Nor Hachn (founded in 1953, in 1991 was granted with the status of a town) is located 30 km northeast of Yerevan on the right shore of the Hrazdan River, to the west of the Arzni canyonat an average height of 1338 meters above sea level.
The town is named Nor Hachn, meaning New Haçin, in memory of the Armenian town of Haçin in Cilicia, where a group of local fedayis organized a military resistance against the Turkish forces in 1920.
Prior to the 1915 Armenian Genocide, Haçin (nowadays known as Saimbeyli in modern-day Turkish Republic) had a population of 35,000, of which 30,000 were Armenians and the rest ere Turks. Most of the Armenians were either massacred or taken to the Deir ez-Zor concentration camps in the Syrian desert. After the Armistice of Mudros in 1918, Cilicia became a protectorate of France as part of the Triple Entente. Consequently, around 8,000 Armenian Genocide survivors returned to Haçin with the withdrawal of the Ottoman forces. However, the French troops left Cilicia in 1920, paving the way for the advance of the Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal. On April 1, 1920, Turkish troops led by Kemal Doğan launched an offensive against the Armenians of Haçin who organized a military resistance, which lasted until October 15, 1920, when the Turks occupied the entire city. Most of the remaining 6,000 Armenians were massacred or killed during the military operations. The surviving 365 Armenians of Haçin took refuge in Aleppo and Lebanon.
The geographical location of present-day Nor Hachn corresponds with the location of the historical Kotayk canton of the Ayrarat province of the ancient Greater Armenia.
The total area of the town is 2,2 km2. he population of the town is 9300 (2017)
The production of furniture and jewelry (diamonds) plays a significant role in the economy. In Soviet times, the Nor Hachn industrial stone plant was known as the instrument engineering enterprise of the USSR (founded in 1958). The factory manufactured about 80 types of products (machinery, equipment, tech. stones, etc.), which were sold to the USSR and exported to 14 countries.
The two-storey Nurnus Bridge, built in the Arzni gorge not far from Nor- Hachn, connects the city of Masis with the Nurnus station by railway and a road. Nor Hachn is connected to the Yerevan-Hrazdan railway by a small train station south of the town.
Arzni airfield, housing the Armenak Khanperyants Military Aviation University is located to the west of Nor Hachn. There are various training airplanes and helicopters stationed at the base on one of the runways, while a sizable number military vehicles and artillery are located on the other runway.
The town has a kindergarten, 4 public schools, 1 paid high school, art and sport schools, the Cilician Museum of Hachn, a library, and a cultural palace. Monument to the memory of the martyrs of Hachin battle (1920) was erected in the city (1974, architect – Rafael Israyelyan).
There is a church of Surp Amenaprkich (Holy Saviour) in the town.
TAVUSH
