Aghoghlan Temple

Aghoghlan Temple is set on two acres of land at the 30th kilometer of Lachin-Minkend highway, on the right bank of the river Hekeri, near Kosalar village of Lachin district. Aghoghlan Temple is an Albanian monastery built in the 5th-6th centuries. As the monument was exposed to avalanches and destructions at different times, it was rebuilt in the style of a church and adapted into a monastery. The first foundation of the monument was preserved in its initial form during repairs; the new walls were built over the old ones. After restoration, Aghoghlan Temple had become one of the most spectacular monuments of the Albanian period architecture of Azerbaijani history. The temple is 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. Two rows of the square-shaped eight-bearing piles – pylons divided the inner side of the building into three parts.

The monument was under occupation since May 18, 1992. Armenians made illegal changes in architectural style and the interior of the Aghoghlan monastery completely wiped out the inscriptions on the walls of the monument, as well as a large number of ornaments and symbols reflecting the Albanian period or greatly changed them. In 2006, under the pretext of repairing the monument for the second time, the Armenians placed in different parts of the walls 26 boards with inscriptions indicating the belongingness of the monument to the Armenian Apostolic Church. 2 tombstones were erected on the right side of the courtyard and 2 stone crosses made of red basalt stone from Irevan were erected in front of the entrance door by Armenians. It was renamed “Jijernavank” after the occupation of the Lachin district by the Armenian Armed Forces in 1992.

  1. “Lachin’s monuments that escaped 28-year captivity”, Defence.Az, 01 December 2020.  http://defence.az/az/news/149306.