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Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, as well as the largest city on the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
and of the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
region. Baku is located below
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. Baku lies on the southern shore of the
Absheron Peninsula The Absheron Peninsula ( az, Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrd ...
, alongside the
Bay of Baku Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nb ...
. Baku's
urban population An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
was estimated at two million people as of 2009. Baku is the primate city of Azerbaijan—it is the sole metropolis in the country, and about 25% of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku's metropolitan area. Baku is divided into twelve administrative raions and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the
Baku Archipelago The Baku Archipelago is a group of coastal islands close to Baku, Azerbaijan. The waters surrounding the islands are shallow. Islands Besides their Azeri name, most islands have a Russian name that originated in the first modern cartography of th ...
, and the town of
Oil Rocks An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, away from Baku. The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2000. The city is the scientific, cultural, and industrial centre of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, 4th
Islamic Solidarity Games The Islamic Solidarity Games ( ar, ألعاب التضامن الإسلامي) is a multinational, multi-sport event. The Games involve the elite athletes of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation who compete in a variety of sports. The Solidari ...
, the
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
in 2016, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix since 2017, hosted the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of the
2018–19 UEFA Europa League The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League was the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Olympic Sta ...
, and was one of the host cities for
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
. The
Baku International Sea Trade Port Port of Baku is a sea port located in the Bay of Baku, on the coast of city of Baku, Azerbaijan. The main entrance faces the Neftchiler Avenue. History The Baku port was built in 1902 and claims itself to be the largest and busiest port of the ...
is capable of handling two million tonnes of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the "
City of Winds The City of Winds ( az, Küləklər şəhəri) is an unofficial, literary name for Baku, mainly because it is windy throughout most of the year. The name derives from the ancient Persian name of this locality: بادکوبه (Bādkube, lit. "pou ...
".


Etymology

Baku is long attested under the
Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th cen ...
name باکو (''Bākū''). Early
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
sources also refer to the city as Bākuh and Bākuya, all of which seem to come from a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
name. The further etymology is unclear. A popular etymology in the 19th century considered it to be derived from Persian بادکوبه (Bâd-kube, meaning "wind-pounded city", a compound of ''bād'', "wind", and ''kube'', which is rooted in the verb کوبیدن ''kubidan'', "to pound", thus referring to a place where wind would be strong and pounding, as is the case of Baku, which is known to experience fierce winter snow storms and harsh winds). This popular name (''Badkubə'' in modern Azerbaijani script) gained currency as a nickname for the city by the 19th century (e.g., it is used in ''
Akinchi ''Akinchi'' ( az, Əkinçi, ), also transliterated as ''Ekinchi'' ("The Cultivator"), was the first Azerbaijani-language newspaper, published in Baku (then part of the Russian Empire, now the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan) between 1875 a ...
'', volume 1, issue 1, p. 1), and is also reflected in the city's modern nickname as the "
City of Winds The City of Winds ( az, Küləklər şəhəri) is an unofficial, literary name for Baku, mainly because it is windy throughout most of the year. The name derives from the ancient Persian name of this locality: بادکوبه (Bādkube, lit. "pou ...
" ( az, Küləklər şəhəri, link=no). Another and even less probable folk etymology explains the name as deriving from Baghkuy, meaning "God's town". ''Baga'' (now ''بغ'' ''bagh'') and ''kuy'' are the Old Persian words for "god" and "town" respectively; the name ''Baghkuy'' may be compared with '' Baghdād'' ("God-given") in which ''dād'' is the Old Persian word for "give". During Soviet rule, the city was spelled in Cyrillic as "Бакы" in Azerbaijani (while the
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
spelling was and still is "Баку", ). The modern Azerbaijani spelling, which has been using the Latin alphabet since 1991, is ; the shift from the Perso-Arabic letter و (''ū'') to Cyrillic "ы" and, later, Latin "ı" may be compared to that in other Azerbaijani words (e.g. compare ''qāpū'' in old Perso-Arabic spelling with modern Azerbaijani , "door") or in suffixes, as و was often used to transcribe the
vowel harmony In phonology, vowel harmony is an assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, mea ...
in Azerbaijani (which was also the practice in Ottoman Turkish). (See also Azerbaijani alphabet.)


History


Antiquity

Around 100,000 years ago, savanna rich in flora and fauna covered the territory of present-day Baku and Absheron. Traces of human settlement go back to the Stone Age.
Bronze-Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
rock carvings have been discovered near Bayil, and a bronze figure of a small fish in the territory of the Old City. These have led some to suggest the existence of a Bronze-Age settlement within the city's territory. Near
Nardaran Nardaran is a settlement and municipality on the Abşeron Peninsula in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 8,300. Located 25 kilometers northeast of central Baku, it is politically part of the Baku city-subdivision and treated as a suburb. ...
, a place called Umid Gaya features a prehistoric observatory, where images of the sun and of various constellations are carved into rock together with a primitive astronomic table. Further archeological excavations have revealed various prehistoric settlements, native temples, statues and other artifacts within the territory of the modern city and around it. In the 1st century A.D., the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
organised two Caucasian campaigns and reached what is today Baku. Near the city, in what is today Gobustan, Roman inscriptions dating from A.D. 84 to 96 survive – some of the earliest written evidences for a city there.


Rise of the Shirvanshahs and the Safavid era

Baku was the realm of the
Shirvanshahs ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, ...
during the 8th century AD. The city frequently came under assault from the
Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
and (starting from the 10th century) from the Rus'. Shirvanshah Akhsitan I built a navy in Baku and successfully repelled a Rus' assault in 1170. After a devastating earthquake struck
Shamakhi Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...
, the capital of
Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
, Shirvanshah's court moved to Baku in 1191. The Shirvan era greatly influenced Baku and the remainder of present-day Azerbaijan. Between the 12th and 14th centuries, massive fortifications were built in Baku and the surrounding towns. The Maiden Tower, the Ramana Tower, the
Nardaran Fortress Nardaran Fortress ( az, Nardaran qalası) was built in 1301 by architect Mahmud ibn Sa'd in the northern part of Absheron Peninsula. Nardaran Fortress is located 25 km north of Baku in the village of Nardaran near the town of Mashtaga. Shirva ...
, the Shagan Castle, the Mardakan Castle, the Round Castle and also the famous Sabayil Castle on the island of the
Bay of Baku Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nb ...
date from this period. The city walls of Baku were also rebuilt and strengthened. By the early 16th century Baku's wealth and strategic position attracted the attention of its larger neighbours; in the previous two centuries, it was under the rule of the Iran-centred
Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
and Ak Koyunlu. The fall of the Ak Koyunlu brought the city immediately into the sphere of the newly formed Iranian Safavid dynasty, led by king (''
shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
'')
Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
(). Ismail I laid siege to Baku in 1501 and captured it; he allowed the Shirvanshahs to remain in power, under Safavid suzerainty. His successor, king
Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...
(), completely removed the Shirvanshahs from power and made Baku a part of the
Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
province. Baku remained as an integral part of his empire and of successive Iranian dynasties for the next centuries, until ceded to the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
through the 1813
Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (russian: Гюлистанский договор; fa, عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy Distr ...
. The House of Shirvan, which had ruled Baku since the 9th century, was extinguished in the course of Safavid rule. At this time the city was enclosed within lines of strong walls, which were washed by the sea on one side and protected by a wide trench on land. The Ottomans briefly gained control over Baku as a result of the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578–1590; by 1607, it came under Iranian control again. In 1604 Shah Abbas I () destroyed Baku fortress. Baku had a reputation as a focal point for traders from all across the world during the Early modern period,; commerce was active and the area prospered. Notably, traders from the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
established themselves in the region. These Indian traders built the
Ateshgah of Baku , image = Jahlinmarceta baku temple.jpg , caption = , former_names = , map_type = , building_type = Ancient Syncretic (Zoroastrian/Hindu) Fire Temple, Mandir and Gurudwara , architectural_style = , st ...
during 17th–18th centuries; the temple was used as a
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, Sikh, and
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
place of worship.


