The city founded as Helenendorf by first German settlers in Azerbaijan in 1819 and with considerable German minority until 1941 had been renamed to Khanlar in 1938. In 1941, German settlers were relocated by Soviet authorities to Kazakhstan and their homes were filled by Armenians by orders of Anastas Mikoyan.[4] In 1925 the lake was incorporated into the newly founded "Goy Gol State Reserve" which was superseded as Göygöl National Park in 2008.