Sa'at Tower

Sa'at Tower
کاخ شهرداری تبریز
South-western side of Saat Tower
General information
Type	Municipality Clock tower
Location	Tabriz, Iran
Coordinates	38°04′25″N 46°17′44″E
Completed	1934
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Avedis Ohanjanian

Sa'at Tower also known as Tabriz Municipality Palace (Persian: کاخ شهرداری تبریز, also Romanized as Sā'at Tower) is building in Tabriz which is used as the city hall and main office of the municipal government of Tabriz, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran. Saat tower is a building with a hall, a tower with clock, and a small garden.

History

Before World War II it was used by the Azerbaijan Democrat Party as the 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 early 2000s when it is used as municipal museum.

Current alterations

During the 1980s, 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.

Architecture

This building has an area of about 9,600 square meters and 6,500 square meters of infrastructure, which is built on three floors. Tabriz Municipality Palace has a four-page clock tower with a height of 30.5 meters with the rhythmic resonance of its bells, every hour, it brings the passage of time to the ears of the people of Tabriz.The exterior of the building is carved out of stone and the plan of the building is similar to the design of a flying eagle, which corresponds to the example of buildings in Germany before World War II.

Museum of Municipality

In recent years parts of the building is reorganized as municipality museum of Tabriz.

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  Northern side of Saat Tower and municipality building from Saat square.
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  Former bell of Saat Tower which is damaged during Russian invasion of Tabriz during World War II. The bell later replaced by a new one.
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  Main hall of Saat tower, currently is being used as show place for rug collection of Tabriz municipality.
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  Interior of Saat tower, under the southern Ivan.
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  Golden key of Tabriz.
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  Some of the equipment presented in municipality museum.
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  Basement passage of municipality building.
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  Saat under construction, 1930s.
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  Western side of Municipality Building and Saat Tower, a view from municipality garden.

Ceremonies

Tabriz Municipality Square in 1941 and the image of Arfa Al-Molk Jalili, the then mayor, who was the founder of this mansion

Since Saat Tower is located in the center of the city, it has been used for various ceremonies and gatherings in the city.

• 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.

Etymology

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

External links

Media related to Saat Tower at Wikimedia Commons