Downfall of the Safavids and the Khanate of Baku

The Safavids temporarily lost power in Iran in 1722; Emperor Peter the Great of Russia took advantage of the situation and invaded. As a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723, the Safavids were forced to cede Baku to Russia. By 1730 the situation had deteriorated for the Russians; the successes of Nader Shah () led them to sign the
Treaty of Ganja The Treaty of Ganja was concluded between the Russian Empire and Safavids on 10 March 1735 during the Persian Siege of Ganja (1734) near the city of Ganja in present-day Azerbaijan. The treaty established a defensive alliance against the Ottoman Em ...
near Ganja on 10 March 1735, ceding the city and all other conquered territories in the Caucasus back to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The eruption of instability following Nader Shah's death in 1747 gave rise to the various Caucasian khanates. The semi-autonomous Persian-ruled
Baku Khanate Baku Khanate ( fa, خانات باکو, Khānāt-e Baku), was an autonomous Muslim khanate under Iranian suzerainty, which existed between 1747 and 1806. Originally a province of Safavid empire, it became practically independent after the assas ...
(1747–1806) was one of these. Initially ruled by Mirza Muhammed Khan (), it soon became a dependency of the much stronger
Quba Khanate The Quba Khanate (also spelled Qobbeh; fa, خانات قبه, Khānāt-e Qobbeh) was one of the most significant semi-independent khanates that existed from 1747 to 1806, under Iranian suzerainty. It bordered Caspian sea to the east, Derbent Kha ...
. During this time, the population of Baku remained small (approximately 5,000), and the economy suffered as a result of constant warfare.


Russo-Persian Wars and Iran's forced cession

From the late 18th century, Imperial Russia switched to a more aggressive geopolitical stance towards its two neighbours and rivals to the south, namely Iran and the Ottoman Empire. In the spring of 1796, by
Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
's order, General
Valerian Zubov Count Valerian Aleksandrovich Zubov (1771–1804) was a Russian general who led the Persian Expedition of 1796. His siblings included Platon Zubov and Olga Zherebtsova. As a young man Zubov had flattering prospects of a brilliant military caree ...
's troops started a large campaign against
Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
Persia. Zubov had sent 13,000 men to capture Baku, and it was overrun subsequently without any resistance. On 13 June 1796, a Russian flotilla entered Baku Bay, and a garrison of Russian troops was stationed inside the city. Later, however, Emperor
Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch * Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Pau ...
of Russia ordered the cessation of the campaign and the withdrawal of Russian forces following the death of his predecessor, Catherine the Great. In March 1797 the tsarist troops left Baku and the city became part of
Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
again. In 1813, following the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, Qajar Iran had to sign the
Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (russian: Гюлистанский договор; fa, عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy Distr ...
with Russia this provided for the cession of Baku and of most of Iran's territories in the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
and
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
to Russia. During the next and final bout of hostilities between the two, the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, the Iranians briefly recaptured Baku. However, the militarily superior Russians ended this war with a victory as well, and the resulting
Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay ( fa, عهدنامه ترکمنچای; russian: Туркманчайский договор) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It was second ...
(1828) made Baku's inclusion in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
definite. When Baku was occupied by the Russian troops during the war of 1804–13, nearly the entire population of some 8,000 people was ethnic Tat. Baku within Russia was the administrative center of the
Baku Uyezd The Baku uezd was a county (''uezd'') within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929. The ''uezd'' was located in eastern part of the Baku Gove ...
, Baku Governorate, and the Baku Gradonachalstvo.


Discovery of oil

The Russians built the first oil-distilling factory in Balaxani in 1837. The first person to drill oil in Baku was an ethnic
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Ivan Mirzoev, who is also known as a 'founding father of Baku's oil industry.' Digging for oil began in the mid-1800s, with the first oil well drilled in the Bibi-Heybat suburb of Baku in 1846. It was mechanically drilled, though a number of hand-dug wells pre-dated it. Large-scale oil exploration started in 1872 when Russian imperial authorities auctioned parcels of oil-rich land around Baku to private investors. The pioneer of oil extracting from the bottom of the sea was the Polish geologist Witold Zglenicki. Soon after, investors appeared in Baku, including the Nobel Brothers in 1873 and the Rothschilds in 1882. An industrial area of oil refineries, better known as Black Town ( ru , Чёрный город), developed near Baku by the early 1880s. Professor A. V. Williams Jackson of Columbia University wrote in his work ''From Constantinople to the Home of Omar Khayyam'' (1911): By the beginning of the 20th century, half of the oil sold in international markets was extracted in Baku. The oil boom contributed to the massive growth of Baku. Between 1856 and 1910 Baku's population grew at a faster rate than that of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
or New York. Unrest at the time of the
1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
resulted in massacres among the population and the destruction of many oil facilities.


World War I

In 1917, after the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
and amidst the turmoil of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the breakup of the Russian Empire, Baku came under the control of the
Baku Commune Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world ...
, led by the veteran Bolshevik Stepan Shahumyan. Seeking to capitalize on the existing ethnic conflicts, by spring 1918, Bolsheviks inspired and condoned civil war in and around Baku. During the famous
March Days The March Days or March Events () was a period of inter-ethnic strife and clashes which led to the death of about 12,000 Azerbaijani: "The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members wer ...
of 1918, Bolsheviks and
Dashnaks The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...
, seeking to establish control over Baku streets, faced armed Azerbaijani groups. The Azerbaijanis suffered defeat from the united forces of the Baku Soviet and were massacred by Dashnak teams in what was called the
March Days The March Days or March Events () was a period of inter-ethnic strife and clashes which led to the death of about 12,000 Azerbaijani: "The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members wer ...
. An estimated 3,000–12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed in their own capital. After the massacre, on 28 May 1918, the Azerbaijani faction of the
Transcaucasian Sejm The Transcaucasian Commissariat was established at Tbilisi on 11 November 1917, as the first government of the independent Transcaucasia following the Great October Socialist Revolution, October Revolution in Petrograd. The Commissariat decided to ...
proclaimed the independence of the
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian A ...
(ADR) in Ganja, thereby founding the first Muslim-majority democratic and
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
republic. The newly independent Azerbaijani republic, being unable to defend the independence of the country on their own, asked the Ottoman Empire for military support in accordance with clause 4 of the treaty between the two countries. Shortly after, Azerbaijani forces, with support of the Ottoman Army of Islam led by
Nuru Pasha Nuri Killigil, also known as Nuri Pasha (1889–1949) was an Ottoman general in the Ottoman Army. He was the half-brother of Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha. Military career Libya Infantry Machine-Gun Captain Nuri Efendi was sent t ...
, started their advance on Baku, eventually capturing the city from the loose coalition of
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s, SRs,
Dashnaks The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...
, Mensheviks and British forces under the command of General
Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charle ...
on 15 September 1918. After the
Battle of Baku The Battle of Baku ( az, Bakı döyüşü, tr, Bakü Muharebesi, russian: Битва за Баку) was a battle in World War I that took place between August–September 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pas ...
of August–September 1918, the Azerbaijani irregular troops, with the tacit support of the Turkish command, conducted four days of pillaging and killing 10,000–30,000Andreopoulos, George (1997). ''Genocide: Conceptual and Historical Dimensions''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, , p. 236. Armenians of Baku. This
pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
became known as the " September Days". Shortly after this, Baku was proclaimed the new capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The Ottoman Empire, recognising defeat in World War I by October 1918, signed the
Armistice of Mudros Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...
with the British (30 October 1918); this meant the evacuation of Turkish forces from Baku. Headed by General William Thomson, some 5,000 British troops, including parts of the former
Dunsterforce Dunsterforce was an Allied military force, established in December 1917 and named after its commander, Major-General Lionel Dunsterville. The force comprised fewer than 350 Australian, New Zealand, British and Canadian officers and NCOs, wh ...
, arrived in Baku on 17 November. Thomson declared himself military governor of Baku and implemented
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
in the city until "the civil power would be strong enough to release the forces from the responsibility to maintain the public order". British forces left before the end of 1919.


