Mingachevir is the fourth-largest city in Azerbaijan with a population of about 104,500. It is known as city of lights because of its hydroelectric power station on the Kur River, which splits the city in half.

The current city was founded in 1948, partly by German POWs 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 Baku and 17 km from the Baku-Tbilisi railway. Geographically, the region is located in the center of the republic on both side of the Kura river.

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.