Government House, Baku

History of the building

From 1924 to 1927, the construction of several large government buildings was planned and included in the budget of Baku. In 1934, the Soviet authorities announced a tender for the construction of the Baku Soviet Palace (later renamed the Government House). The competition was won by well known architects Lev Rudnev, Vladimir Munts and K. Tkachenko (participant). With some alterations to the project, the building of the Government House was built between 1936 and 1952.

The construction of the building also led to the construction of Lenin Square (later renamed Azadliq Square) in front of the Government House. In 1955, a monument to Vladimir Lenin facing Azadliq Square sculpted by Jalal Garyaghdi was installed in front of the building. |access-date= 18 August 2010 }} In addition to this, a large complex of buildings around the Government House was built in 1960 – 1970s which included hotels "Azerbaijan" and "Absheron", 16-story buildings on Uzeyir Hajibeyov street, the building of Azərpoçt. |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011044513/http://azarc.azeriblog.com/2008/05/05/memarliq_ve_inshaatjpg |archive-date=11 October 2008 }}

Lenin's statue was later removed during the Azerbaijani independence movement in the aftermath of bloody Black January. An Azerbaijan flag now stands where Lenin's statue stood. Lenin square was renamed Azadliq Square (Freedom Square).

After independence

The building housed many organizations and business firms after the restoration of Azerbaijani independence in 1991. After the complete renovation of the building, all business firms were moved to other locations in the city and the offices were provided to governmental organizations.{{cite web | access-date=18 August 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717072428/http://www.mediaforum.az/articles.php?article_id=20060925081807272&page=00&lang=az&eu=0 | archive-date=17 July 2011 | url-status=dead |access-date= 18 August 2010 |last1= Publications

In 2006, the government of Azerbaijan started renovation works of the building and completed the project in 2010. 40.8 million Azerbaijani manats were spent on reconstruction and enrichment of the park surrounding the building. |access-date = 18 August 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706130729/http://www.abc.az/eng/news/45030.html |archive-date = 6 July 2011 |access-date= 18 August 2010 }} Currently, several ministries including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, State Procurement Agency and the Copyright Agency of the republic occupy the building offices.

Picture gallery

File:Government House of Azerbaijan.jpg|Government House at night File:1960 CPA 2417.jpg|The building on a Soviet stamp 40th anniversary of Azerbaijan SSR

References