Nearly 180 years ago, the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, was home to what is believed to be the first oil well drilled according to modern industry standards. This well, established by the Russian Empire in 1846, began what became known as the “Black City.”
In the 17th century, Baku was also a center for oil extraction and trade, but its wells were hand-dug.
The Black City
The Black City in Baku is associated with an era of significant oil production that peaked in the late 19th century. During this time, Baku was responsible for half of the world's oil supply, largely benefiting from the spread of the internal combustion engine. The area's name derives from the smoke and soot of the factories and refineries.
In the 19th century, Professor Abraham Valentine Williams Jackson, who taught at Columbia University in the United States and specialized in Indo-Iranian languages, undertook multiple trips to the Caucasus and northern Persia regions. He explored the architecture, history, literature, and cultures of these areas.
In his book, published in the early 20th century (1911), titled “From Constantinople to the Home of Omar Khayyam,” Jackson described Baku as a city where oil permeated the environment: “It is present in the air one breathes, in one’s nose, in one’s eyes, in one’s bathwater and even in the linen one wears.”
Nobel in Baku
Baku is also home to the world's only Nobel family museum outside of Sweden. The brothers of dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel were among the first businessmen to arrive in the city to capitalize on the oil boom.
In 1876, Ludvig Nobel and Robert Nobel founded the Nobel Brothers Oil Production Company Limited (Branobel) in Baku, shortly after Russian authorities held public auctions in 1872 to sell oil-rich lands around the city to private investment companies from Switzerland, America, Britain, France, Belgium, and Sweden.
These companies created an industrial belt near Baku known as the “Black City,” which included numerous factories involved in oil extraction and processing.
At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, Baku had become the most prolific city for oil production in the Russian Empire and, within about 10 years, surpassed even the United States in oil output, according to the independent Azerbaijani news agency AzVision.
During this time, eastern Baku was an industrial area unsuitable for residential living due to severe pollution. The only structures there were oil refineries, port facilities, and temporary housing for oil workers. As a result, Branobel established a settlement for its administrative and technical staff in the eastern part of the city, providing them with better living conditions. This settlement included residential buildings, a school, a theater, a hospital, and a palace belonging to the Nobel family, which now serves as a museum—the only one of its kind outside of Sweden.
The Miracle of Baku White City
Heydar Aliyev, the former president and national leader of Azerbaijan (who passed away in 2003), summarized his ambition for transforming a cherished part of his country: “The city, which has been called the Black City for centuries in Azerbaijan, will be transformed into a white and clean city, flowers will grow in it, and it will become a beautiful corner of Azerbaijan.”
This dream was realized under the leadership of Ilham Aliyev, the incumbent President of Azerbaijan, through a decree he signed in September 2006 titled "The Comprehensive Action Plan for Improving the Environmental Situation for 2006–2010."
The Baku White City project was quickly launched under this decree. Efforts were made to relocate oil and industrial facilities to the outskirts of the city, decontaminate the land, beautify the area by planting trees along the streets, and develop various public transport options, including a subway and a waterfront tram system, to reduce reliance on private cars.
The British firm Foster + Partners, established by legendary architect Norman Foster who also helped design Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, UAE, was involved in the design of Baku White City.
Today, Baku White City—still expanding—is one of the largest modern projects in the world built entirely on an environmentally reclaimed industrial area. Covering 16.5 square kilometers, it is the largest development project in the Caucasus region.
Pride of Azerbaijan
At the COP29 Climate Conference in Azerbaijan, Baku White City was a centerpiece of the Green Zone pavilions, symbolizing national pride and demonstrating why Azerbaijan was chosen to host this significant climate summit.
The pavilions showcased the history of international recognition of the Baku White City project as a symbol of sustainable green transformation, from an environmental disaster to a model of dynamic urban development, based on the fundamental principle that development must be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.