Soviet period

The independence of the Azerbaijani republic was a significant but short-lived chapter in Baku's history. On 28 April 1920, the 11th Red Army invaded Baku and reinstalled the Bolsheviks, making Baku the capital of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The city underwent many major changes. As a result, Baku played a great role in many branches of Soviet life. Baku was the major oil city of the Soviet Union. From about 1921 the city was headed by the Baku City Executive Committee, commonly known in Russian as ''Bakgorispolkom''. Together with Baku Party Committee (known as the ''Baksovet''), it developed the economic significance of the Caspian metropolis. From 1922 to 1930 Baku became the venue for one of the major
trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
s of the Soviet Union, serving as a commercial bridgehead to Iran and the Middle East.


World War II

The major powers continued to note Baku's growing importance as a major energy hub. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(1939–1945) and particularly during the 1942 Nazi German invasion of the southwestern Soviet Union, Baku became of vital strategic importance to the
Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
. In fact, capturing the oil fields of Baku was a primary goal of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
's
Operation Edelweiss The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...
, carried out between May and November 1942. However, the German Army reached only a point some northwest of Baku in November 1942, falling far short of the city's capture before being driven back during the Soviet
Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launc ...
in mid-December 1942.


Fall of the Soviet Union and later

After the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, Baku embarked on a process of restructuring on a scale unseen in its history. Thousands of buildings from the Soviet period were demolished to make way for a green belt on its shores; parks and gardens were built on the land reclaimed by filling up the beaches of the
Baku Bay Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nbs ...
. Improvements were made in general cleaning, maintenance, and garbage collection to bring these services up to Western European standards. The city is growing dynamically and developing at full speed on an east–west axis along the shores of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
. Sustainability has become a key factor in future urban development.


Geography

Baku is situated on the western coast of
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
. In the vicinity of the city there are a number of
mud volcano A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true igneous volcanoes as they do not produce la ...
es (Keyraki, Bogkh-bogkha, Lokbatan and others) and salt lakes ( Boyukshor, Khodasan and so on).


Climate

Baku has a
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''BSk'') with hot and humid summers, cool and occasionally wet winters, and strong winds all year long. However, unlike many other cities with such climate features, Baku does not see extremely hot summers and substantial sunshine hours. This is largely because of its northerly
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
and the fact that it is located on a peninsula on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Baku, and the
Absheron Peninsula The Absheron Peninsula ( az, Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrd ...
on which it is situated, is the most arid part of Azerbaijan (
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
here is around or less than a year). This is largely due to the rain shadow effect from the
Caucasian Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
, with corresponding latitudes on the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
on average receiving or more. The majority of the light annual precipitation occurs in seasons other than summer, but none of these seasons is particularly wet. During Soviet times, Baku, with its long hours of sunshine and dry healthy climate, was a vacation destination where citizens could enjoy beaches or relax in now-dilapidated spa complexes overlooking the Caspian Sea. The city's past as a Soviet industrial centre left it one of the most polluted cities in the world, . At the same time Baku is noted as a very windy city throughout the year, hence the city's nickname the "
City of Winds The City of Winds ( az, Küləklər şəhəri) is an unofficial, literary name for Baku, mainly because it is windy throughout most of the year. The name derives from the ancient Persian name of this locality: بادکوبه (Bādkube, lit. "pou ...
", and gale-force winds, the cold northern wind '' khazri'' and the warm southern wind '' gilavar'' are typical here in all seasons. Indeed, the city is renowned for its fierce winter snow storms and harsh winds. The speed of the ''khazri'' sometimes reaches 144 km/h (89 mph), which can cause damage to crops, trees and roof tiles. The daily mean temperature in July and August averages , and there is very little rainfall during that season. During summer the ''khazri'' sweeps through, bringing desired coolness. Winter is cool and occasionally wet, with the daily mean temperature in January and February averaging . During winter the ''khazri'' sweeps through, driven by polar
air mass In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to l ...
es; temperatures on the coast frequently drop below freezing and make it feel bitterly cold. Winter snow storms are occasional;
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
usually melts within a few days after each snowfall.


Administrative divisions

Baku is divided into 12 ''rayonlar (sub-rayons)'' (administrative districts) and 5 settlements of city type. * Binagadi (Binəqədi) raion * Garadagh (Qaradağ) raion * Khatai (Xətai) raion * Khazar (Xəzər) raion * Narimanov (Nərimanov) raion * Nasimi (Nəsimi) raion *
Nizami raion Nizami Rayon ( az, Nizami Rayonu, Низами Рајону, نیظامی رایوننو) is a municipal district of the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Its population is 201,239 and it includes the municipality of Keşlə. Of these, 25, ...
* Pirallahi (Pirallahı) raion * Sabail (Səbail) raion * Sabunchu (Sabunçu) raion * Surakhani (Suraxanı) raion *
Yasamal raion Yasamal is a settlement and raion in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 245,900. One of the central districts of Baku, Yasamal district, was established in 1932 as the administrative unit of the district, from the south to Sabail (3  ...


Demographics

Until 1988, Baku had very large Russian,
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, and
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
populations which contributed to
cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different c ...
and added in various ways (music, literature, architecture and progressive outlook) to Baku's history. With the onset of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and the pogrom against Armenians starting in January 1990, the city's large Armenian population was expelled. Under Communism, the
Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...
took over the majority of Jewish property in Baku and Kuba. After the
collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, Azerbaijani President
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...
returned several synagogues and a Jewish college, nationalised by the Soviets, to the Jewish community; he encouraged the restoration of these buildings. Seven of the original 11 synagogues, including the Gilah synagogue, built in 1896, and the large Kruei Synagogue, were renovated.


Ethnic groups

Today, the vast majority of Baku's population is made up of ethnic Azerbaijanis, and the rest are
Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people * History of Talysh *Talysh language *Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828 *Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993 *Talysh ...
,
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
, Lezgi and others. The intensive growth of the population started in the middle of the 19th century when Baku was a small town with a population of about 7,000 people. The population increased again from about 13,000 in the 1860s to 112,000 in 1897 and 215,000 in 1913, making Baku the largest city in the Caucasus region. Baku has been a cosmopolitan city at certain times during its history, meaning ethnic Azerbaijanis did not constitute the majority of population. In 2003 Baku additionally had 153,400
internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...
s and 93,400 refugees.


