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German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO]

26 October 2016 10:57 (UTC+04:00)
German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO]

German ambassador in Baku Michael Kindsgrab has visited German Lutheran Church in the city of Shamkir. Kindsgrab was provided with detailed information about the church, Azertac reported.

As part of his visit to Shamkir region, the envoy discussed the events to be organized next year – under a presidential order – to mark the 200th anniversary of the establishment of German settlements in the South Caucasus.

The ambassador also visited the Heydar Aliyev Center, AzAqro Ltd., Flag Square and Zeka Center of Intellectual and Creative Development of Youth in the city of Shamkir.

The 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan will be marked in 2017 and this date will be marked by UNESCO as well.

A number of colonies were created across Azerbaijan in the early 19th century. The first Germans were for the first time settled in the country’s cities of Tovuz, Astara and Ganja in 1817. In early 19th-20th centuries, three of eight German colonies, Eigenfeld, Annenfeld and Georgsfeld, were located in the west of Azerbaijan -- Shamkir.

These colonies were a shelter for German colonists, who created a little Germany here with cozy houses built in German style and tidy streets, with pear and plane trees along them.

But, the World War II destroyed the peaceful life of the colony. Germans were exiled from their second home by Josef Stalin. In October 1941, more than 20,000 German colonists were living in Azerbaijan, and almost all of them were deported to Siberia.

After being allowed to return in 1953, few did, and now the community is a fraction of what it once was and largely assimilated. However, Many German buildings and churches are still extant, with some turned into museums

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German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
German envoy visits Lutheran Church in Shamkir [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
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