The Passage
A covered street born of Baku's oil wealth.
The Passage is a historic shopping arcade in central Baku, near Fountains Square. It is an elegant ensemble of eclectic buildings, with a pedestrian street running between them under arched galleries.
The Passage appeared at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, in the oil-boom era, when newly rich Baku was being built up with lavish houses in the spirit of European capitals. On the building's pediment one can still read a date — 1896.
A “passage” is the very type of building: a covered or through shopping gallery with shops along both sides. Such passages were fashionable across Europe, and Baku acquired its own.
Today the Passage is part of Baku's pedestrian centre: cafés, shops and unhurried strolls under the evening lights.
In brief
The Passage in a few traits
Timeline
The Passage through time
From a quiet seaside town to an elegant shopping arcade — a short timeline.
Old BakuHistory
Born of the oil boom
The Passage is a child of “black gold”. At the end of the 19th century oil turned Baku into a wealthy, cosmopolitan city, and merchants built houses and galleries here no worse than European ones.
The shopping passage became a symbol of this new, elegant Baku.
Pediment, 1896Architecture
Eclecticism and decor
The Passage is built in the eclectic style: arched windows, pilasters, stucco, caryatids and a figured pediment with a date and a coat of arms. Every detail speaks of the owners' taste and wealth.
It is a specimen of Baku's “oil” architecture, in which the motifs of Europe and the East are mixed.
“Oil turned a seaside town into a city of palaces — and the Passage became its shop window.”
The Passage · Oil-boom Baku
Fountains SquarePedestrian centre
The heart of strolling Baku
The Passage stands in the very heart of pedestrian Baku — by Fountains Square and the Nizami and Rasulzade streets. It is the city's liveliest promenade zone.
It is a convenient place to begin getting to know the capital's old centre.
TodayToday
Cafés, windows and lights
Today shops and cafés work in the Passage, and in the evening its galleries are beautifully lit. It is pleasant to sit at a table here and watch the life of the centre.
The old building keeps doing its job — a place of trade, meetings and unhurried strolls.
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