Malek's Mansion

The mansion which belonged to Haj Hossein Agha Malek is one of the main parts of Malek National Library and Museum. The mansion is closely interwoven with the general structures of the old bazaar. It is located between two sacred buildings - Imam Mosque (formerly Shah Mosque) and the Grand Mosque, and its relations with the urban complexes is of great importance. The mansion was registered in the list of historical sites on December 7, 1997 under number 1940.

Malek's mansion is a quiet place within the hue and cry of the bazaar, as if the building had preserved its owner's serenity all through these years. Haj Hossein Agha Malek inherited the original mansion from his father Mohammad Kazem. It is in the architectural style of the Qajar period to which an annex was added in the Pahlavi era.

Historically this section was the starting point of the formation of Malek Library and Museum. Thus Malek mansion represents two architectural styles from the Qajar and Pahlavi periods. The mansion has decorations in the styles of both periods. This is reflected in its brickworks, tileworks, masonry, plaster works as well as its wood inlays, woodworks, and the metal decorations.

Haj Hossein Agha Malek continued to live in the mansion up to the end of his life even after it had been turned into a library and museum. Actually the library and museum were stationed in the mansion for a number of years after the death of Haj Hossein Agha Malek. As he was particularly interested in the expansion of the library and museum he had purchased a plot of land in the National Garden compound for the purpose, and this is the present location of Malek National Library and Museum.