French Gothic style
Pointed arches and turrets.
En Merker — CC0 · En Merker — CC0 · Xayala Mammadli — CC0 · Xayala Mammadli — CC0 · En Merker — CC0
A French Gothic-style palace in central Baku built in 1912 by oil baron Murtuza Mukhtarov for his wife, said to be modelled on a palace she admired in France; it became one of the loveliest buildings of Baku's first oil age, with a carved stone façade of pointed arches, turrets and tall windows. Confiscated after the Bolshevik revolution, it passed through several uses until 1981, when it became the Palace of Happiness, the city's official hall for marriage ceremonies and wedding receptions, so at weekends you will see couples, guests and photographers in front of it. A statue of a medieval knight stands on its roof, and symbols are carved into the façade. It can be admired from outside for free; going inside is usually for weddings and events only. The street around it holds government buildings and other museums. It is a few minutes' walk from the old city gate and the Baku Philharmonic, a short stop on a walk through the centre.
Pointed arches and turrets.
Modelled on a French palace.
A wedding hall since 1981.
Istiglaliyyat Street, central Baku near the old city
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