Hovsep Aznavur ( hy, Հովսեփ Ազնավուր, hyw, Յովսէփ Ազնաւուր; 1854 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

– June 1935 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

) was an Ottoman

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He is noted for his construction plans for the Bulgarian St. Stephen Church of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Biography

Born in London in 1854, Aznavur's family moved to

in 1867. Aznavur completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Some of his best known works are Bulgarian St. Stephen Church, Mısır Apartment and Aznavur Passage. His workshop was located at

Saint Pierre Han SS Peter and Paul ( tr, Sen Pier ve Sen Paul Kilisesi, it, Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo a Galata) is a Catholic church in Istanbul, important for historical reasons. The church owns an icon of the Virgin of the Hodegetria type, which originall ...

in Galata. Asnavur was active in Armenian community life. In 1921, he became a founding member of the

Ramgavar Party The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party ( hy, Ռամկավար Ազատական Կուսակցութիւն), the Ramgavar Party, (known before 1921 as the Armenakan party) ( hy, Արմենական Կուսակցութիւն), also known by its Ar ...

, one of the three major historic Armenian political parties. He escaped from Istanbul after the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

and died at the end of June 1935 in Cairo,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

References

Sources

* Pamukçiyan, Kevork. ''IV. Biyografileriyle Ermeniler, Ermeni Kaynaklarından Tarihe Katkılar'', yayına hazırlayan: Osman Köker, Aras Yayıncılık, Istanbul, August 2003.
Short biography of Hovsep Aznavur
* Tigran Khzmalyan
Armenian Architects of Istanbul: Online Exhibition
March 27, 2015
Stefan Bulgar Kilisesi
1854 births 1935 deaths Ethnic Armenian architects Architects from the Ottoman Empire British people of Armenian descent Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Artists from London 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire {{Armenia-architect-stub