now, CC has its problems, but it's nice to be able to stick down a computer without spending ages crafting components.

See also

References
  1. "Качагакаберд".
  2. Bonnie Marshall. The Flower of Paradise and Other Armenian Tales (World Folklore Series). 2007. photo section
  3. Boris Baratov. Paradise Laid Waste: A Journey to Karabakh, Lingvist Publishers, Moscow, 1998, pp. 50
  4. Shahen Mkrtchian. Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh. pp. 10, 21, 25. Yerevan, 1989, in Russian. Original: Шаген Мкртчян. Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха. стр. 10, 21, 25. Ереван, 1989
  5. Brady Kiesling (Author), Raffi Kojian (Author, Editor). Rediscovering Armenia. Publisher: Matit; 2nd edition (June 1, 2005), ISBN 9994101218; ISBN 978-9994101214
  6. Brady Kiesling (Author), Raffi Kojian (Author, Editor). Rediscovering Armenia. Publisher: Matit; 2nd edition (June 1, 2005), ISBN 9994101218; ISBN 978-9994101214
  7. Shahen Mkrtchian. Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh. pp. 10, 21, 25. Yerevan, 1989, in Russian. Original: Шаген Мкртчян. Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха. стр. 10, 21, 25. Ереван, 1989

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