Museums and galleries in Baku

Museums and galleries in Baku

1. See

   Art exhibition

   On a reformed old factory, two free art exhibitions in two adjacent buildings. Free English-speaking guide.

   Free

2. See

   Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

   State Museum of Azerbaijan Carpet and Applied Art

   The museum hosts a wide range of carpets, both old and new. It moved to its current location in 2014 (on the waterfront). The building itself is shaped as a carpet.

   Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat Sun 10:00-20:00·10 manat

3. See

   Bibi-Heybat Mosque

   Azerbaijani: Bibiheybət məscidi)

   This is a historical mosque built in the 1990s, and is a recreation of the mosque with the same name built in the 13th century by Shirvanshah Farrukhzad II Ibn Ahsitan II, which was completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1936. The Bibi-Heybat Mosque includes the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum (a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), and today is the spiritual center for the Muslims of the region and one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan. It's locally known as "the mosque of Fatima" The old mosque was situated in the southern part of the tomb, while there was a 20 meter high minaret in the west part of the mosque. Later a crypt and two niches were added to the mosque to the south of the minaret. On the niches there were inscriptions containing the name of Fatali Khan, whose tombstone marble slab is now in the Azerbaijan State Museum of History. From 1305 to 1313, Mahmud Ibn Saad built the mosque's minarets. Western women can enter, when wearing a veil.

   Free

4. See

   Heydar Aliyev Center

   Heydər Əliyev Mərkəzi, Центр Гейдара Алиева

   This is a 64,103 m² building complex designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles. The Heydar Aliyev Center represents a fluid form which emerges by the folding of the landscape's natural topography and by the wrapping of individual functions of the Center. All functions of the Center, together with entrances, are represented by folds in a single continuous surface. This fluid form gives an opportunity to connect the various cultural spaces whilst at the same time, providing each element of the Center its own identity and privacy. As it folds inside, the skin erodes away to become an element of the interior landscape of the center. The center houses a conference hall (auditorium), a gallery hall and a museum.

5. See

   National Art Museum of Azerbaijan

   Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Milli İncəsənət Muzeyi

   The museum consists of two adjacent buildings. The museum's collection includes over 15,000 artworks. There are over 3,000 items in 60 rooms on permanent display. Seven of the rooms in the first building feature European art, and ten rooms feature Russian art. European art includes works of Italian, French, Dutch/Flemish, German and Polish painters. - The second edifice built in 1885 houses Eastern art, represented particularly by Persian, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese art. Russian art is encompassed notably by paintings of different painters. There are also restored samples of Russian avant-garde. The museum also holds easel and book miniatures of 17th-19th centuries, lacquered miniatures of 18th-19th centuries and collection of sherbet spoons, made of mulberry wood.

   Tue-Sun 10:00–18:00

6. See

   National Museum of History of Azerbaijan

   Taghiyev History Museum, Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Tarix Muzeyi, Russian: Музей истории Азербайджана

   The museum was built in 1893–1902. The Italian Renaissance-style mansion is immense and occupies an entire city block. There are four floors in some parts of the building. It was designed by Polish architect Józef Gosławski. On the second floor of Taghiyev's residence, side-by-side there are two major ballrooms. One is based on Oriental designs (Mauritanian style) and the other, on Western design. The Oriental Room has enormous plate-glass windows, gilded arches, highly ornamental walls, ceilings and chandeliers. The lines in the Occidental Room are more perpendicular to each other – rectangular. The museum has more than 2,000 exhibits and includes the following departments: Modern history, Ethnography, Ancient and medieval history of Azerbaijan, Scientific excursion, Fund of Numismatics, Art design group.

   Mon-Sat 11:00-18:00, first Mon of every month closed (– cleanup day)·10 manat

7. See

   Palace of Happiness

   Azerbaijani: Səadət Sarayı, Palace of Marriage former Mukhtarov Palace

   This is a historic building in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, built in Neo-Gothic style in 1912. The building was built by an Azerbaijani Oil Baron Murtuza Mukhtarov for his wife Lisa. The designer was the Polish architect Józef Plośko. After Sovietization in 1920 the building was given to the Club of Liberated Turkic Women, after which it functioned as the Shirvanshahs' Museum. During the existence of Azerbaijan SSR, the palace functioned as the Palace of Marriage Registrations. On 2 August 2001, by a resolution issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, the building was listed as real estate of historic and state importance and was to be protected as a monument of Azerbaijani culture. The street lying on the right side of the building is named Murtuza Mukhtarov.

8. See

   Stone Museum

   An old factory transformed into a stone exhibition, with samples and replicas from Gobustan and other stone carvings in the region. Free English-speaking guide.

   Free

9. Drink Not mapped

   Finnegan’s

   Next to History Museum. Free wifi. Good beer prices and Happy Hour offers. Ridiculously expensive wine, however. It doesn't serve Guinness. April 2016.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Baku (CC BY-SA 4.0).