Pre- and post-occupation

In 1977, the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a decision "to declare the historical part of Shusha a historical-architectural reserve" at the initiative of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev. A lot of work has been done to revive the socio-economic and cultural life of the city. As a result, hundreds of architectural and artistic monuments were officially registered in Shusha. Heydar Aliyev shared his personal advise and gave instructions on the restoration of historical monuments, participated in the opening of restored architectural monuments. In the meeting with the managers and residents of Shusha district, the national leader said: "Shusha is a city of monuments. It is necessary to protect everything related to the rich history of the region, to restore ancient buildings." In addition to the restoration works, new secondary, specialized, secondary-specialized and higher educational institutions were launched in Shusha. The holiday events organized in Shusha, in the cradle of music of Azerbaijan, were known for the uniqueness. A music festival (song festival) was organized in Shusha on an annual basis. Musicians, singers, poets, actors, artists, jugglers and wrestlers who work in Shusha, as well as from other cities of Azerbaijan, including Baku, joined different competitions and festivals usually hosted at the famous spot in city - Jidir plain. The latter is also...

Shusha

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Shusha developed into the musical center of the Caucasus. Shusha was often referred as "Little Paris", "Art Temple of Caucasus", "Cradle of Azerbaijani Music" or "Conservatory of Transcaucasia". Until the beginning of the 20th century, the art of music in Azerbaijan, including in Shusha, was mostly developed by singers and musicians on the basis of masters and poets. Since early 20th century, professional music education got a broader coverage, accompanied by systematization and massification. Back those years, a prominent composer Uzeyir Hajibayli pledged a lot of efforts and established a foundation of professional music education n Azerbaijan.

The foundation of Shusha

Shusha was founded in 1752 by Karabakh Khan Panahali Khan, arising from the need for a capital-fortress with strong defense capabilities from a military-strategic point of view. Thus, the foundation of the Karabakh Khanate as an independent, Turkish, feudal state was laid in 1747 by the I Karabakh Khan Panahali Khan Javanshir. After that, Panahali Khan built Bayat and then Shahbulag castles as the capital of the khanate. In a short period of time, the Karabakh khanate develops into one of the strongest khanates of Azerbaijan with its military might and created own army. Since the strong khanate needed a capital with a more strategic location, Panahali Khan founded a fortress-city in 1752 on the top of a high mountain located in the most desolate place of Karabakh with elevation between 1300 to 1600 meters above sea level. Thus, Panahali Khan moved the capital of the Karabakh Khanate to a new castle. The city was first called Panahabad, and then Shusha. During the reign of Panahali Khan, until 1763, many monuments, defense dams and fortresses were built in Shusha. In the later stage, i.e. 19th century, new quarters were built and have gradually developed Shusha into as a city. As a result, 17 quarters were built in Shusha. Every quarter had a mosque, a bath and a spring. Houses...

Early 19th and 20th centuries

In the XIX century, Shusha became one of the cultural centers of Azerbaijan, a city of health, a land of talents. No city of Azerbaijan was home to so many talents. According to the information of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, in the XIX century, 95 poets, 22 musicologists, 38 singers, 12 calligraphers, 5 astronomers, 18 architects, 16 doctors and about 42 teachers lived and created their masterpieces in Shusha. As a result of this development, young people from Shusha could easily study in Europe. This led to the spread of European fashion in the city. Along with national values, European style and values prevailed in the city in clothing, household items, and cooking. All of these had its positive impact on the city’s architecture and urban planning.

As we mentioned above, the construction of houses in Shusha was carried out according to the approved master-plan of the city. The courtyard areas do not face the main street, they must have been placed behind the house. For this reason, the courtyards are generally not visible from the main streets, and houses could be entered directly from the street. The windows and doors of all the houses in Shusha faced the street directly. So, a person walking in the city would not come across a fence, but...