The symbol of Baku

The capacity of stone city which was the capital of the ancient state of the Shirvanshahs having a history of thousand years in Azerbaijan statehood, is 22 hectares. Nearly 500 historical monuments are located in this territory (mosques, caravanserais, bath-complexes, residential buildings, etc.), three of them are of world importance, while 28 are national and 453 are of local value.

One of the interesting features of Maiden Tower structure in Baku is its construction of well. The well with 0.7 m diameter is inside the south-eastern wall. Calculations have shown that, the well has nothing to do with the level of sea water. The well water was chemically analysed, its being fully fit for drinking, determined. The well gob begins from the level of the third floor and lasts 13 meters down along the wall. It was concealed in the Tower wall to ensure the safety of the well.

There is a model of Icherisheher, the soul of Baku, on this floor of the Tower. The model represents the historical architectural monuments to be found within Icherisheher: the globally significant Maiden Tower, the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, Muhammad Mosque and the nationally significant Arcade religious-architectural complex, the Haji Bani bath, the Multani and Bukhara caravanserais, the Double Tower Gates, the Agha Mikayil and Qasimbey baths and the small caravanserai. In the centre of the model, a red-lit monument displays external and internal views on a video screen.

Here there is a display of electronic books. As you scroll through them, various pages from the Tower’s history will be revived before your eyes and the Tower will share its mysterious secrets. Book I - “The Legends of Maiden Tower”, Book II - "Maiden Tower Festival", Book III - "Maiden Tower in Art".

On this floor you see a model of the eight-pointed emblem that is the state symbol of Azerbaijan. In the spirit of patriotism, scenes from Azerbaijani films (battle scenes from the films Babek and Nasimi) and a Diorama based on the artist K. Hippius's engraving, "Sea View of Baku", as well as a display of defence weapons and daggers on the glass animation.

Many researchers state that Maiden Tower was initially built for religious purposes and that it was a temple where religious ceremonies were held. They say it was connected with the beliefs and rites of the local people who at that time worshipped the sun. The video installation here is about the sacred nature of fire for the Azerbaijani people from ancient times.

The animation “Ancient Observatory” suggests that, from its structure and position, Maiden Tower was used as a solar observatory. The astronomers observed sunrise on the horizon. The structural features of the building, especially the position of the base, are oriented to suit some of the most important events in the solar cycle.

Given the global importance of the monument, for the purpose of the monuments preservation and secure of the current appearance for future generations the conservation work was carried out in 2009 -2013 there due to assigment of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Maiden Tower.

Initiative on making alternative nests for long-winged migratory birds (lat. "Apusapus"), nested in the spaces between the stones of the monument in the process of conservation, is connected with the name of Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Specially-prepared nests as a part of this initiative have been installed on the building in front of the monument. As for the castle, 150 nests were kept with no risk of damage to the castle.

The Maiden Tower won the award of European Museum of the Year 2015� competition organized by the European Museum Forum held in Glasgow of Scotland attended by known museums of 21 countries of Europe in the category For success in improving social significance of the museum. It received the award for significant contribution to the improvement of museology. EMYA “European Museum of theYearAward has proved to be the longest running and most prestigious museum award in de world in the museum sector.

To determine the period of construction of the Maiden Tower, one of reliable documents is 04x06 meter written stone located on outer side of the wall, above fortress door, on height of 14 meters.

"Dome - Masoud bin Davud" words written on the stone. Later the deployment of inscription of Maiden Tower on the wall uneatly has also been identified. It was very roughly stuck on the part of the fortress wall covered with stone pipelines. Other researchers suppose that, these insciption mounded there after fortress built.