The construction of the Sheki Khan Palace, built by
The construction of the Sheki Khan Palace, built by Muhammadhasan Khan and architect Zeynalabdin from Shiraz, began in 1789-90. The palace building built in the Persian style in the 18th century is located in the north-eastern part of the city in the area surrounded by the fortress walls. The building is two-story, has four corridors, six rooms, and two mirrored balconies. It used to be called “Divankhana”, and after the dissolution of the Sheki Khanate in 1819, the city court was located here. Mollah Panah Vagif was the head of the palace. Mollah Panah Vagif was the head of the palace. According to the legend about the construction of the palace, Shaki Khan decided to build himself the best palace in the world. After the construction of the palace was completed, when the khan asked the architect, “Can you build something better than this?”, he got the answer “yes” and killed the architect. After seeing the palace, the famous Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet wrote: “If there were no other ancient buildings of Azerbaijan, it would be enough to show the Sheki Khan palace to the world.”
On October 24, 2001, along with the historical part of Shaki, the Khan’s Palace was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. On August 1, 2010, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova visited the Khan Palace during her official visit to Azerbaijan. Since 2019, the Palace is a World Heritage Site together with the historical center of Sheki.
