Karakend

Karakend (Քարաքենդ; Qarakənd), or Berdashen (Բերդաշեն is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The village had an Armenian majority in 1989.

History
During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Martuni District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, on November 20, 1991, an Azerbaijani MI-8 military helicopter, carrying a peacekeeping mission team consisting of 13 Azerbaijani government officials, 2 Russian and 1 Kazakhstani Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, 3 Azerbaijani journalists and 3 helicopter crewmen was shot down by Armenian forces near the village. All 22 people (19 passengers and 3 crew) on board were killed in the crash.

Historical heritage sites
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 12th-century khachkar, the 17th-century church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Սուրբ Աստվածածին, lit. 'Holy Mother of God'), the chapel of Mets Nahatak (Մեծ Նահատակ) built in 1676, a 17th/18th-century shrine and the fortress of Kusaberd (Կուսաբերդ), also known as Aghjkaberd (Աղջկաբերդ).

Economy and culture
As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, six shops, and a medical centre.

Demographics
The village had 1,498 inhabitants in 2005, and 1,606 inhabitants in 2015.