Józef Płoszko (, ; 1867–1931) was a Polish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the author of multiple architectural projects in

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Biography

Józef Płoszko was born in 1867. He studied at the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts, but soon left it and joined the Petersburg University of Civil Engineers. After graduation in 1895, Płoszko was sent to

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. Working there for two years, he moved to Baku at the invitation of another Polish architect, Józef Gosławski, and took charge as the chief architect at the Baku city administration's construction department. He later became the chief architect of Baku.

Career in Baku

Płoszko had as client the millionaire Musa Naghiyev, but Murtuza Mukhtarov, Nuri Amiraslanov, the Rylskis - a rich Polish family - were also among his clients. In 1907, Agha Musa Naghiyev purchased an area in the center of the city on Nikolayevskaya Street (present Istiglaliyyat Street) and hired architect Płoszko to build a public-charity building in memory of his deceased son. The monumental Ismailiyya building based upon the pattern of the Doge's palace in

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, was thus Płoszko's first independent work in Baku. This building immediately became one of the main architectural sites of the city. Today, it houses the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. After that, Płoszko led construction of two private houses of Musa Naghiyev in the centre of Baku – residential houses on Telefonnaya (now 28 May Street) and Torgovaya Street (now Nizami Street). The architect's second significant order was the construction of the mosque in Vladikavkaz city, which was commissioned by Murtuza Mukhtarov. Płoszko familiarized himself with

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on monuments of religious architecture in Baku. A temple finished in 1908 and called "Mukhtarov’s mosque" was built on the coast of the Terek River and is one of the most beautiful buildings of

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. This mosque was followed by construction of other cultic objects. Płoszko restored Juma Mosque in Shamakhi and commissioned a

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Polish church (kostel) in Baku. However, construction of the church couldn't be completed because of a lack of building material, although a scaled down version was eventually finished. In 1918, during the

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, the mosque was significantly damaged. Płoszko also constructed the Baku Puppet Theatre in 1908, which was initially used as cinema called "Phenomenon". In 1909, Płoszko worked on the Catholic Church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Baku, the construction of which was finished in 1912. The church was constructed by funds donated by Polish industrialists – the Rylskis and Witold Zglenicki, founder of

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production in the

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. The church was constructed in Gothic style, with usage of elements of Polish Gothicism. The building was located in a prestigious part of Bakubut was demolished in the 1930s. Construction of the " Palace of Happiness" in the center of Baku ordered by oil industrialist Murtuza Mukhtarov was Płoszko's next work, which now is a city administration building. A mansion for Kerbalayi Israfil Hajiyev on Shemakhinskaya Street (now Jabbarli Street) was built by Płoszko in 1910-1912's. He also oversaw the construction of a four-storeyed building in a traditional style on Politseyskaya Street (now Mammadaliyev Street) by the order of the Rylski brothers. In 1919, the first Diplomatic Administration of

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in the

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was placed in this building, and headed by Stefan Rylski. Józef Płoszko last work before World War I was the New Europe hotel, which was commissioned by Agha Musa Naghiyev on Qoncharovskaya Street (now Taghiyev Street). The hotel was equipped with state of the art technology of the time, sporting four elevators, sanitary appliances, central heating and concealed wiring. Reinforced concrete was broadly used as a load-bearing structure. As in all previous projects of Płoszko's, the façade of the building was made from local limestone aglay.

Final years and death

Płoszko stayed in Baku after the

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, worked as an engineer with Ziverbey Ahmadbeyov, another famous architect of his time, and participated in discussions of agglomerator city projects on Absheron Peninsula. In 1925, after nearly thirty years living in

, he moved to

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, and then to

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. He died in 1931.

Buildings designed by Józef Płoszko

Gallery

File:Ismailiyye palace main façade, Baku, 2015.jpg, Ismailiyya building in Baku File:Palace of Happines (Mukhtarov street).jpg, The "Palace of Happiness" in Baku File:Musa Nağıyevin qoşa mədaxil evləri 1.jpg, Naghiyev's house on 28 May street File:Building on Nigar Rafibeyli Street 25 (2016).jpg, Musa Naghiyev's house on Nizami Street File:City's Mosque.jpg, Mukhtarov's mosque in

File:Art Nouveau building in Baku.JPG, The mansion of Kerbalayi Israfil Hajiyev on Shemakhinskaya Street (now Jabbarli Street) File:Musa Nağıyevin dördmərtəbəli mədaxil evi.jpg, 4-storeyed residential house on 28 May Street File:Yeni Avropa otelinin binası.jpg, The six-storeyed building of “New Europe” hotel on Taghiyev Street File:Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception Russian Empire postcard.jpg, Catholic church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Baku File:Abdulla Şaiq adına Dövlət Kukla Teatrı.jpg, Building of Baku Puppet Theatre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploszko, Jozef 1867 births 1931 deaths Architects from Baku 19th-century Polish architects Art Nouveau architects Polish expatriates in Azerbaijan 19th-century Polish engineers Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering alumni 19th-century architects from the Russian Empire