http://doi.org/10.58225/sw.si.2022.1.89-106
AZERBAIJANI TOWN SHUSHA- MONUMENT OF HISTORY, CULTURE, URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE
Hajiyeva Sabina- doctor of science in architecture, honored architect of Azerbaijan, sabina.hajiyeva@azmiu.edu.az
Abstract. Shusha is a very valuable historical, town-planning, architectural and natural monument. This is one of the richest with architectural monuments cities in Azerbaijan. Shusha was not only the administrative, but also the cultural and economic center of Karabakh. Many remarkable cultural figures of Azerbaijan - composers, singers, musicians, poets - were born and raised here. Built by Panahali Khan 250 years ago, Shusha is the largest monument of history, culture, urban planning and architecture of Azerbaijan, an open-air museum, which was protected as a historical and architectural reserve. The unique town-planning system of the city of Shusha is characterized by a combination of separate quarters, typical for eastern cities.As a result of the occupation of the territory of Karabakh for about 30 years, the medieval city of Shusha, which has a peculiar urban structure, was half destroyed, despite the fact that before the start of the war, the ancient quarters and numerous historical and architectural monuments were in excellent condition. In the fall of 2019, the staff and students of the Faculty of Architecture of the Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction had launched the project “Urban Development and Restoration of the Historical and Architectural Heritage of the town of Shusha”, dedicated to the study of the historical past, architectural monuments, and the unique urban structure of this pearl of Azerbaijani architecture. The need to collect a large number of archival materials, the difficulty in finding them, since Shusha was occupied, as well as the fact that the project was developed by students in their free time, led to the fact that the work was completed at the end of 2020. The project, launched at the request of the students and presented to the general public a few weeks ago, also includes proposals for the urban development of the city and the restoration of individual architectural monuments.This article talks about the historical and current state of the city of Shusha, examines various aspects of the historical development of the city associated with the formation of the urban structure, architectural monuments, explores the problems of restoration of individual objects. Some preliminary designs of monument restorations carried out by students within the framework of the above project are given.
Keywords: Shusha architecture, Azerbaijani architecture, deliberation of the Azerbaijan lands, restoration of the architecture