41 Facts About Baku

Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region.

Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and the largest city in the world located below sea level.

Baku is divided into twelve administrative raions and 48 townships.

In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events.

Baku was the realm of the Shirvanshahs during the 8th century AD.

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Baku remained as an integral part of his empire and of successive Iranian dynasties for the next centuries, until ceded to the Russian Empire through the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan.

Baku had a reputation as a focal point for traders from all across the world during the Early modern period, ; commerce was active and the area prospered.

The first person to drill oil in Baku was an ethnic Armenian Ivan Mirzoev, who is known as a 'founding father of Baku's oil industry.

Baku is a city founded upon oil, for to its inexhaustible founts of naphtha it owes its very existence, its maintenance, its prosperity.

At present Baku produces one-fifth of the oil that is used in the world, and the immense output in crude petroleum from this single city far surpasses that in any other district where oil is found.

Between 1856 and 1910 Baku's population grew at a faster rate than that of London, Paris or New York.

In 1917, after the October Revolution and amidst the turmoil of World War I and the breakup of the Russian Empire, Baku came under the control of the Baku Commune, led by the veteran Bolshevik Stepan Shahumyan.

Shortly after, Azerbaijani forces, with support of the Ottoman Army of Islam led by Nuru Pasha, started their advance on Baku, eventually capturing the city from the loose coalition of Bolsheviks, SRs, Dashnaks, Mensheviks and British forces under the command of General Lionel Dunsterville on 15 September 1918.

Thomson declared himself military governor of Baku and implemented martial law in the city until "the civil power would be strong enough to release the forces from the responsibility to maintain the public order".

From 1922 to 1930 Baku became the venue for one of the major trade fairs of the Soviet Union, serving as a commercial bridgehead to Iran and the Middle East.

Baku has a temperate semi-arid climate with hot and humid summers, cool and occasionally wet winters, and strong winds all year long.

Baku is divided into 12 rayonlar and 5 settlements of city type.

Until 1988, Baku had very large Russian, Armenian, and Jewish populations which contributed to cultural diversity and added in various ways to Baku's history.

Baku has been a cosmopolitan city at certain times during its history, meaning ethnic Azerbaijanis did not constitute the majority of population.

Baku is the seat of the Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan.

Baku ranked as one of the largest centres for the production of oil industry equipment before World War II.

Oil economy of Baku is undergoing a resurgence, with the development of the massive Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field, development of the Shah Deniz gas field, the expansion of the Sangachal Terminal and the construction of the BTC Pipeline.

Baku has many popular tourist and entertainment spots, such as the downtown Fountains Square, the One and Thousand Nights Beach, Shikhov Beach and Oil Rocks.

Baku has several shopping malls; the most famous city centre malls are Port Baku, Park Bulvar, Ganjlik Mall, Metro Park, 28 MALL, Aygun city and AF MALL.

Baku was chosen to host the Eurovision Dance Contest 2010.

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Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of Baku port.

Baku has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the 'Paris of the East'.

Baku joined UNESCO's Network of Creative Cities as a Design City on 31 October 2019 on the occasion of World Cities' Day.

Music scene in Baku can be traced back to ancient times and villages of Baku, generally revered as the fountainhead of meykhana and mugham in the Azerbaijan.

Baku has a thriving International Centre of Mugham, which is located in Baku Boulevard, Gulustan Palace and Buta Palace, one of the principal performing arts centres and music venues in the city.

Some of Baku's newspapers include the daily Azadliq, Zaman, Bakinskiy Rabochiy, Echo and the English-language Baku Today.

Baku is home to restaurants catering to every cuisine and occasion.

Baku has large sections of greenery either preserved by the National Government or designated as green zones.

Baku Boulevard is a pedestrian promenade that runs parallel to Baku's seafront.

Since 2002, Baku has hosted 36 major sporting events and selected to host the 2015 European Games.

Baku is to host the fourth edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.

Baku is one of world's leading chess centres, having produced famous grandmasters like Teimour Radjabov, Vugar Gashimov, Garry Kasparov, Shahriyar Mammadyarov and Rauf Mammadov, as well as the arbiter Faik Hasanov.

Baku made a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, but failed to become a Candidate City both times.

Baku has several football clubs in the premier and regional leagues, including AZAL and Ravan in Premier League.

Baku Port was founded in 1902 and claims to be the largest Caspian Sea port.

The motorway network around Baku is well developed and is constantly being extended.