Religion

The religion with the largest community of followers is Islam. The majority of the Muslims are
Shia Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia population percentage in the world after
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The city's notable mosques include Juma Mosque,
Bibi-Heybat Mosque The Bibi-Heybat Mosque ( az, Bibiheybət məscidi) is a historical mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan. The existing structure, built in the 1990s, is a recreation of the mosque with the same name built in the 13th century by Shirvanshah Farrukhzad II Ibn ...
, Muhammad Mosque and Taza Pir Mosque. There are some other faiths practised among the different ethnic groups within the country. By article 48 of its
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
, Azerbaijan is a secular state and ensures religious freedom. Religious minorities include Russian Orthodox Christians, Catholic Levantines, Georgian Orthodox Christians, Albanian-Udi Apostolic Christians,
Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
, Ashkenazi Jews and Sufi Muslims. Baku is the seat of the Catholic
Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan The Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan is a Roman Catholic Apostolic Prefecture (missionary jurisdiction) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. It has one ...
.
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
, although extinct in the city as well as in the rest of the country by the present time, had a long history in Azerbaijan and the Zoroastrian New Year (Nowruz) continues to be the main holiday in the city as well as in the rest of Azerbaijan.


Economy

Baku's largest industry is petroleum, and its petroleum exports make it a large contributor to Azerbaijan's balance of payments. The existence of petroleum has been known since the 8th century. In the 10th century, the Arabian traveler, Marudee, reported that both white and black oil were being extracted naturally from Baku. By the 15th century, oil for lamps was obtained from hand-dug surface wells. Commercial exploitation began in 1872, and by the beginning of the 20th century the Baku oil fields were the largest in the world. Towards the end of the 20th century, much of the onshore petroleum had been exhausted, and drilling had extended into the sea offshore. By the end of the 19th century
skilled worker A skilled worker is any worker who has special skill, training, knowledge which they can then apply to their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Alternatively, a skilled worker may have learned thei ...
s and specialists flocked to Baku. By 1900 the city had more than 3,000 oil wells, of which 2,000 were producing oil at industrial levels. Baku ranked as one of the largest centres for the production of
oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...
equipment before World War II. The World War II Battle of Stalingrad was fought to determine who would have control of Baku oil fields. Fifty years before the battle, Baku produced half of the world's oil supply. The oil economy of Baku is undergoing a resurgence, with the development of the massive Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field (Shallow water Gunashli by SOCAR, deeper areas by a consortium led by BP), development of the
Shah Deniz gas field Shah Deniz gas field ( az, Şahdəniz) is the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. It is situated in the South Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan, approximately southeast of Baku, at a depth of . The field covers approximately . Stretch ...
, the expansion of the
Sangachal Terminal The Sangachal Terminal is an industrial complex consisting of a natural gas processing plant and oil production plant, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea south of Baku, Azerbaijan. History Construction of the terminal began in 1996 with t ...
and the construction of the BTC Pipeline. The
Baku Stock Exchange The Baku Stock Exchange (BSE) ( az, Bakı Fond Birjası) is the main stock exchange in Azerbaijan. BSE is organized in the form of a closed joint stock company with 19 shareholders. Activity Baku Stock Exchange trades short-term treasury bond ...
is Azerbaijan's largest stock exchange, and largest in the
Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...
region by market capitalization. A relatively large number of transnational companies are headquartered in Baku. One of the more prominent institutions headquartered in Baku is the International Bank of Azerbaijan, which employs over 1,000 people. International banks with branches in Baku include HSBC,
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
and Credit Suisse.


Tourism and shopping

Baku is one of the most important tourist destinations in the Caucasus, with hotels in the city earning 7 million euros in 2009. Many sizable world
hotel chain A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
s have a presence in the city. Baku has many popular tourist and entertainment spots, such as the downtown Fountains Square, the One and Thousand Nights Beach,
Shikhov Beach Shikhov Beach (Azeri: Şıxov çimərliyi) is a resort area with a beach in Shikhov, southwest of central Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, and adjacent to the Shikhov Cape. Lying on the Caspian Sea coast, it is politically part of the Baku ...
and
Oil Rocks An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. Baku's vicinities feature
Yanar Dag Yanar Dagh ( az, Yanar Dağ, meaning "burning mountain") is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (a country which itself is known as " the L ...
, an ever-blazing spot of natural gas. On 2 September 2010 with the inauguration of
National Flag Square The National Flag Square ( az, Dövlət Bayrağı Meydanı) is a large city square off Neftchiler Avenue in Bayil, Baku, Azerbaijan. The National Flag Square covers overall. The area of the upper part is . The square features the state symbol ...
, Baku set the
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
for tallest
flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...
; on 24 May 2011, the city of
Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...
in
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
set a new record with a -higher flagpole. A few years later, the Flag Pole was dismantled and the National Flag Square was closed off with fences. Baku has several shopping malls; the most famous city centre malls are Port Baku,
Park Bulvar Park Bulvar ( en, Park Boulevard) is a multi-story shopping mall located on Baku Boulevard, downtown Baku, Azerbaijan. The mall is located less than a mile away from Sahil Metro station of Baku Metro, Baku Subway and Government House, Baku, Go ...
, Ganjlik Mall, Metro Park, 28 MALL, Aygun city and AF MALL. The retail areas contain shops from chain stores up to high-end boutiques. The city is listed 48th in the 2011
list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
of the most expensive cities in the world conducted by the Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Its
Nizami Street Nizami Street ( az, Nizami küçəsi) is a large pedestrian and shopping street in downtown Baku, Azerbaijan, named after classical Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. Overview The street's history could be traced back to Baku's town-planning project ...
and also the
Neftchilar Avenue Neftchiler Avenue ( az, Neftçilər Prospekti; literally Oil Worker's Avenue) is an arterial road in Baku, Azerbaijan. It begins at the west end of the Bayil district of Baku and continues east until terminating at Javanshir Bridge (formerly Gaga ...
are among the most expensive streets in the world.


Culture

In 2007 the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect
Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...
, was opened. Baku also has many museums such as Baku Museum of Modern Art and
Azerbaijan State Museum of History The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan ( az, Milli Azərbaycan Tarixi Muzeyi) is the largest museum in Azerbaijan. It is located in Baku, in the former residential house of Azerbaijani oil magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Tagh ...
, most notably featuring historical artifacts and art. Many of the city's cultural sites were celebrated in 2009 when Baku was designated an Islamic Culture Capital. Baku was chosen to host the
Eurovision Dance Contest The Eurovision Dance Contest was an international ballroom dancing competition that was held for the first time in the United Kingdom on Saturday 1 September 2007. The contest was similar in format to the long-running Eurovision Song Contest a ...
2010. It has also become the first city hosting the first European Games in 2015.


