St. George of the Greeks Church Ruins

Famagusta, Cyprus

Built beside the small Byzantine church of St. Symeon, the church of St. George was a Orthodox Cathedral. An elegant mix of Gothic and Byzantine styles it was intended to rival its Catholic counterpart. However it was too big, with insufficient buttressing and a roof that was going to be too heavy. The pillars throughout the nave were expanded to take more weight and the roof was inserted with large upturned terracotta pots to spread the load. The church was not in existence long enough to find out if the builders may have eventually got things right. Taking the brunt of the Ottoman bombardment in 1571, evidence of which is still very evident in the remaining walls, the building stood for a little over a hundred years.

There are 15th century fresco fragments clearly visible in the three apses, though these are fading fast and there is no move to preserve them.

St. Symeon is accessible from St. George, it is a church with twin apses and is most notable for being the last resting place in Cyprus of St. Epiphanios one time Bishop of Salamis.

There are two other small churches nearby in what was once the Orthodox quarter of the city, Ayia Zoni, 14th C Byzantine, the church is intact and contains frescoes but is closed to the public. Close to it is another church of the same period, St. Nicholas (not to be confused with the catholic cathedral), a double-aisled church with two semi-circular apses and dome, otherwise a ruin.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: c. 1300
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Cyprus

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jagoda Kaszyńska (8 months ago)
Church ruins that we can see while walking around Famagusta. Parts of the building are preserved in quite good condition.
Denn (11 months ago)
The Church of St. George of the Latins, the first Catholic parish church in Famagusta, was built in the 40s of the 13th century. During construction, materials brought from the ruins of Salamis were used. During the Turkish siege of Famagusta in 1570-1571, the church was significantly destroyed. The Catholic Church of St. George was a classic example of late Gothic architecture, stylistically similar to the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, located to the south. As some researchers note, the image of the Church of St. George was inspired by its architects by the outlines of the Parisian Church of Sainte-Chapelle. Unfortunately, only the remains of the northern and eastern walls of the church and part of the excellent Gothic apse have survived to this day. It's a pity :( How great it would be if the old city in Famagusta, or at least a few key late Gothic buildings, were restored.
Peter Počuch (6 years ago)
Z tohto kostolíka veľa neostalo no napriek tomu má svoje kúzlo.
Bernd Frank (6 years ago)
Sehr schöne, alte Ruine
Nathalie Ritzmann (6 years ago)
Les ruines de cette église qui date de la fin du 13ème- début du 14ème siècle sont impressionnantes, surtout la nuit tombée. Camille Enlart, le fameux historien de l'art, a estimé que cette église enchanteresse a la place parfaite entre le passé et le futur de l'île.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Linderhof Palace

Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.

Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.