In the end of the 19th century, Old Khndzoresk was the biggest village of Eastern Armenia. In the beginning of the 20th century the community had 8,300 inhabitants (1,800 households). In 1913 there were 27 shops, 3 dye-houses, tanneries, 7 schools. The village is famous for taking part in the liberation movement of David Bek. The fortress of Khndzoresk served as a military base for Mkhitar Sparapet in 1728–1730. In 1735 the village was visited by Catholicos (Head of Armenian Apostolic Church) Abraham Kretatsi who gave a thorough description of the community in his chronicles. During the 1980s, an additional village sprouted 7 km (4.3 mi) from Khndzoresk due to resizing and political unrest. This village, considerably smaller than Khndzoresk, is called Lower Khndzoresk, or Nerkin Khndzoresk.[1]