Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Thessaloniki)

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The Transfiguration Chapel

The Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Metamorfosis Sotira) ( Greek Ναός του Σωτήρος ) or Sotír Church is a Byzantine chapel from the 13th century in Thessaloniki . It is located south of Egnatiou Street near the Galerius Arch and not far from the Ypapanti and Panagouda churches . The location below the current building level and the small size make it appear inconspicuous. The chapel has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1988 ( early Christian and Byzantine buildings in Thessaloniki ).

history

The chapel is believed to have been built as a burial church around 1350 and was first dedicated to the Mother of God (Panagía). It was never converted into a mosque. It suffered severe damage in the 1978 earthquake, but this was subsequently repaired; archaeological investigations were carried out at the same time.

Construction and equipment

The lower part of the chapel, made of uncut stone and the upper part of brickwork, consists of a central space in the form of a tetraconchus , which is inscribed in a square and vaulted by a dome on a comparatively high tambour divided by archivolts and blinded half-columns. The dimensions are given as 5.5 meters by 6 meters. In front of the central room is a narthex built in 1936 on the site of an older one . The wall paintings are divided into several zones (domed vaults with the triumphant Christ in the halo, which is carried by angels, including the Mother of God and the apostles, between the drum windows eight prophets, including the heavenly liturgy).

literature

  • Ef. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaïdou: Το εγκαίνιο του ναού του Σωτήρος στη Θεσσαλονίκη. In: Η Θεσσαλονίκη 1 (1985) pp. 205-217.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage List - Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika (English)
  2. ↑ K. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaïdou / A. Tourta: Walks through Byzantine Thessaloniki. Edition Kapon, Athens 1997, p. 41. ISBN 960-7254-48-1
  3. ↑ Apostolos Papajannopoulos: monuments of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 1983: Rekos, p 97

Coordinates: 40 ° 38 ′ 23.3 "  N , 22 ° 58 ′ 2.5"  E