Old City Route · 4Oil Boom & Seaside · 4Grand Baku Tour · 5
Maiden Tower
The Maiden Tower (Qız Qalası) is the symbol of Baku. Its age is still debated – some scholars date its lower part to well before our era, others to the 12th century.
In 2000 the Old City with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Many legends explain its name – none of them is proven.
Audio guide
0:41The audio could not be loaded.
Read the transcript
The Maiden Tower stands at the southern edge of Baku's Old City. Its shape is worth a closer look: a round stone tower, with a large projecting buttress on one side. That unusual outline makes it easy to recognise from the waterfront.
What was it originally built for? And just how old is it? Scholars still debate those questions. Several legends explain the name, too, but a good story is not the same as a proven history. The tower belongs to the UNESCO-listed Old City. An exterior walk reveals its stonework and changing profile; for a museum visit, check the current admission arrangements separately.
The unusual shape: a round tower with a buttress on one side.
Riddle
In which year did the Old City with the Maiden Tower become a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
You are playing without a team. With a team you collect points and solve your secret word.
Play as a team and collect pointsPhotographs: 10
Photographs
Photographs of this place from different viewpoints and periods.
The collection is being expanded; dates are shown as recorded by the source.
Archive views can show earlier buildings or earlier uses of this site. Read the original source caption.
No photographs in this selection.
Contemporary views
2016-09-26Date not independently verified
Photo details
Original title: Torre de la Doncella, Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 212-214 HDR
Date label in the source: 2016-09-26
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
Date not established
Photo details
Original title: Qiz Qalasi and a Tree
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
2016Date not independently verified
Photo details
Original title: Qız qalası ümumi 2016
Date label in the source: 2016
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
Date not established
Photo details
Original title: Maiden Tower and House of Hajinsky in Baku
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Archive photographs
1898Date not independently verified
Photo details
Original title: Bakou tour de la vierge nov 1898 81320
Date label in the source: 1898
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Archive photographs
1900Date not independently verified
Baye, Joseph de (1853-1931). Photographe de l'oeuvre reproduite. Chef de la mission. Auteur de la conférence Molteni. Photographe · Public domain
Photo details
Original title: Caucase. 13, Bakou. La tour de la jeune fille - (mission) de Baye ; (photogr.) de Baye ; (photogr. reprod. par) Molteni (pour la conférence donnée par) de Baye - btv1b532588505
Date label in the source: 1900
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Archive photographs
Early 20th centuryDate not independently verified
Unknown author · Public domain
Photo details
Original title: Maiden Tower in old postcard
Date label in the source: early 20th century
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
Date not established
Photo details
Original title: Maiden Tower (Baku).jpg
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
Date not established
Photo by MrArifnajafov (Photography from the original). · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo details
Original title: Baku Maiden Tower floor.JPG
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source
Contemporary views
Date not established
David Davidson from Bedford, UK · CC BY 2.0
Photo details
Original title: Maidens Tower, Baku, Azerbaijan (1578722040).jpg
Resized for the web; display framing may vary.
Source