Theatres

* Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre *
Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre The Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre ( az, Azərbaycan Akademik Milli Dram Teatrı) is an academic theatre of drama in Baku, Azerbaijan. History of the theatre The theatre has its origins in national holidays and dances. Elements of theatr ...
*
Azerbaijan State Russian Drama Theatre The Samed Vurgun Azerbaijan State Russian Drama Theatre ( az, Səməd Vurğun adına Azərbaycan Dövlət Rus Drama Teatrı, russian: Азербайджанский государственный русский драматический театр ...
named after Samad Vurgun *
Baku Puppet Theatre The Baku Puppet Theatre (formally Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre named after Abdulla Shaig , az, Abdulla Şaiq adına Azərbaycan Dövlət Kukla Teatrı) is located on Neftchiler Avenue of Baku. It was built in 1910 by Polish architect Józef ...
(formally Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre named after Abdulla Shaig) *
Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Spectators Azerbaijan State Theater of Young Spectators () is a theatre located in the centre of Baku, Azerbaijan. History of the theater Azerbaijan State Theater of Young Spectators (ASTYS) was founded in 1928 as Baku Children’s Theater according to the ...
* Azerbaijan State Theatre of Musical Comedy *
Baku State Circus Baku State Circus ( az, Bakı Dövlət Sirki) is the main arena circus of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. History In the 1890s, Nikitin's brothers opened a first circus-zoo in Baku. In 1904, they built the first Circus-building in the East on the ...
* "Oda" Theatre * Baku Marionette Theatre * Baku Municipal Theatre *
Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theatre Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theatre ( az, Azərbaycan Dövlət Pantomim Teatrı) is a pantomime theatre in Baku, Azerbaijan. History The theatre was founded in 1994 by Bakhtiyar Khanizadeh, an actor of the Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Specta ...
* Mugham Azerbaijan National Music Theatre * Azerbaijan State Theatre of Song named after Rashid Behbudov * "UNS" Theatre * "Yugh" Theatre Among Baku's cultural venues are Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. The main
movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
is Azerbaijan Cinema. Festivals include Baku International Film Festival,
Baku International Jazz Festival The Baku International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz event organized by saxophonist and Baku resident Rain Sultanov. The festival aims to showcase Azerbaijan's long-running attachment to jazz, a connection established in the country during th ...
, Novruz Festival, ''Gül Bayramı'' (Flower Festival) and the National Theater Festival. International and local exhibitions are presented at the
Baku Expo Centre Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
. , the city along with Ganja and
Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...
participates in Earth Hour movement.


Museums

File:National Museum of History of Azerbaijan 10.JPG,
National Museum of History The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the Nanhai Academy in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. After the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Taiwa ...
File:Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature, Baku, 2015.jpg, Nizami Museum of Literature File:National Art Museum of Azerbaijan (de Burs House) edited.jpg, National Art Museum File:Villa Petrolea front.jpg,
Villa Petrolea Villa Petrolea is a historical district located in the Keshla municipality of Baku, Azerbaijan. Built by the Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers (also known as Branobel) in 1882, it served to accommodate workers of the company. It curren ...
File:Baku Museum of Modern Art entrance.jpg, Baku Museum of Modern Art
* The Museum Centre *
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography The Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography is a museum in Baku, Azerbaijan, that was established in 1976. It bears the name of the Azerbaijani architect-Mikayil Huseynov. The museum has two parts. The ethnography section displays materials related ...
* Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum * Azerbaijan Museum of Geology


Libraries

* National Library of Azerbaijan * ANAS Central Library of Science * Presidential Library (former Library of the Armenian Philanthropic Society)


Architecture

Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of Baku port. Many of the city's landmarks were built during the early 20th century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in
eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
style. Baku has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the 'Paris of the East'. Baku joined
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's Network of Creative Cities as a Design City on 31 October 2019 on the occasion of World Cities' Day.


Hamams

There are a number of ancient hamams in Baku dating back to the 12th, 14th and 18th centuries. Hamams play a very important role in the architectural appearance of Baku.


= Teze Bey Hamam

= Teze Bey is the most popular hamam (traditional bath) in Baku. It was built in 1886 in the centre of Baku and in 2003 it was fully restored and modernised. Along with its modern amenities, Teze Bey features a swimming pool and architectural details inspired by Oriental, Russian and Finnish baths.


= Gum Hamam

= Gum Hamam was discovered during archaeological excavations underneath the sand; hence the name: Gum hamam (sand bath). It was built sometime during the 12th–14th centuries.


= Bairamali hamam

= In ancient times Bairamali Hamam was called "Bey Hamam". The original structure was built sometime during the 12th–14th centuries and was reconstructed in 1881.


= Agha Mikayil Hamam

= Agha Mikayil Hamam was constructed in the 18th century by Haji Agha Mikayil on Kichik Gala Street in the Old City (Icherisheher). It is still operating in its ancient setting. The Hamam is open to women on Mondays and Fridays and to men on the other days of the week.


Modern architecture

Late modern and postmodern architecture began to appear in the early 2000s. With economic development, old buildings such as Atlant House were razed to make way for new ones. Buildings with all-glass shells have appeared around the city, the most prominent examples being the International Mugham Center, Azerbaijan Tower, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, Flame Towers,
Baku Crystal Hall Baku Crystal Hall ( Azerbaijani: ''Bakı Kristal Zalı'') is an indoor arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Located on the coast of Baku near National Flag Square, construction of the arena began in August 2011 and finished in April 2012in time for it to ho ...
, Baku White City, SOCAR Tower and
DENIZ Mall Deniz may refer to: * Deniz (given name), Turkish given name * Deniz (surname) Déniz or Deniz (also written Denis in some parts of South America, see Denis) is a Spanish-Portuguese surname derived from the French surname De Niz. Deniz, although ...
. These projects also caught the attention of international media as notable programmes such as Discovery Channel's
Extreme Engineering ''Extreme Engineering'' is a documentary television series that aired on the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel. The program featured futuristic and ongoing engineering projects. After ending of season 3 it airs under the ''Build It Bi ...
did pieces focusing in on changes to the city. The Old City of Baku, also known as the Walled City of Baku, refers to the ancient Baku settlement. Most of the walls and towers, strengthened after the Russian conquest in 1806, survived. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings: the cobbled streets past the
Palace of the Shirvanshahs The Palace of the Shirvanshahs ( az, Şirvanşahlar Sarayı, fa, کاخ شروان‌شاهان) is a 15th-century palace built by the Shirvanshahs and described by UNESCO as "one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture". It is located in the ...
, two caravansaries, the baths and the Juma Mosque (which used to house the Azerbaijan National Carpet and Arts Museum but is now a mosque again). The old town core also has dozens of small mosques, often without any particular sign to distinguish them as such. In 2003, UNESCO placed the Inner City on the
List of World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...
, citing damage from a November 2000 earthquake, poor conservation as well as "dubious" restoration efforts. In 2009 the Inner City was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.


Visual arts

The three main institutions for exhibiting
modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...
and
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...
in Baku are: * Baku Museum of Modern Art *
Heydar Aliyev Centre Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azerbaijan. A variant of the Arabic name Haydar (also spelt Heidar, Haider, and other variants), it was a cognomen of Ali, who was known for his courage in battle. Heyda ...
* Yarat Contemporary Art Space ( az, Yarat Müasir İncəsənət Mərkəzi)


