Hartagyugh


Hartagyugh is a town in the Lori Province of Armenia.
The village was founded in 1820 by Western Armenian immigrants.The ancestors of the inhabitants came from Basen, Mush, Erzurum, Alashkert, Van and Kars.
The settlement has existed since the 4th millennium BC.
The village was formerly known as Ghaltakhci in the Alexandrapol province of Yerevan and later in the Leninakan province.The St. Hovhannes chapel is located in the village. It is the sanctuary of Hartagyugh, located on a hill near the village, on one of the inaccessible heights of the Pambak Range. The original, old look of the chapel was not preserved. The powerful St. Hovhannes chapel was blown up three times and burned down during the communist regime and was restored three times by the efforts of the villagers.Hundreds of khachkars have been erected around the chapel in recent years by pilgrims. Most likely the chapel was there before settling here of Western Armenians. As Ghevond Alishan / St Lazar Island / the sanctuary is one of the seven prominent places of pilgrimage in Eastern Armenia. The pilgrimage site is called Ghaltakhchi by the ancient name of the village.