Goygol Rayon

:"For Xanlar in the Bibi Eybat oil fields, see Baku and Baku Oil Fields."Goygol ( _az. Göygöl) is a rayon (district) in northwestern Azerbaijan. Formerly known as Khanlar, the region was renamed to "Goygol", after the Goygol, the famous blue lake, per decision of the Parliament of Azerbaijan on April 25, 2008 [ [http://www.1news.az/articles.php?item_id=20080425041404173&sec_id=4 Изменились названия двух городов Азербайджана] ] [ [http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1176821&lang=EN Azerbaijani Khanlar Region Re-named] ] . The administrative center of the rayon is the city of Goygol.

The city of Goygol was founded as a German settlement of Helenendorf in 1819 and was renamed as Khanlar (Xanlar) in 1938.

The rayon was established in 1930 under name of Khanlar, and in 1992, the territory that was to become Samukh Rayon was separated out from Khanlar. Goygol rayon is now 1,030 km² with a population of 54,000. The city of Goygol is the largest town followed by Hajimelik. Important villages are: Balchili, Gushgara, Chayli, Mollajalilli, and Topalhasanli.

Access to the southern portions of the rayon is restricted due to its proximity to Nagorno-Karabakh and the armistice line there.

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