Music and media

The music scene in Baku can be traced back to ancient times and villages of Baku, generally revered as the fountainhead of
meykhana Meykhana ( az, Meyxana) is a distinctive Azerbaijani literary and folk rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject. Meykhana is distinct from spoken word poetry in that ...
and
mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific ...
in the Azerbaijan. In recent years, the success of Azerbaijani performers such as AySel,
Farid Mammadov Farid Mammadov ( az , Fərid Məmmədov; born 30 August 1991, in Baku) is an Azerbaijani singer. He represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song " Hold Me" and came second after Denmark. Biography Early li ...
, Sabina Babayeva, Safura and
Elnur Hüseynov Elnur Hüseynov (born 3 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani singer. He was Azerbaijan's representative to perform " Day After Day" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 alongside Samir Javadzadeh as duo Elnur and Samir. In 2015, he won the fourth seaso ...
in the Eurovision Song Contest has boosted the profile of Baku's music scene, prompting international attention. Following the victory of Azerbaijan's representative Eldar & Nigar at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...
, Baku hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...
. 2005 was a landmark in the development of
Azerbaijani jazz The Azerbaijani jazz ( az, Azərbaycan cazı) is a popular variety of jazz, widespread in Azerbaijan. It covers a broad range of styles (traditional, post-pop, fusion, free flexion) and often features a blend with traditional Azeri music. Among ...
in the city. It has been home to legendary jazz musicians like
Vagif Mustafazadeh Vagif Mustafazadeh ( az, Vaqif Mustafazadə; March 16, 1940 – December 16, 1979), also known as Vaqif Mustafa-Zadeh, was a Soviet-Azerbaijani jazz pianist and composer, acclaimed for fusing jazz and the traditional Azerbaijani folk music known ...
,
Aziza Mustafa Zadeh Aziza Mustafa Zadeh ( az, Əzizə Mustafazadə; born December 19, 1969) is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist, and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugham (a traditional improvisational style of Azerbaijan) with classical and avant-garde i ...
, Rafig Babayev and Rain Sultanov. Among Baku's prominent annual fairs and festivals is
Baku International Jazz Festival The Baku International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz event organized by saxophonist and Baku resident Rain Sultanov. The festival aims to showcase Azerbaijan's long-running attachment to jazz, a connection established in the country during th ...
, which features some of the world's most identifiable jazz names. Baku also has a thriving International Centre of Mugham, which is located in
Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard ( az, Dənizkənarı Milli Park, also known as National Park) is a promenade established in 1909 which runs parallel to Baku's seafront. Its history goes back more than 100 years, to a time when Baku oil barons built their mansion ...
, Gulustan Palace and
Buta Palace The Buta Palace is one of the principal performing arts centers and music venues of Baku. Facilities It consists of two event halls and adjacent parking lot for 800 cars. The greater hall is a caravanserai-stylized venue, capable of accommodati ...
, one of the principal
performing arts centre Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to: * A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. :The ...
s and music venues in the city. The majority of Azerbaijan's media companies (including television, newspaper and radio, such as,
Azad Azerbaijan TV Azad Azerbaijan TV ( az, Azad Azərbaycan TV, ATV) is a private television station in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a trans ...
, Ictimai TV, Lider TV and Region TV) are headquartered in Baku. The films ''
The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ...
'' and '' The Diamond Arm'' are set in the city, while ''
Amphibian Man ''Amphibian Man'' (rus. Человек-амфибия) is a science fiction adventure novel by the Soviet Russian writer Alexander Beliaev. It was published in 1928. Plot Argentinean doctor Salvator, a scientist and a maverick surgeon, giv ...
'' includes several scenes filmed in Old City. The city's radio stations include: ''Ictimai Radio'', ''Radio Antenn'', ''Burc FM'', ''Avto FM'', ''ASAN Radio'' and ''Lider FM Jazz'' Some of Baku's newspapers include the daily '' Azadliq'', ''Zaman'' (The Time), ''Bakinskiy Rabochiy'' (Baku Worker), ''
Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
'' and the English-language ''Baku Today''. Baku is also featured in the video game '' Battlefield 4''.


Nightlife

Many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. Clubs with an eastern flavour provide special treats from the
cuisine of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani cuisine ( az, Azərbaycan mətbəxi) refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The cuisine developed significantly due to its diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which historically allowed f ...
along with local music. Western-style clubs target younger, more energetic crowds. Most of the
public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
and bars are located near Fountains Square and are usually open until the early hours of the morning. Baku is home to restaurants catering to every cuisine and occasion. Restaurants range from luxurious and expensive to ordinary and affordable.


Parks and gardens

Baku has large sections of greenery either preserved by the National Government or designated as green zones. The city, however, continues to lack a green belt development as economic activity pours into the capital, resulting in massive housing projects along the suburbs.
Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard ( az, Dənizkənarı Milli Park, also known as National Park) is a promenade established in 1909 which runs parallel to Baku's seafront. Its history goes back more than 100 years, to a time when Baku oil barons built their mansion ...
is a pedestrian promenade that runs parallel to Baku's seafront. The boulevard contains an amusement park,
yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
,
musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...
, statues and monuments. The park is popular with dog-walkers and joggers and is convenient for tourists. It is adjacent to the newly built International Centre of Mugham and the musical fountain. Other parks and gardens include Heydar Aliyev Park, Samad Vurgun Park, Narimanov Park,
Alley of Honor The Alley of Honor ( az, Fəxri Xiyaban, Honorary ''Allée'') is a public cemetery and memorial in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Alley includes burials of famed Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan-affiliated expatriates, including several Presidents, scientists ...
and the Fountains Square. The
Martyrs' Lane Martyrs' Lane or Alley of Martyrs ( az, Şəhidlər Xiyabanı), formerly known as the Kirov Park, is a cemetery and memorial in Baku, Azerbaijan dedicated to those killed by the Soviet Army during Black January 1990 and in the First Nagorno-Karaba ...
, formerly the Kirov Park, is dedicated to the memory of those who died during the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaij ...
and also to the 137 people killed on
Black January Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...
.


Sports

Baku hosts a
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race on the
Baku City Circuit The Baku City Circuit ( az, Bakı Şəhər Halqası) is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is , making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar (after C ...
. The first was the
2016 European Grand Prix The 2016 European Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 June 2016 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The race was the eighth round of the 2016 season, ...
, with the track going around the old city. The track measures 6.003 km (3.735 mi), and it has been on the Formula One calendar since its 2016 debut. The city also hosted three group games and one quarter-final of the
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
European Football Championship. Since 2002, Baku has hosted 36 major sporting events and selected to host the 2015 European Games. Baku is also to host the fourth edition of the
Islamic Solidarity Games The Islamic Solidarity Games ( ar, ألعاب التضامن الإسلامي) is a multinational, multi-sport event. The Games involve the elite athletes of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation who compete in a variety of sports. The Solidari ...
in 2017. Baku is also one of world's leading chess centres, having produced famous grandmasters like
Teimour Radjabov Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; az, Teymur Boris oğlu Rəcəbov, ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster, ranked number 18 in the world A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaste ...
,
Vugar Gashimov Vugar Gasim oghlu Hashimov ( az, Vüqar Qasım oğlu Həşimov; 24 July 1986 – 11 January 2014), known internationally as Vugar Gashimov , was an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. He was a noted player of blitz chess. At his peak ranking, he ...
,
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
, Shahriyar Mammadyarov and Rauf Mammadov, as well as the arbiter Faik Hasanov. The city also annually hosts the international tournaments such as Baku Chess Grand Prix, President's Cup, Baku Open and bidding to host
42nd Chess Olympiad The 42nd Chess Olympiad ( az, 42-ci Şahmat Olimpiadası; also known as the Baku Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this ...
in 2014. First class sporting facilities were built for the indoor games, including the Palace of Hand Games and
Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azerbaijan. A variant of the Arabic name Haydar (also spelt Heidar, Haider, and other variants), it was a cognomen of Ali, who was known for his courage in battle. Heyda ...
. It hosted many sporting events, including
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The tournament is held in even-numbered ye ...
,
Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships are the European championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. They were first held in 1978. The European Championships and the European Junior Championships were united in 1993. Prior to 2006, ...
in 2007 and 2009,
2005 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships XXVII World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Baku the capital of Azerbaijan, 3–10 October 2005 at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azer ...
,
2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships The 2007 World Wrestling Championships were held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event took place from September 17 to September 23, 2007. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men' ...
and 2010 European Wrestling Championships,
2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan from September 22 to October 10, 2011. The competition ran under the supervision of the world's governing body for amateur ...
, 2009 Women's Challenge Cup and
European Taekwondo Championships The European Taekwondo Championships are the European senior championships in Taekwondo, first held in Barcelona in 1976. The event is held every two years and is organized by the European Taekwondo Union, the continental affiliate of World Taekw ...
in 2007. Since 2011 the city annually hosts WTA tennis event called Baku Cup. The Synergy Baku Cycling Project participates in the
Tour d'Azerbaïdjan Tour d'Azerbaïdjan was a 2.1 multi-stage bicycle race of the UCI Europe Tour, which took place in Azerbaijan around May between 2012 and 2017. Each day, participants started on a new phase of the race. The race was held in 7 regions of Azerbaij ...
a 2.2 multi-stage bicycle race on the UCI Europe Tour. Baku made a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
, but failed to become a Candidate City both times. The largest sports hub in the city is Baku Olympic Stadium with 69,870 seating capacity whose construction was completed in 2015. UEFA Europa League Final 2019 was played at the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in Baku on 29 May 2019 between
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
sides
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and Arsenal. The city's main football clubs is Neftçi Baku of who first has eight Premier League titles making Neftchi the most successful Azerbaijani football club. Baku also has several football clubs in the premier and regional leagues, including AZAL and
Ravan Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ab ...
in
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. The city's second largest stadium,
Tofiq Bahramov Stadium The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu) is a multi-purpose stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It served as the home ground for the Azerbaijan national fo ...
hosts a number of domestic and international competitions and was the main sports centre of the city for a long period until the construction of Baku Olympic Stadium. In the Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League, Baku is represented by
Rabita Baku Telekom Baku (formerly named Rabita Baku) was an Azerbaijani women's volleyball club. Telekom was an eight-time champion of Azerbaijani Superleague and the winner of the 2011 FIVB Club World Championship. History The Rabita Bank was founded in 2 ...
, Azerrail Baku, Lokomotiv Baku and
Azeryol Baku Azeryol Baku is an Azerbaijani women's volleyball club. History Azeryol Baku is an Azerbaijani women's volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by gr ...
.


