 Museum of Nobel Brothers | |
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| Established | 1884 |
|---|---|
| Location | Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Coordinates | 40°22′48″N49°53′38″E / 40.380°N 49.894°E |
Villa Petrolea is a historical district located in the Keshla municipality of Baku, Azerbaijan. Built by the Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers (also known as Branobel) in 1882, it served to accommodate workers of the company. It currently functions as a museum of the Nobel brothers in addition to housing a number of offices and businesses.
By the end of the nineteenth century, eastern parts of Baku (then the main oil extraction centre of the Russian Empire) constituted an industrial region unsuitable for civil residence due to heavy pollution. The only structures were oil refineries, port buildings and temporary housing for oil workers. [1] [2] [3] In order to get the administrative and technical personnel of Branobel (including specialists from Sweden, Norway and Germany) to settle in this area, a settlement providing favourable living conditions was built here. It was located on the eastern end of the industrial Black City neighbourhood, near the village of Keshla. [4] [5] It was built on the land rented by Branobel from the Keshla farmers for 49 years. [6]
The territory of the settlement named Villa Petrolea (Latin for "oil estate") included residential buildings, a Swedish-German school, a theatre, a hospital and a family mansion of the Nobel family completed in 1884 and designed by an unknown architect. The mansion remained in the Nobels' possession until nationalization in the 1920s. [7]
Branobel employees lived in one- or two-story wooden cottages with stone foundations. The lower levels of the largest building housed the office, whereas the top levels included a club, relaxation rooms and a library. The rooms were decorated with rich carpets both woven locally and imported from Persia. [8] The cottages were located on a slope descending to the Caspian shore, therefore the window of each cottage overlooked the sea. The buildings were built in the Byzantine style. [6] The settlement grew as more recreational facilities, such as a bowling hall, a pool hall and a tennis court, were built here in the 1890s. By the 1911, the residents had established numerous performance and athletic clubs. [6]
The life in Villa Petrolea went into decline at the advent of World War I when German and Austro-Hungarian nationals were expelled from the Russian Empire. The settlement was nationalized in 1919. [6]
The Villa Petrolea park had an area of 10.5 hectares and designed by landscape architects from Poland. The oil-saturated earth was covered by fertile soil shipped from Lankaran, the subtropical part of Azerbaijan. The problem of fresh water was solved by constantly importing water from the Volga on ships travelling from Astrakhan which used it as ballast instead of sacks of sand. [4] [9]
Plants were brought from the subtropical parts of the Caucasus, as well as from various cities across Russia and Europe. In total, about 80,000 plants, including fruit trees, were planted in the garden.
After the establishment of the Soviet rule, the park was expanded to 15 hectares, and in 1931 it was named Rote Fahne (German for "Red Banner") which marked the handing over of the Transferable Red Banner from the oil workers of Baku to the Berlin proletariat in 1925. In 1941, due to the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union, the park was renamed Nizami Park, which name it carries to this day. [6]
In the Soviet times, the buildings fell in disuse. They're living quarters were demolished, while the theatre and the club were destroyed in a fire. The mansion was largely neglected prior to the 2000s. [5] In 2004, a public organization named the Baku Nobel Heritage Fund was established. Under its leadership, the Nobel mansion was completely restored and renovated. On 25 April 2008, it opened its doors for its first visitors. [7]
After the reconstruction, Villa Petrolea has been housing the Baku Nobel Oil Club, the International Conference Hall and the Nobel Brothers Museum, the first Nobel museum outside Sweden. [7] [10] The museum contains possessions of the Nobel family. Even though the interior of the mansion is not completely the same as it was prior to the departure of the family from Baku, some elements, such as fireplaces, were very precisely recreated. [11]
On 9 October 1888, Emperor Alexander III of Russia visited Villa Petrolea with his family where he met the children of the recently deceased Ludvig Nobel, one of the founders of the settlement.
On 17 December 2010, Ludvig Nobel's great-grandson Filip Nobel organized a special event marking the establishment of the Nobel International Fraternity Fund aimed at the development of sciences in Azerbaijan. [7]
Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is 28 metres (92 ft) below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world below sea level. Baku lies on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, on the Bay of Baku. Baku's urban population was estimated at two million people as of 2009. Baku is the primate city of Azerbaijan—it is the sole metropolis in the country, and about 25% of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku's metropolitan area.
