Мингечевир: город света и истории Азербайджана

Mingachevir ( ) is the fourth largest city in Azerbaijan with a population of about 106,000. It is often called the "city of lights" because of its hydroelectric power station on the Kur River, which divides the city down the middle. The current city was founded in 1948, partly by German prisoners of war captured during World War II. Mingechevir is also home to Mingachevir Polytechnic Institute. The city forms an administrative division of Azerbaijan. The district is located 323 km from the capital Baku and 17 km from the Baku Tbilisi railway. Geographically, the region is located in the center of the republic on both sides of the Kura River.

As of 2008, Mingachevir fish farm functions in the city, which farms three types of fishes, including carp, silver carp and sturgeon.

The construction of the Mingachevir Dam creating the Mingachevir reservoir and Mingachevir Hydro Power Plant was completed in 1953. The hydroelectric power stations soil dam, whose total capacity is 15.6 cubic kilometers of water, is one of the highest dams in Europe that was constructed through sprinkling. The reservoir is located 3 km north west of the district. The length of the reservoir is 70 km, width from 3 to 18 km, deepest point about 75 meters and total area 605 km2.

+Population of Mingechevir by the year (at the beginning of the year)Yearsthsd. persons201096.9201197.8201298.8201399.72014100.62015101.62016102.42017103.22018104.5

Mingachevir has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) with fairly evenly distributed precipitation.

The Davudova Mingacevir State Theatre was established on the basis of folk theatre in 1969. Every clubhouse has its own ensemble. There are also singing and music circles, as well as training courses on computers, tailoring, board games and arts in the clubhouses. There are 8 clubhouses, including the Martyr Azar Niftaliyev clubhouse, Samad Vurgun clubhouse, Nariman Narimanov clubhouse and others, in the town.

The Mingacevir Historical Museum was established in January 1968. The museum has two branches – Martyrs’ Memorial and Independence Museum. The museum has 14,461 exhibits. The city is also home to Mingachevir Gallery, which includes 310 works of art by Azerbaijani and Russian artists, including works by Mikhail Vrubel and Ilya Repin.

There are 3 musical schools – Hacibayov School, Bulbul School and Martyr Qasimov School functioning in the city. The study in these schools lasts 7 years. A total of 1,500 students attend these schools, and 350 professional teachers train them. The schools have different courses on national musical instruments such as tar, kamancha, nagara, saz, and others like, piano, violin and vocal. The regional channel Mingachevir TV is headquartered in the city.

The city has many parks, including Sahil Park and Friendship Park.

The city has one professional football team, Energetik, competing in the top flight of Azerbaijani football the Azerbaijan First Division. The city also contains high modern rowing Kur Sport and Rowing Centre, which was renovated and unveiled in 2010. The venue expected to host canoe sprint at 2015 European Games.

Mingachevir's trolleybus system at its height, it consisted of three lines and existed until 2005.

Mingachevir State University, founded in 1991, is the oldest Azerbaijani educational institution in the city. Although originally part of Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, the institute became independent in 1991. Mingachevir Medical School, founded in 1991, includes 17 study halls for anatomy, therapy, surgery and pediatrics. The city also includes the local branch of the Azerbaijani Teachers Training Institute.