Aygestan / Ballyja
Այգեստան / Ballıca | |
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Coordinates: 39°51′57″N 46°43′24″E / 39.86583°N 46.72333°E | |
Country | Azerbaijan |
• District | Khojaly |
Area | |
• Total | 2,283.46 km2 (881.65 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,084 m (3,556 ft) |
Population (2015)[1] | |
• Total | 1,084 |
Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
Aygestan (Armenian: Այգեստան) or Ballyja (Armenian: Բալուջա, romanized: Baluja; Azerbaijani: Ballıca) is a village in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. The village has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[2] Prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, it was de facto controlled by the Republic of Artsakh.[3]
The modern village was founded in the 17th century.[4] During the Soviet period, the village was part of the Askeran District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include tombs from the 2nd–1st centuries BCE, a 12th/13th-century village, the 12th/13th-century Tamtsi Church (Armenian: Թամցի եկեղեցի), the 12th/13th-century shrine of Prshni Nahatak (Armenian: Փռշնի Նահատակ), a 13th-century khachkar, a cemetery from between the 17th and 19th centuries, and the church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստվածածին, lit. 'Holy Mother of God') built in 1850.[1]
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as in different state institutions. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, and a medical centre.[1] The village is home to the Artsakh Brandy Company.[5]
The village had 1,091 inhabitants in 2005,[6] and 1,084 inhabitants in 2015.[1]