Sweti Georgi (Edirne)

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Facade of the Georgskirche in Edirne

The Church of Sweti Georgi ( Bulgarian църква "Свети Георги", St. George's Church , Turkish Sv Georgi Kilisesi ) is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Edirne (Bulgarian Odrin) in northwestern Turkey . It is dedicated to St. George . Along with the Church of St. Constantine and Helena (built in 1869), it is the only surviving Bulgarian church in Edirne. Both churches are also the only ones that have survived in the city.

location

The Georgskirche is located in the East Thracian , Turkish city of Edirne. It is located in the northeastern part of the city in the Kıiık district in Machalla Barutluk .

history

The Georgskirche is a three-aisled basilica with a raised ceiling, characteristic of the architecture of the late Revival period . According to local lore, there was an earlier church at the same location. The Georgskirche has an area of ​​320 m² and is decorated inside with wood carvings and icons . The cornerstone of the church was laid on April 23rd . / May 5,  1880 greg. (St. George's Day). Construction was completed in the same year. At that time a large Bulgarian minority lived in the city. The construction of the Georgskirche was allowed by a decree ( Berât ) of the Sultan Abdülhamid II and the benevolence of the Welsh by Edirne Rauf Pasa.

After the Second Balkan War of 1913, when the Bulgarians of Eastern Thrace were driven out, the church slowly fell into disrepair, but escaped the fate of destruction like other Bulgarian church buildings in the region. In 1951 the church was closed. On September 1, 2003, the renovation work began, and on April 26, July. / May 9,  2004 greg. (Sunday after St. George's Day) the gates of the renovated church were reopened in the presence of the Bulgarian Metropolitan by Russian Neofit and other Bulgarian and Turkish dignitaries.

In 2008 a small museum was set up in the gallery of the church, which deals with the history of the church and the Bulgarians in Edirne. A library with Bulgarian titles was also set up on the church premises.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.edirnevdb.gov.tr/kultur/dinieserler.html
  2. ↑ At that time the Julian calendar still applied in the Ottoman Empire .
  3. ↑ In the meantime, the Gregorian calendar is secular in Turkey, as everywhere , so that the religious holidays, as far as they are still celebrated according to the Julian calendar, fall on a Gregorian date 13 days later.

Web links

Coordinates: 41 ° 40 ′ 49.5 "  N , 26 ° 34 ′ 12.8"  E