2020 | Building Peace through Heritage
The author of many buildings in Baku , John Wilhelm Edel was the author of the Spasso-Preobrazhenskaya Church , which was demolished after revolution . J . W . Edel built the stone chapel of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew Chapel behind the Maiden ’ s Tower in 1892 , that was demolished as well ( Figure 4a ).
Fig . 2 - Kirche in Annenfeld ( Shamkir ) by F . A . Lemkul
Borned in Baku architect Robert Marfeld was graduated from the Polytechnic in Karlsruhe ( Germany ), then Vienna Academy of Civil Engineering and finally at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St . Petersburg . Marfeld is known as the architect of a number of religious buildings ; he compiled the designs of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Baku ( 1898 ), churches in Batumi , Poti ( Fatullayev-Figarov , Sh . S ., 1998 ) etc . “ The majestic Alexander Nevsky Cathedral , designed for 1700 people with its golden dome ( for which it was called the “ Golded Church ”), was built in 1898 on Novosobornaya Square , in an high position and was visible from all sides and from the sea ( Figure 4b ). The cathedral was three-tiered , with the main crowning cross of 81 meters ”( Fatullayev-Figarov , Sh . S ., 1998 ). The building was erected over cross plan with aisles on the western side , and altar on the east . Around the cathedral there was a covered gallery , with three exits . Interior of the cathedral with its bright side aisles and a large dome resembled a Byzantine style was amazing . Unfortunately the cathedral was destroyed in 1936 , and secondary schools and a music school named after Bul-Bul were built on its place later ( Fatullayev , Sh . S ., 1978 ). The cathedral was destroyed under the pretext of the struggle of Bolshevism with religion . “ The act of vandalism was recorded on film . The temple was built so firmly that it did not succumb to demolition and it had to be blown up from the inside ” ( Fatullayev , Sh . S . 1979 ).
Fig . 3 - Kirche in Baku by Adolf Eichler
The kirches built by the Germans in Azerbaijan were used for their intended purpose until the end of the 1930s , when the arrests of German pastors had started and the Lutheran churches the same with the other religious buildings in Azerbaijan were demolished or were rebuilt for other needs . By 1938 , the Lutheran church ceased its official existence , and the Azerbaijani churches repeated the fate of the other 287 Lutheran churches located in different republics of the Soviet Union . As it is well known , number of unique religious buildings was destroyed , rebuilt , used for economic purposes since the mid 30-ies of the 20 th century .
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