Latomos Monastery

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The apse mosaic

The former Latomos monastery ( Greek Μονή Λατόμου , Moní Latómou ) in Thessaloniki has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1988 ( early Christian and Byzantine buildings in Thessaloniki ). It is located on the slope below the Acropolis .

history

The name of the monastery goes back to the quarries in the area. The monastery church, which was previously consecrated to the Savior and whose foundation can be traced back to the 5th century, was decorated with decorative mosaics and frescoes by an anonymous, in a report by the abbot of Akapníou from the 9th century as Theodora, daughter of the emperor Galerius , named woman. According to the report, the mosaics were found again during the reign of Emperor Leo the Armenians . The monastery church was renovated in the 12th century and subsequently repainted with frescoes. Probably in the 16th century it was converted into a mosque (Σουλιτζέ or Κεραμεντίν τζαμί), which became a Christian church again in 1921 and was then named Osios David .

construction

The originally square church with a semicircular apse and an inscribed Greek cross, whose arms had barrel vaults, had a flat dome over the crossing and four corner domes. The church is considered to be the forerunner of the cross-domed churches . The western part of the church, preserved only as a torso, was probably destroyed as early as the 16th century.

Furnishing

Fresco (nativity)

The mosaic from the time of construction in the apse, uncovered around 1921, depicts the beardless Christ enthroned on the rainbow in the aureole, under whose feet the four rivers of Paradise flow into the Jordan, on the sides the prophets Ezekiel and Habakkuk . The frescoes in the side aisles, uncovered from 1972 to 1975, date from the Byzantine period.

literature

  • A. Xyngopoulos: Το Καθολικόν της μονής Λατόμου εν Θεσσαλονίκη και το εν αυτώ ψυφιδωτόν. In: Archaiologikón Deltíon 12 (1929), 142–180.
  • E. Tsigaridas: Μονή Λατόμου (Όσιος Δαβίδ). Thessaloniki 1987.
  • Alexander Zäh: Sulla cronologia edilizia dell '' Hosios David 'a Salonicco. In: Quaderni friulani di archeologia , Vol. 12, Issue 1, 2002.

Web links

Commons : Moni Latomou  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • [1] Website of the Ministry of Culture (English)

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. Editions Kapon, Athens 1997, pp. 91-93, ISBN 960-7254-48-1
  3. ↑ A. Papajannopoulos: monuments of Thessaloniki. Rekos, Thessaloniki 1983, p. 58

Coordinates: 40 ° 39 ′ 5.1 ″  N , 22 ° 58 ′ 3 ″  E