Beginning in the late 18th century, the Caucasus region became a focal point of tsarist settlement policy aimed at suppressing Turkic and other Muslim populations, promoting Christianization, and resettling the area with individuals of European Christian heritage.

In the 1770s and 1780s, tsarist Russia occupied much of the North Caucasus, initiating the settlement of German colonists in the region. Germans settled predominantly in the Don military district, Kuban, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Dagestan, Chechnya, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Germans were displaced from their homeland due to the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century and rising taxes, particularly affecting the southern region of Württemberg. Additionally, religious persecution prompted many to seek refuge in the Caucasus. They turned to Russian Emperor Alexander I for assistance when he passed through Stuttgart after the Congress of Vienna in 1816. The Tsar enthusiastically granted permission for the Württemberg immigrants to relocate to the Caucasus.

Tsar Alexander I vowed to welcome Germans into Russia, granting them land, religious freedom, tax exemptions, and exemption from military service. Additionally, Alexander's ambitions played a role in allowing Germans to settle in the country. The Russian government's invasion of the Caucasus in the early 19th century was motivated by strategic and economic interests, primarily aimed at strengthening its presence in the region, exploiting its resources, and transforming the Caucasus into a source of raw materials for Russia's growing industry. The major challenge for Russia in achieving its strategic goals was the resistance from the indigenous Muslim population living in the North and South Caucasus who were unwilling to accept Russian occupation and fought for their freedom. In response, Russia, like other occupying powers, sought to gain social support in the region by attempting to decrease the Muslim population, resettling Slavic and Christian communities loyal to Russia, and transforming the Caucasus into a region naturally aligned with Russia. To achieve this goal, the tsarist government relocated around 130,000 Armenians, 27,000 Kurds, 16,000 Assyrians (Aysor), and members of other ethnic groups from Iran and Turkey to the South Caucasus following the signing of the Gulustan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) treaties. One of the key objectives of tsarism in the Caucasus was the promotion of new economic sectors and the upbringing of citizens that would have a fresh perspective and be in tune with "European culture".  According to General Yermolov, the Armenians, who had been strangers, low-status, and a minority within different states for centuries, limited to petty trade as their economic specialization, and had marginal psychology, could not serve as a cultural model for Azerbaijanis, the autochthonous population of South Caucasus. Only a people from European culture, such as the Germans, could serve as a model for the local population. He believed that with the Germans' help, agriculture and sericulture would flourish in the area.

In 1817, 1,440 German families, approved by the Emperor, departed for Transcaucasia. Approximately 1,100 of the 4,000 migrants perished during the journey, with the remaining families eventually reaching Odessa. In the spring of 1818, 500 families traveled along the Odessa-Kherson-Taganrog-Rostov-Georgiyevsk-Stavropol-Mozdok-Tiflis route. During the migration, a group of 40 artisans decided to settle in Tiflis, where they established a colony known as Neu-Tiflis. Due to the lack of appropriate housing near Tiflis for the later arriving colonists, the government decided to resettle them in the Yelizavetpol governorate. Despite objections from the colonists, they were ultimately forced to move to Yelizavetpol.  As late autumn arrived, the colonists could no longer stay in their temporary dugout houses and tents with winter approaching. The German families were quickly taken in by Azerbaijani families in the city of Yelizavetpol and nearby villages. The Azerbaijani population, known as "Tatars" in official documents at the time, hosted German immigrants in their homes for nearly 3 months. This period of coexistence positively impacted the socio-cultural integration of the German immigrants and established a strong foundation for friendly relations between Azerbaijanis and Germans. The German colonists departed from the local population's homes in the spring of 1819 establishing the Helenendorf colony on August 22, 1819, along the right bank of the Ganja River under the supervision of Cossack detachments. The colony was named in honor of Yelena Pavlovna, Tsar Alexander I's sister, and was situated 7 versts away from the city of Yelizavetpol in the former Khanliglar village. 127 German families settled in the colony, with 2,600 desyatins of land being assigned to them.

This marked the entry of the first German colony onto the map of Azerbaijan, with 1,806 Germans residing in the colony as of December 31, 1898.

