Saat Tower

Coordinates: 38°04′25″N 46°17′44″E / 38.07361°N 46.29556°E / 38.07361; 46.29556

Municipality of Tabriz, front view

Sa'at Tower also known as Tabriz Municipality Palace (Persian: کاخ شهرداری تبریز‎‎, also Romanized as Sā'at Tower) is the city hall and main office of the municipal government of Tabriz, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran.

History

The Municipality was built in 1934 as the Tabriz municipal central office. After World War II it was used by the Azerbaijan Democrat Party as a Government Office. When Iranian troops regained control of Tabriz in 1947, the building was again used as the Tabriz municipal central offices, a function which has continued up to the present day.

Current alterations

During the 1990s, in an attempt for installing an elevator, one of Saat's patios was damaged. The dome in top of the tower of Saat was reconstructed on 2008 with a new khaki colored fiber glass instead of the original silver colored dome. Since 2007, part of the building houses the Municipal Museum.

Museum of Municipality

Former Tabriz city hall bell which is damaged during Russian invasion of Tabriz during World War II. The bell later replaced by a new one.

In recent years parts of the building is reorganized as municipality museum of Tabriz. The museum includes historical maps of Tabriz and photos of new establishments and reconstructions in Tabriz. There are also some of first equipment and machines used in the city including: first movie projector, first taxi cars, and old firefighting tracks. In major hall of the museum some of the best hand weave rugs of Tabriz are presented.

Ceremonies

Since Saat Tower is located in the center of the city, it has been used for various ceremonies and gatherings in the city. During 1947 it was used as the seat of the Azerbaijan Peoples' Government.

• Iranian new year, at the beginning of every new Iranian Year (20 March), a big Haft-Sin is made behind Saat.
• Earth hour, since 2014 Tabriz celebrate the earth hour by turning off the lights for Saat Tower.^[1]

Etymology

Sa'at means "clock", which refers to the four face clock in top of the tower.

References

External links

Media related to Saat Tower at Wikimedia Commons

Monuments of Tabriz
	Aji Chay Bridge Amir Nezam House Arg of Tabriz Azerbaijan Museum Baghmisheh gate Bazaar of Tabriz Behnam House Blue Mosque Protestant Church of Tabriz Charm Sazi Khosravi Tabriz Constitution House East Azerbaijan State Capital Eynali Ghari Bridge Haidarzadeh house Iron Age museum Jameh Mosque of Tabriz Kandovan Madrasah Akbarieh Maqbaratoshoara Muharram museum Museum of Ostad Bohtouni Nobar bath On ibn Ali's shrine Sangi Bridge Pottery museum Rab'-e Rashidi Saat Tower Saheb ol Amr Mosque Seyed Hamzeh shrine Seghat ol Islam's House Shah-goli Shohada Mosque Tabriz Fire Fighting Tower Tabriz Railway Station Tarbiyat street Tomb of Two Kamals

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