Dastakert

 village  Add category

 Upload a photo

Dastakert is a town in the Syunik Province (marz) of Armenia. It is located on a distance of 236 km south to the capital Yerevan and 127 km north-west to the city of Kapan. Dastakert was known as a town since 1951. The town is situated on the foot of the mountain Airy, at the root of the river Dastakert, on a height of 2050 meters above sea level. Dastakert was first mentioned as a village in the history by Stepanos Orbelian in 12-13th centuries.

In 1951 Dastakert has gaind the status of town, and in 1952 the copper-molybdenum plant was built there. In 1968, during the Soviet heyday, there were 4000 residents in Dastakerd. After the copper-molybdenum plant shut its doors in 1975, the population has harshly declined, and all that remained from the town's boom period was only its status as an urban community. Nowadays, only 317 residents live in Dastakert, most of which are refugees from Azerbaijan. 2-3 children are born in Dastakerd on a yearly basis.

Currently, 1 secondary school, 1 cultural centre, a musical school and a library are regularly operating in the town. There is a lithographic inscription 2 km north of the settlement on a rock called Vardapet-Stone.