Pangaltı Catholic Cemetery

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 in 1857.

Between 1840 and 1910, the area of Istanbul stretching northward from Taksim to Şişli 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 grounds 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 mausoleums 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 (1853–1856).

The ossuary is made from reclaimed gravestones in old cemeteries of the Petits-Champs and Grand Champs at Pera in the 1850s.

The cemetery is used by various Catholic communities. The tombstones of Levantines are the most numerous, featuring monuments of Greek Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Catholic, Chaldean and Melkite churches. There are other Catholic cemeteries in Istanbul, especially in the city districts of Kadıköy, 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 in 2005 File:Pangaltıstonemausoleum.jpg|Old family mausoleum 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

References

1. Johnson, Brian. (2005). "Istanbul's Vanished City of the Dead: The Grand Champs des Morts". The Fountain.
2. "Cimetiére catholique latin de Pancaldi – Feriköy". Istanbulguide.net.