Baku contains 12th-century medieval towers, 19th-century Baku Oil Boom mansions, Soviet-era public buildings, and 21st-century architectural masterpieces — all within walking distance of each other. Nowhere else in the world has this particular combination.
The Baku oil booms changed everything. The first boom, in the late 19th century, made Baku one of the wealthiest cities in the world — evidenced today by the extraordinary European-style mansions lining Istiqlaliyyat Street and Neftchilar Avenue, built by Azerbaijani oil barons who hired architects from Paris, Warsaw, and Warsaw. The second boom, after independence in the 1990s, brought Zaha Hadid, the Flame Towers, and some of the most dramatic skyline architecture of the 21st century.
Medieval (12th–15th century)
Maiden Tower (1100s) · Palace of Shirvanshahs (1411–1442) · Old City walls and towers · Mardakan Castle · Round and Quadrangular Towers
Oil Boom (1880–1920)
Istiqlaliyyat Street mansions · Neftchilar Avenue buildings · Philharmonic Hall (originally Nobel's villa) · Mushviq Theatre
Soviet era (1920–1991)
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre · Government House on Azadliq Square · Academy of Sciences building
Post-independence (1991–2003)
Hilton Baku · JW Marriott · expansion of the boulevard
Contemporary (2003–present)
Flame Towers (Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, 2012) · Heydar Aliyev Center (Zaha Hadid, 2012) · Baku Crystal Hall · Formula 1 track transformation