In an effort not to lose this architectural treasure, Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank included the Orphanage in the list of the seven most endangered monuments to save the cultural heritage
The restoration of the Prince’s Greek Orthodox Orphanage was approved by the Council of Monuments of Turkey. Like a shadow of itself, given over to the wear and tear of time and abandonment, the largest wooden building in Europe desperately awaited its salvation.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been fighting all these years, as he considers the Orphanage to be one of the symbols of the identity of the Greek minority in Turkey and the historical heritage of the Ecumenical Throne. Besides, Fanari managed, after a long and painful legal dispute, to get back the title deeds for the specific property.
As Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has stated, “we cried a lot. We worked hard. Unnecessarily and without any responsibility, no guilt on our part. Now is the time to rejoice. To see restored not only our holy temples, but also the many injustices done to us. Now is the time to regroup and move the Homogeneity towards a better future. We deserve this future, it belongs to us and it will come.”
“The restoration project of the school building, which is an annex of the Prince’s orphanage, was approved by the Monuments Council of Turkey. Thanks to everyone who supported.” With this message on Twitter, the Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Lakis Vigas, announced, on August 25, one of the most important successes of recent years for the Greeks of the City.
Yetimhane müştemilatı olan okul binasının restoration project was approved by Anıtlar Kurulu. Destek veren herkese teksektur. pic.twitter.com/IYSxjyMCbd
— Pringipos Orphanage (@pringipos) August 25, 2022
Spread over five floors, the 206-room structure was built by French architect Alexander Vallaury in 1898 as a hotel, but was later bought by Eleni Zarifi, the wife of a Greek banker, who later donated the building to the Patriarchate, which operated it as an orphanage. .
In 1964, the persecution of the Greeks from the city led to the closure of the orphanage. The building was abandoned, while the natural disasters that swept the area over the decades turned the once aristocratic building of the island into a ruin.
In an effort not to lose this architectural treasure, Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank included the Orphanage in the list of the seven most endangered monuments to save the cultural heritage.
A team of experts, including engineers, urban planners, art historians and surveyors from different parts of the world, came together to restore the orphanage, examining the most recent state of the structure and the surrounding area.
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