Pangaltı Roman Catholic Cemetery (), also known as Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery (), is a historic

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey. It is the largest

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cemetery in Istanbul. The cemetery is located in the

Feriköy Feriköy is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Şişli, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 14,081 (2022). It is home to three large adjoining cemeteries, one for Roman Catholic burials, one for Protestant ones, and one f ...

neighborhood of the

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

district, nearly north of

Taksim Square Taksim Square (, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of th ...

. The main

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

burial ground of the city;

Feriköy Protestant Cemetery, Istanbul Feriköy is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Şişli, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 14,081 (2022). It is home to three large adjoining cemeteries, one for Roman Catholic burials, one for Protestant ones, and one f ...

lies immediately across the Catholic cemetery. The two neighboring cemeteries are divided by the Abide-i Hürriyet Avenue.

History and description

The origins of the cemetery date back to 1853, when the Ottoman government declared that the graveyard of the Franks at Pera was no longer suitable as a burial ground. A new site was granted near the Imperial War Academy () in Pangaltı as a cemetery for Istanbul's Protestant and Catholic communities. This initiative was aimed towards clearing ground for urban development in the Beyoğlu area. Four years later, the allotted space was deemed insufficient for the dead of both communities, and a second grant was issued by order of Sultan

Abdülmecid I Abdülmecid I (, ; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories. Abdülmecid's ...

in 1857. Between 1840 and 1910, the area of Istanbul stretching northward from Taksim to

was transformed from open countryside to densely inhabited residential settlement. Early 19th century maps of Istanbul show much of the area in this direction taken up by the non-Muslim

burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies th ...

s of the Grand Champs des Morts, with the Frankish section directly in the path of the main route of expansion, including the widening of the main road running from Taksim to Pangaltı. Due to this reason, the human remains were exhumed from the old Frankish burial ground in the ''Grand Champs des Morts'' and they were transferred, along with their grave markers, to its current location in 1863–1864 in Feriköy for re-interment. The burial ground is separated by six squares and alleys with names of saints, extending from east to west. The ornate

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

s of the great Levantine families are located in the west (Corpi, Botter, Tubini, Glavany). Several monuments have been erected in honour of the French and Italian soldiers died during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(1853–1856). The

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

is made from reclaimed gravestones in old cemeteries of the Petits-Champs and Grand Champs at

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district o ...

in the 1850s. The cemetery is used by various Catholic communities. The tombstones of Levantines are the most numerous, featuring monuments of

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

Armenian Catholic 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 around the ...

Syriac Catholic The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac R ...

, Chaldean and

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", referrin ...

churches. There are other Catholic cemeteries in Istanbul, especially in the city districts of

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

, Prinkipos and .

Gallery

File:Pangaltıcemeterylady.jpg, Pangaltı Latin Catholic Cemetery File:PangaltıOttomanArmenian.jpg, Ottoman-Armenian family with deceased male wearing a fez File:PangaltıCatholictomb.jpg, The cemetery during a

snow storm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental and subarct ...

in 2005 File:Pangaltıstonemausoleum.jpg, Old family

File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2950.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery general view File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2964.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Chapel File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2963.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Detail of doors File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2959.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Family grave File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2939.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Italian military graves File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2937.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Pyramid in view File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2940.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Pyramidal ossuary File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2941.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Notice ad pyramid File:Pangalti Catholic cemetery 2956.jpg, Pangalti Catholic cemetery Old gravestone File:Catgravestone.jpg, Pangaltı Catholic cemetery Cat grave

References

External links

Postcard view of the Latin Catholic cemetery of Feriköy

80 pictures of the graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pangalti Catholic Cemetery, Istanbul Cemeteries in Istanbul Italian Levantines Şişli Roman Catholic cemeteries Roman Catholic cemeteries in Turkey Catholic Church in Turkey Catholicism in Turkey Christianity in Istanbul

History and description

Gallery

See also

References

External links