Marienkirche (Elbasan)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arcade on the south side of the church

The Marienkirche ( Albanian  Kisha e Shën Mërisë ) is an Orthodox church built during the Ottoman period - sometimes also referred to as a cathedral - in the central Banan city ​​of Elbasan from the 19th century. It is located in a courtyard in the northern area of ​​the old town of Elbasan, also known as the castle .

An inscription recorded 1833 as the year of construction. The church was built to replace a building that burned down in 1818. Depending on the source, this dates from the 17th century or from the 15th to the 16th century. According to this source, construction of the church is said to have begun in 1486; however, the first service was only held in 1556.

Church tower over the houses in the old town

It is a flat three-aisled building, the dome of which is hidden under the roof. The church had an elaborate iconostasis and other rich wood carvings. There are also detailed stone carvings. Column arcades extend on the north and south sides. The painting in the dome is from 1859; the iconostasis was worked on for ten years. The bell tower was built from red brick.

Famous priests who have served in this church include Fan Noli and Visarion Xhuvani .

The communists wanted to set up a museum for Orthodox church art in the inaccessible church. In 1963 the church was declared a national cultural monument.

The church has been run since the 1990s by a radical Albanian nationalist splinter group of the autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church , which does not want to recognize the - for financial reasons - strong Greek Orthodox influence over the Albanian Orthodox Church.

In 2008 the Albanian government financed the renovation of the church. It is criticized that while the government took over the reconstruction of St. Mary's Church, the reconstruction of the royal mosque , which at that time did not even have a minaret, the Turkish government - the Turkish Presidium for Cooperation and Coordination of the Prime Minister's Office of the Republic of Turkey ( TC Başbakanlık Türk İşbirliği ve Coordinasyon Ajansı Başkanlığı ) for short TİKA - was left.

Web links

Commons : Marienkirche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Guntram Koch: Albania. Art and culture in the land of the Skipetars . DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 , p. 157 (DuMont art travel guide).
  2. ↑ a b Kisha e Shën Merise. In: Instituti i Monumenteve të Kulturës. Retrieved May 20, 2016 (Albanian).
  3. ↑ a b Hektor Çifta, Kreshnik Document: Elbasani Turistik . Ed .: Bashkia Elbasan. Erik, Tirana 2012, ISBN 978-99956-36-49-4 , pp. 70 .
  4. ↑ a b c Shekulli: Kisha e Shën Marisë: ndërtimi dhe rindërtimi dibran. In: Arkiva Shqiptare e Lajmeve. October 28, 2008, Retrieved May 19, 2016 (Albanian).
  5. ↑ Guntram Koch: Albania. Art and culture in the land of the Skipetars . DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 , p. 86 (DuMont art travel guide).
  6. ↑ Objects fetare monumente kulture. In: Komiteti Shtetëror për Kultet. Retrieved May 19, 2016 (Albanian).
  7. ↑ Eqrem Zenelaj: At Nikolle Marku, garidan i shqiptarizmës. Fjala e Lirë. In: Shkoder.net. Koha Jonë , June 19, 2006, accessed May 19, 2016 (Albanian).
  8. ↑ Gazeta Shqip: "Kisha rebele e Elbasanit, rikthim në identitet" (October 19, 2008) ( Memento from April 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 41 ° 6 ′ 55.7 ″  N , 20 ° 4 ′ 49.5 ″  E