Transport

Throughout history the transport system of Baku used the now-defunct
horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, w ...
s, trams and
narrow gauge railways A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
. , 1,000 black cabs are ordered by Baku Taxi Company, and as part of a programme originally announced by the Transport Ministry of Azerbaijan, there is a plan to introduce London cabs into Baku. The move was part of £16 million agreement between
Manganese Bronze Manganese Bronze Holdings plc (MBH) was the holding company of Carbodies, LTI Limited. The firm's sole business in its final years as a company was Hackney carriage, London black taxicab manufacturing through the LTI subsidiary. The Manganese ...
subsidiary
LTI Limited The London Taxi Company was a taxi design and manufacturing company based in Coventry, England. It formerly traded as London Taxis International and Carbodies. It operated a coachbuilding business on Holyhead Road, Coventry. After half a c ...
and Baku Taxi Company. Local rail transport includes the Baku Funicular and the
Baku Metro Baku Metro ( az, Bakı metropoliteni) is a rapid transit system serving Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. First opened on 6 November 1967 during the time of the Soviet Union, it has features typical of ex-Soviet systems, including very deep centra ...
, a rapid-transit system notable for its art, murals, mosaics and ornate chandeliers. Baku Metro was opened in November 1967 and includes 3 lines and 25 stations at present; 170 million people used Baku Metro over the past five years. In 2008, the Chief of Baku Metro, Taghi Ahmadov, announced plans to construct 41 new stations over the next 17 years. These will serve the new bus complex as well as the international airport. In 2019, the Baku suburban railway opened.
BakuCard BakKART (Azerbaijani: "BakıKART") is an electronic single payment card designed to meet the demands of passengers in public transportation in Baku, Azerbaijan, beginning in August 2015. Baku Metro and BakuBus lines are initially operated by the ...
is a single Smart Card for payment on all types of city transport. The intercity buses and metro use this type of card-based fare-payment system. Baku Railway Station is the terminus for national and international rail links to the city. The Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, which directly connects Turkey, Georgia and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, began to be constructed in 2007 and opened in 2017. The completed branch will connect Baku with
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
in Georgia, and from there trains will continue to Akhalkalaki, and Kars in Turkey. Sea transport is vital for Baku, as the city is practically surrounded by the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
to the east. Shipping services operate regularly from Baku across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
and to Bandar Anzali and Bandar Nowshar in Iran. The commuter ferries, along with the high-speed catamaran ''Seabus'' (''Deniz Avtobusu''), also form the main connection between the city and the
Absheron peninsula The Absheron Peninsula ( az, Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrd ...
. Baku Port was founded in 1902 and claims to be the largest Caspian Sea port. It has six facilities: the main cargo terminal, the container terminal, the ferry terminal, the oil terminal, the passenger terminal and the port fleet terminal. The port's throughput capacity reaches 15 million
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
s of liquid bulk and up to 10 million tons of dry cargoes. In 2010, the
Baku International Sea Trade Port Port of Baku is a sea port located in the Bay of Baku, on the coast of city of Baku, Azerbaijan. The main entrance faces the Neftchiler Avenue. History The Baku port was built in 1902 and claims itself to be the largest and busiest port of the ...
began to be reconstructed. The construction was planned to take place in three stages and to be completed by 2016. The estimated costs were US$400 million. From April to November Baku Port is accessible to ships loading cargoes for direct voyages from Western European and Mediterranean ports. The State Road M-1 and the
European route E60 European route E 60 is the second longest road in the International E-road network. It runs , from Brest, France (on the Atlantic coast), to Irkeshtam, Kyrgyzstan (on the border with China). Route * **: Brest () **: Brest - Quimper - ...
are the two main motorway connections between Europe and Azerbaijan. The motorway network around Baku is well developed and is constantly being extended. The
Heydar Aliyev International Airport Heydar Aliyev International Airport ( az, Heydar Aliyev adına Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı) (IATA: GYD, ICAO: UBBB) is one of the seven international airports serving Azerbaijan. Formerly, it was called Bina International Airport after a suburb of ...
is the only commercial airport serving Baku. The new Baku Cargo Terminal was officially opened in March 2005. It was constructed to be a major cargo hub in the CIS countries and is actually now one of the biggest and most technically advanced in the region. There are also several smaller
military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
s near Baku, such as
Baku Kala Air Base Baku Kala Air Base is a military airbase in Baku (also known as Bakü or Baki), the capital of Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the USSR military, aircraft was relocated to airfields in Russia, and the Azerbaijani Air Force used the airport. Cur ...
, intended for private aircraft,
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s and charters.


