GREEK ORPHANAGE




Completed in 1898, this building was originally used as a hotel under the name Prinkipo and was operated by the Compagnie internationale des Wagons-lit. Failure to allow the hotel's casino to operate caused the hotel to be sold in 1903. The building, bought by the wife of a Greek banker, is donated to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople. From that date until the ownership passed to the state in 1964, the building was used as an orphanage.

Located on Büyükada, the building with an area of ​​20 000m² is considered the largest wooden building in Europe. It has 206 rooms, a kitchen, a library, a school and workshop areas. The exterior and interior architecture of the six-storey building is quite simple, with wooden decorations in some of the halls. The building was severely damaged in a fire in 1980. After the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Istanbul took ownership of the building again and is trying to save it from collapse.

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