Western Route: Shamkir

Population of the district - 178,400; district centre, the town of Shamkir - 36,100.

In the SHAMKIR DISTRICT there are many archaeological sites of the Bronze and Early Iron Age. They have been discovered in the villages of CHANLIBEL, SEYIDLAR, GARACHAMIRLI. There are also a number of architectural monuments from the medieval period: fortresses in the villages of TATARLI and ASHAGHI SEYFALLI; bridges in the village of TEKHNALI and on the ZAYAM River; Christian churches in the villages of YUKHARI CHAYKAND, GUNASHLI, DAG CHAYIR.

There are also good spots here for fishing enthusiasts - the YENIKEND dam on the KURA River.

THE TOWN OF SHAMKIR - the administrative centre of the district, is an hour's drive from the city of Ganja, distance from Baku - 417 km.

In the 19th century a small colony of German settlers lived here - ANNENFELD. Just as in Khanlar, they left behind several perfectly straight streets and a Lutheran church.

According to written and archaeological sources, the town was founded in the 5th-6th century, not far from the present-day village of MUKHTARIYAT, on the bank of the BOYUK SHAMKIR River, 20 km from modern Shamkir.

In the medieval period the town was called SHAMKUR, and it had a feudal castle with 8 towers. Shamkur's wealth attracted not only merchants but also conquerors. Throughout its existence the town, like many ancient towns of Azerbaijan, was destroyed and rebuilt again and again and went through a period of prosperity. But after yet another devastation the remaining population moved away from here and founded a new town.

In the vicinity of modern Shamkir the remains of two old 17th-century fortresses have survived - SHAMKHOR GALA and KOROGLU GALA (this fortress was named in honour of Koroglu - the hero of a folk epic who became a national symbol of heroic resistance to enslavers and oppressors). Many scholars are inclined to think that Koroglu was a historical, real person. But the location of his actual fortress, Chanlibel, has not been reliably established.