Education

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...
, the first established university in Azerbaijan was opened in 1919 by the government of the
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian A ...
. In the early years of the Soviet era, Baku already had
Azerbaijan State Oil Academy Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University (formerly Azerbaijan State Oil Academy) ( az, Azərbaycan Dövlət Neft və Sənaye Universiteti, Азәрбајҹан Дөвләт Нефт вә Сәнаје Университети (ADNSU)) is a ter ...
,
Azerbaijan Medical University Azerbaijan Medical University named after Nariman Narimanov ( az, Azərbaycan Tibb Universiteti) is the formal name of the public medical school located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Due to difficulties with translation, the school is sometimes called: A ...
and
Azerbaijan State Economic University , latin_name = , image = Azerbaijan State Economic University main building.jpg , image_upright = 1.2 , caption = Building of Azerbaijan State Economic University in Istiglaliyyat Street , motto = , established = June ...
. In the post-WWII period, a few more universities were established such as
Azerbaijan Technical University Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU; az, Azərbaycan Texniki Universiteti) is a public university, specialized in engineering, located in Baku, Azerbaijan. The University has 9 schools and 54 departments, 884 faculty members and approximately 6 ...
,
Azerbaijan University of Languages Azerbaijan University of Languages ( az, Azərbaycan Dillər Universiteti) is a public university in Baku, Azerbaijan. The student body consists of approximately 4,000 undergraduates and 900 graduate (master's degree) students. The university has a ...
and the
Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction (AUAC; az, Azərbaycan Memarlıq və İnşaat Universiteti) is a state university located in Baku, Azerbaijan, specializing in civil engineering and architecture. The university was establi ...
. After 1991 when Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union, the fall of communism led to the development of a number of private institutions, including
Qafqaz University Qafqaz University (in Azerbaijani: Qafqaz Universiteti) was a private university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1993 and was the first and the only foreign private university in the country. On 16 January 2017, it was decided by m ...
and
Khazar University Khazar University ( az, Xəzər Universiteti, which directly translates as Caspian University) is a private university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Campuses Khazar University owns four campuses in the city of Baku and two campuses in regions ...
which are considered the most prestigious academic institutions. Apart from the private universities, the government established the Academy of Public Administration, the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy and various military academies. The largest universities according to the student population are Baku State University and Azerbaijan State Economic University. In addition, there are the Baku Music Academy and the Azerbaijan National Conservatoire in Baku established in the early 1920s. Publicly run kindergartens and elementary schools (years 1 through 11) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. The
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Elmlər Akademiyası (AMEA)), located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of ...
, the main state research organisation in Azerbaijan is locating in Baku as well. Moreover, Baku has numerous libraries, many of which contain vast collections of historic documents from the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Soviet periods, as well as from other civilisations of the past. The most important libraries in terms of historic document collections include the
Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature The National museum of Azerbaijan literature named after Nizami Ganjavi ( az, Nizami Gəncəvi adına Milli Azərbaycan ədəbiyyatı muzeyi) is a museum in Baku, established in 1939. It is located near the entrance of Icheri Sheher, not far fr ...
, the National Library of Azerbaijan, the Mirza Alakbar Central Library, the Samad Vurgun Library and Baku Presidential Library.


Secondary schools

* Elite Gymnasium


Health care

According to the Ministry of Healthcare, healthcare facilities in Baku are "highly developed compared with the regions and doctors are waiting to work there, The regions, meanwhile, lack both doctors and clinics providing specialized medical treatment." Resulting in citizens travelling for many hours to Baku to receive adequate medical treatment.


Notable residents

File:Zadeh, L.A. 2005.jpg, Lotfi A. Zadeh, artificial intelligence researcher, founder of fuzzy mathematics,
fuzzy set In mathematics, fuzzy sets (a.k.a. uncertain sets) are sets whose elements have degrees of membership. Fuzzy sets were introduced independently by Lotfi A. Zadeh in 1965 as an extension of the classical notion of set. At the same time, defined ...
theory, and fuzzy logic File:Landau.jpg,
Physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
Lev Landau Lev Davidovich Landau (russian: Лев Дави́дович Ланда́у; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet-Azerbaijani physicist of Jewish descent who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics. His ac ...
,
Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...
student, winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
in 1962. File:Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2007-813.jpg,
Kerim Kerimov Lieutenant General Kerim Abbasali oghlu Kerimov ( az, Kərim Abbasəli oğlu Kərimov, russian: Керим Аббас-Алиевич Керимов; November 14, 1917March 29, 2003) was a Soviet and Russian engineer of Azerbaijani ethnicity and ...
, one of the founders of the
Soviet space program The Soviet space program (russian: Космическая программа СССР, Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the national space program of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), active from 1955 until the dissoluti ...
. File:Kasparov-34.jpg,
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
, chess grandmaster, former
World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 matc ...
. File:Mushfig.JPG, Mikayil Mushfig, Bakuvian poet and victim of the
Stalinist purges The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...
. File:Tofiq Bahramov.jpg,
Tofiq Bahramov Tofiq Bahramov ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov; ; russian: Тофик Бахрамов; 29 January 1925 – 26 March 1993) was a Soviet footballer and football referee from Azerbaijan. He was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a cont ...
, a
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
footballer and football referee from
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
. File:Вагит Алекперов.jpg,
Vagit Alekperov Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov ( az, Vahid Yusuf oğlu Ələkbərov, russian: Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов; born 1 September 1950) is a Russian– Azerbaijani businessman. He was the President of the oil company Lukoil from 1993 unt ...
, President of the leading Russian
oil company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest ...
LUKOIL. File:Muslim Magomaev.jpg, Muslim Magomayev, one of the most famous singers of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. File:RIAN archive 438589 Mstislav Rostropovich.jpg, Mstislav Rostropovich,
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
–winning cellist. File:Gusman Yliy.jpg, Yuli Gusman, film director and actor, founder and CEO of the
Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established i ...
. File:Natalla Arsieńnieva1927.jpg, Natallia Arsiennieva, Belarusian playwright, poet and translator. File:Владимир Меньшов 2018 (cropped) (cropped).jpg,
Vladimir Menshov Vladimir Valentinovich Menshov (russian: Влади́мир Валенти́нович Меньшо́в; 17 September 1939 – 5 July 2021)Alakbar Mammadov Alakbar Mammadov ( az, Ələkbər Məmmədov; russian: Алекпер Мамедов; 9 May 1930 – 28 July 2014) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani footballer best known as a striker for FC Dynamo Moscow in the 1950s and later as the first manager ...
, Soviet footballer, four-time champion player in the
Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The professional top level ...
. File:Matvej Skobelev.jpg, Matvey Skobelev, Russian revolutionary and politician. File:Salatyn and Son.JPG,
Salatyn Asgarova Salatyn Aziz qizi Asgarova (also spelled Salatyn Askerova; az, Salatın Əziz qızı Əsgərova; 16 December 1961 – 9 January 1991) is a National Hero of Azerbaijan. She was one of the Azerbaijani journalists killed in the First Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, Azerbaijani journalist, National Hero of Azerbaijan.


International relations


Twin towns and sister cities

Baku is twinned with:
chronological Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. ...
order]


Partner cities

* Mainz, Germany *
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, France *
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, Austria *
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
, Georgia *
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
, Kazakhstan *
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, Belarus *
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, Russia *
Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
, Russia *
Kizlyar Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta ...
, Russia *
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
, Uzbekistan *
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
, China


See also

* Baku Gradonachalstvo * 1920 Baku Congress *
Alexander III visit to Baku The visit to Baku of the Emperor of the Russian Empire Alexander III Alexandrovich, Empress Maria Feodorovna and their children, Nikolai Alexandrovich and Georgy Alexandrovich, took place on 8 (20) - 9 (21) October 1888. This was the first and o ...
*
Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is administratively divided into 66 districts () and 11 cities () that are subordinate to the Republic. Out of these, 7 districts and 1 city is located within the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The districts are further divided into mun ...
*
List of cities in Azerbaijan This is a list of cities in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a country in the South Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe. In total, Azerbaijan has 77 cities (including 12 Federal-level cities), 64 smalle ...
*
Mingachevir Mingachevir ( az, Mingəçevir ) is the fourth-largest city in Azerbaijan with a population of about 106,000. It's often called the "city of lights" because of its hydroelectric power station on the Kur River, which divides the city down the mid ...
* Nakhchivan *
Sumgait Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Ba ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Baku's profile at the Organization of World Heritage Cities website

UNESCO World Heritage Site listing Walled City of Baku
* {{Authority control Baku Governorate Capitals in Asia Cities and towns in Azerbaijan Populated coastal places in Azerbaijan Districts of Azerbaijan Port cities in Azerbaijan Port cities and towns of the Caspian Sea World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan Weather extremes of Earth Populated places along the Silk Road