House of Natavan, Former residence in Shusha, Azerbaijan

The House of Natavan is a rectangular building in Shusha, 24 by 12.5 metres and 8.5 metres tall, with a brick south wall and stone walls elsewhere. Its ground floor holds seven service rooms; a stone staircase on the west wall leads to a 5-metre-high hall lit by 5 by 3.5-metre mesh windows, with frescoes and alabaster carvings.

The house is one of Shusha's first residential buildings, erected in the 18th or 19th century by architect Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi for the poet Khurshidbanu Natavan. From 10 October 1932 it housed the Shusha Music School, founded on Bulbul's initiative, renamed the Niyazi Children's Art School in 1984. Restored in 1987, it became a house-museum branch of the Nizami Ganjavi National Museum of Azerbaijan Literature, first directed by Namig Babayev. It was heavily damaged when Armenian forces took Shusha on 8 May 1992.

The house belonged to Khurshidbanu Natavan, a 19th-century Azerbaijani poet. From 1932 the Shusha Music School, the first children's music school in Azerbaijan, operated here on Bulbul's initiative. In 1987 it became a house-museum, a branch of the Nizami Ganjavi National Museum of Azerbaijan Literature.

The building has three entrance gates on the southern side, with the central gate providing access to the main corridor. The layout of rooms and passages is straightforward, making it easy to navigate while exploring.

The house was built by the architect Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi, and its large garden held several smaller service buildings. In 1932 it became the Shusha Music School, the first children's music school in Azerbaijan, founded on the initiative of the singer Bulbul.