Shahid Modarres Museum-House

Sayyid Hassan Tabatabaei Zavareh who become later famous as Modarres was born in 1249 SH in Zavareh, Isfahan, the province. Modarres was among the supervisory board in the National Parliament and also the representative of the people of Tehran in parliament during several parliamentary elections. Modarres was also the representative in the third elections. However, the third parliament was soon ended because of the external pressures and the beginning of the World War I.

The reputation of Modarres was for his resistance against Reza Shah Pahlavi’s acts that led to his exile to Khaf and later to Kashmar. He was finally killed in the same place in 1316 by the order of Reza Shah. The tenth day of Azar in the Iranian calendar, that is the day of Ayatollah Hassan Modarres’s martyrdom, has been named “the day of parliament”.

During his career as the representative of the parliament, he lived in the previous house of the ambassador of France. A very beautiful and historical mansion located in Sarcheshmeh intersection, Mirza Mahmoud Vazir alley, inside a dead-end alley with the same name as himself: “Modarres dead end alley”.

The importance of Modarres house is not only for architectural appearances, but also for the political events which were occurred there. Modarres house that was built in Qajar period based upon the traditional pattern of Persian houses has many parts including three central yards, rooms, corridors and spring house.

The building was not only the residential place of Modarres, but also it was the place of his extensive social, political and cultural activities; therefore, the house has an interior section for the family, and an exterior section including several rooms dedicated to teaching, interpreting, public and political meetings.

This old house was once the hangout of the great figures of history, politics and even art like Hassan Pirnia or Motamen al-Molk, Moshir al-Dowleh, Vosough al-Dowleh, Mostowfi al-Mamalek, Malek al-Shoara Bahar, Mosadeq and finally the family of Reza Khan. Some of the crucial decisions of the history of Iran like the draft of civil law were made here.

The mansion, that was abandoned for a while, was finally bought by Haj Mohammad Ansari in 1393SH and after the restoration, it was revived as Shahid Modarres House-Museum for the purpose of cultural, research and social activities and also collecting the relevant documents to Modarres.