Kryz village (also Kryts, Kryc, Gryz, Giriz, Krits, Kriz, Kyryz) is situated in Guba district, at the foot of White Mountain, 2000-2050 m above sea level. Situated on the left bank of Kudialchay, it is one of the snowiest villages in Azerbaijan and the most distant village in Shahdagh region.
First written sources about Kryz village date back to X century. According to historical sources, highland village Kryz was a place of residence of a tribe, which settled on the territory of Caucasian Albania.
The fact that the village is an ancient settlement can be seen from the inscriptions engraved on the walls of the Abu Muslim Mosque in the village. The date of construction of the mosque is written on the wall with the number “131”, which gives grounds to say that it was built in 749, i.e. in the 8th century according to the Gregorian calendar.
There is even an ancient cemetery in the village, dating back to before Christ. Along with a lot of ancient constructions in the village there are the remains of the ancient fortress Kryz. Therefore, the village of Kryz is considered the oldest settlement of the Kryz people.
According to some written sources, during Sheikhali-Khan’s struggle against Russian Empire in XVIII century his central residence was in the village of Kryz. The village is historically divided into neighborhoods by kinship.
According to the researchers, the population of neighbouring villages (Jack, Alik, Khaput) was resettled from the village Kryz in 1860-1880. During those years majority of rural population moved to plains.
Currently, the Kryz people live in several villages of Khachmaz, Gusar and Ismailli districts, as well as in the cities of Baku and Sumgayit.