Nobel often refers to:
Ludvig Immanuel Nobel was a Swedish-Russian engineer, a noted businessman and a humanitarian. One of the most prominent members of the Nobel family, he was the son of Immanuel Nobel and Andriette Nobel, and the older brother of Alfred Nobel. With his brother Robert, he operated Branobel, an oil company in Baku which at one point produced 50% of the world's oil.
Robert Hjalmar Nobel was a Swedish businessman, industrialist and investor. He was the founder of Branobel, and a pioneer in the Russian oil industry.
The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited, or Branobel, was an oil company set up by Ludvig Nobel and Baron Peter von Bilderling. It operated mainly in Baku, Azerbaijan, but also in Cheleken, Turkmenistan. Originally established by Robert Nobel and the investments of barons Peter von Bilderling and Standertskjöld as a distillery in 1876, it became, during the late-19th century, one of the largest oil-companies in the world.
Hajji Mirza Zeynalabdin Taghi oghlu Taghiyev was an Azerbaijani national industrial magnate and philanthropist.
Emanuel Ludvig Nobel was a Swedish oil baron, the eldest son of Ludvig Nobel and his first wife, Mina Ahlsell, grandson of Immanuel Nobel and nephew of Alfred Nobel.
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan Republic, which was also the capital of Shirvan, Baku Khanate, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR and the administrative center of Russian Baku governorate. Baku is derived from the old Persian Bagavan, which translates to "City of God". A folk etymology explains the name Baku as derived from the Persian Bādkube, meaning "city where the wind blows", due to frequent winds blowing in Baku. However, the word Bādkube was invented only in the 16th or 17th century, whereas Baku was founded at least before the 5th century AD.
The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan produces about 873,260 barrels (138,837 m3) of oil per day and 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year as of 2013. Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry.
Keşlə is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 25,626. The Keshla area is becoming main business district of Baku, Azerbaijan. In the North, it is surrounded by several skyscrapers which are located at H. Aliyev Avenue. However in the South it is neighboring with Baku White City and Babek Business Avenue.
Nobelite was the common designation of the tens of thousands of employees of the companies owned by the Nobel family in Russia during the 19th century and until the Russian Revolution, such as Branobel and the Machine-Building Factory Ludvig Nobel.
The 28 May Street is located in the Nəsimi raion of Baku. Beginning at the Bulbul Avenue, it spans about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) and ends up at the Richard Sorge Street. The street, among other names, was known as Telefonnaya during the Russian rule, then was renamed to 28 April Street to mark the date of the establishment of Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Since 1992 it is known under the current name, which highlights the date when Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was declared.
The architecture of Baku is not characterized by any particular architectural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time.
Nizami Street is a large pedestrian and shopping street in downtown Baku, Azerbaijan, named after classical Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.
Black City is the general name for the southeastern neighbourhoods of Baku, which once formed its suburbs. In the late 19th and early 20th century it became the main location for Azerbaijan's oil industry, and the area's name derives from the smoke and soot of the factories and refineries.
Baron Peter von Bilderling was an engineer and an officer in the Engineering Corps of the Imperial Russian Army.
Gurban Ali oghlu Khalilov was an Azerbaijani politician, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR, Minister of Local Industry of the Azerbaijan SSR, Minister of Finance of the Azerbaijan SSR, Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and deputy of VIII–XI convocations.
The Shah Abbas Mosque in Keshla is a historical mosque in the Keshla settlement of the Nizami district of Baku. The mosque of Keshla village is a monument of the 17th century and was built by the order of the Safavid Persian king Shah Abbas.
The Nizami Park is one of the oldest parks in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It is located in the Khatai district of the city on the territory of the Villa Petrolea, a residential settlement built by the Nobel brothers at the end of the 19th century for the employees of their company on the border of the Black City in the suburbs of Baku. The total area of the park is 13.6 hectares. This park, in an industrial landscape located on a vast territory, had a positive impact on the gardening architecture of Absheron. After 1920, the former garden of the Villa Petrolea was named after Lunacharsky, later - “Rote-Fane”, in honour of the German newspaper with the same name, and later was named after Nizami Ganjavi.