The Helenendorf colony was destroyed during the Russo-Iranian war that began in 1826, prompting the Germans to relocate to Ganja. However, stability returned after 1850. During this time, viticulture and winemaking thrived in the colonies, with the state providing financial aid of 3,000 rubles to each German family and exempting them from taxes to boost agricultural development. This led to many enterprising Germans establishing their businesses in these favorable conditions. Two notable examples of this are the Brothers Forehrer and Brothers Hummel. The Forehrers operated a prominent winery with sales outlets in Baku and Russia, while the Hummel brothers established a wine warehouse in 1883 and later built a cognac plant in 1900. Their products were distributed to Baku and Tbilisi for sale. Together, the wine produced by these two families accounted for 58 percent of the total wine production in the Caucasus region.

The Germans introduced a new form of administration to Azerbaijan, including a guide position in the Helenendorf colony in the 1930s. Rules and regulations were established based on military conditions, and the Germans also brought electoral culture to Russia and the Caucasus. The colony's leaders were elected which positively impacted its development, particularly in urban planning. Helenendorf, known for its picturesque nature, saw the construction of 500 residences in German architectural style, the development of 6 streets, and the operation of a comprehensive school, kindergarten, and music school. Houses were typically built with basements, and the wide roads constructed at that time are still in use today.

Aside from farming, the Germans were deeply committed to educating children. Initially, priests provided education for children at home. Education held significant value among the Germans, with nearly no illiteracy within their community.

Most Germans residing in Azerbaijan practiced the Protestant branch of Christianity. Granted full religious freedom by the government, they constructed the inaugural Protestant church in Helenendorf in 1857 for worship services.

With the onset of World War I in 1914, tensions between Russia and Germany intensified. Following the vicegerent's orders, a covert surveillance system was established for Germans, their previously granted rights and freedoms were revoked, and German language education in schools was halted. The name of the Helenendorf colony was briefly changed to Yelenina, but it continued to be referred to as before. The government mandated that Germans provide material support to the front.

The German colonists faced a resurgence of tension in their lives in April 1920 following the fall of the ADR. The Bolsheviks took power on May 18 of the same year and established a Revolutionary Committee, seizing the properties of wealthy Germans and implementing bans and restrictions. The estates and properties of the Hummel brothers were confiscated, along with the livestock and carts of the population being taken by the Red Army. Additionally, all 16-17-year-old young Germans were required to register at military commissariats.

A new rayon called Narimanov rayon was established in the Helenendorf colony on August 8, 1930. But, due to a shift in the government's attitude towards N. Narimanov, on November 29, 1938, the rayon was renamed Khanlar Rayon in honor of the revolutionary Khanlar Safaraliyev, and the rayon center was named Khanlar City.

Following the Nazi Germany attack on the USSR, the colonies were faced with a challenging period. In October 1941, they were relocated to Central Asia. It wasn't until the death of I. Stalin in 1953 their situation finally improved. At that time, "Soviet" Germans were permitted to return to their original places of residence, much like other deported groups. Some chose to return to their former homes, such as Azerbaijan, while others opted to move to Germany.

President Ilham Aliyev issued a Decree on May 7, 2008, renaming Khanlar Rayon to Goygol District and Khanlar City, the rayon's center, to Goygol City.

Recommended literature:

1. Ağasiyev, İkram Kərim oğlu. XVIII əsrin sonu - XX əsrin əvvəllərində almanların Qafqazda məskunlaşması : monoqrafiya / İ. K. Ağasiyev ; elmi red. İ. S. Bağırova ; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2009. - 304 s.
2. Hacıyeva, Rima. Azərbaycan tolerantlığında alman irsinin izləri və memarlığı = Spuren des Deutschen Erbes und der Architektur in der Toleranz Aserbaidschans = Следы немецкого наследия и архитектуры в толерантности Азербайджана / R. Hacıyeva ; Mənəvi Dəyərlərin Təbliği Fondu. - Bakı: Tuna, 2019. - 179 s.
3. Seyidov, Abbas Qadir oğlu. Yelenondorf-Yeleneno-Xanlar/ Abbas Qadir oğlu Seyidov; elmi red. Y. M. Mahmudov, H. F. Cəfərov ; AMEA Arxeologiya və Etnoqrafiya İn-tu, AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İn-tu ; Azərbaycan Dövlət İqtisad Universiteti. - Bakı: Elm, 2007. - 286 s.
4. Вердиева, Хаджар Юсиф гызы. Немцы в Северном Азербайджане : монография / Х. Вердиева. - Баку: Элм, 2009. - 208 с.