Take a dip into history of Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
Cold weather is not a good reason to keep you in the cozy room of your hotel while you are on a visit to Baku. On the contrary, it is the right time to visit numerous museums of the ancient city.
I will start my review of Baku museums with the most prominent and significant one across the whole country, showing the inside out of its history. As you guess, it is the Azerbaijan National History Museum.
The visit of this interesting place will not only inspire you with all the catching information on Azerbaijani history, but will also let you enjoy the architecture of the building itself.
It was built in 1895-1901 as a mansion of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, Azerbaijani millionaire and philanthropist, by Polish architect Jozef Goslawski. This three-storey mansion is still one of the most beautiful buildings of the capital city.
The interior design of the building will mesmerize all the lovers of the Easter style. The distinguishable interior design is full of magnificent ornaments and decorations, both on the walls and the ceiling. It will also astonish amateurs of the European style inside the building as various architecture styles were used while building the mansion, including Italian Renaissance and French rococo.
Tagiyev’s family enjoyed the building until 1920, when Azerbaijan government was seized by Bolsheviks, who confiscated the mansion. However, the building was further used by Azerbaijan SSR People Commissars.
The mansion turned into the History Museum of Azerbaijan in 2000 and since then it is acquainting its guests with the exciting exhibits.
As one of the largest museums in the Caucasus, this museum displays material and spiritual monuments of all periods of Azerbaijan history.
The six departments, laboratory, 10 funds, scientific archives and library, all are working to keep and study the history of Azerbaijan which is full of ups and downs.
Exposition of the museum, located in 35 halls, contains the history and culture from ancient times to the present days. The collections and funds of the museum preserves monuments of material and spiritual culture, the original documents of political history and socio-economic life of the country, which reflects the whole history of the country.
The total number of treasures of the museum is more than 300,000 items. During the visit, you will be able to see some 20,000 exhibits, while listening to your guide.
Moreover, the Archaeology Department of the Museum has recently obtained new archaeological findings.
Around 73 findings, discovered during archaeological excavations in Ismayilbeytepe and Fermantepe settlements of the Agdam region, are related to V-IV millennium BC.
In addition, the museum is also holding different exhibitions in its halls, as well as open doors for all history-enthusiasts.
Be sure that you have enough time and head to this place, where history lives.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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