The Church of the Saviour ( az, Xilaskar kilsəsi; german: Erlöserkirche, also known as the ''kirkha'', from the German word "Kirche" (church)) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) 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 below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

( 28 May Street), built with donations by parishioner

Adolf Eichler Adolf Eichler (November 8, 1869 – February 5, 1911) was a Caucasus Germans, German civil architect, best known for building the Saviour's Church, Baku, Saviour's Church (at the age of 24) and participating in boulevard development, both in Baku ...

and consecrated on March 14, 1899. It is now a Ministry of Culture and Tourism-owned concert hall. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-style church features a

portal Portal often refers to: *Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

crowned with a decorated

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

. While Azerbaijan's

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

community ceased to exist in 1936, the church survived the Stalinist period because of petitions to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

in which the petitioners promised, in return for sparing the church, to pray for him till death. Nevertheless, Pastor Paul Hamburg and seven other members of the local Lutheran community were executed by firing squad on November 1, 1937. The land parcel of 1400 square

sazhen A native system of weights and measures was used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution, but it was abandoned after 21 July 1925, when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system, per the order of the Council of People's Commissars ...

s () for the church was assigned by the City

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were f ...

on January 30, 1885. Local residents asked Eichler to make the church similar to one in Helenendorf, but he instead used his own unique style. The cornerstone-laying ceremony was held on Sunday, March 21, 1896, with the Baku governor Lileyev and the city head Iretsky being present.

Emmanuel Nobel Immanuel Nobel the Younger ( , ; 24 March 1801 – 3 September 1872) was a Swedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist. He was the inventor of the rotary lathe used in plywood manufacturing. He was a member of the Nobel family and ...

, his stepmother and

Ludvig Nobel Ludvig Immanuel Nobel ( ; russian: Лю́двиг Эммануи́лович Нобе́ль, Ljúdvig Emmanuílovich Nobél’; sv, Ludvig Emmanuel Nobel ; 27 July 1831 – 12 April 1888) was a Swedish-Russian engineer, a noted businessman and a ...

's second wife also attended the ceremony. The church's name was announced at that moment. On June 24, 1898, a thirteen- pud () gilded cross was raised atop the church. In early 1899 a bell and an

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

were installed. The consecration ceremony gathered over one thousand people. On April 23, 1900, the church housed its first organ concert, where

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's works were performed. On December 1, 1996, the Nobel family remembrance evening was held in the church. In 2001 the church was closed for renovation work.

Notes

{{Baku landmarks Churches completed in 1899 19th-century Lutheran churches Churches in Baku Lutheran churches in Azerbaijan Gothic Revival architecture in Azerbaijan Adolf Eichler buildings and structures

See also

Notes