Church of Agia Ekaterini (Thessaloniki)

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The church of Agia Ekaterini

The Church of Agia Ekaterini (Katharinenkirche) in Thessaloniki ( Greek Αγία Αικατερίνη ) is a Byzantine church from the late 13th century. It is located in the northwest part of the upper town north of Olimpiados Street and not far from the Byzantine city walls and has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1988 ( early Christian and Byzantine buildings in Thessaloniki ).

history

The church, for whose history there is hardly any documentary evidence, may originally have been a monastery church; it is partly assumed that it is the main church of the Christós Pantodýnamos monastery. Under Sultan Bayezid II it was converted into a mosque (Yakub Paşa Camii) . A restoration took place from 1947 to 1951.

construction

The church is a cross-domed church with a central dome over four columns and a seven-sided drum and four secondary domes over the corners of the three-sided aisles. In contrast to the Church of the Apostles, the outer porch is missing. The church is an early example “of the exterior shape of Byzantine churches, which is sculpted by many domes”. The exterior is richly decorated with brickwork. The horizontal is emphasized by a marble cornice.

Furnishing

The fresco decoration, which is dated to around 1315, has been preserved in fragments. Church fathers and the apostle communion , prophets, saints and angels as well as miracles of Christ are depicted . The pantocrator is destroyed.

literature

  • K. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaïdou, A. Tourta: Walks through Byzantine Thessaloniki. Kapon, Athens 1997, ISBN 960-7254-48-1 , pp. 116-120.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage List - Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika (English)
  2. ↑ K. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaidou, A. Tourta: walks through the Byzantine Thessaloniki. Kapon, Athens 1997, ISBN 960-7254-48-1 , p. 118.
  3. ^ Friederike Kyrieleis: Art monuments in Greece - a picture handbook. Vol. 1. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1982, p. 447.

Coordinates: 40 ° 39 ′ 7.6 ″  N , 22 ° 57 ′ 26.9 ″  E