Feriköy Protestant Cemetery
Feriköy Protestant Cemetery (Turkish: Feriköy Protestan Mezarlığı) officially called Evangelicorum Commune Coemeterium is a Christian cemetery in Istanbul, Turkey. As its name indicates, it is the final resting place of Protestants residing in Istanbul. The cemetery is in the Feriköy neighborhood in the Şişli district of Istanbul, nearly 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Taksim Square.
| Feriköy Protestant Cemetery | |
|---|---|
The main gate of Istanbul Protestant Cemetery | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1859 |
| Location | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Coordinates | 41°03′14″N 28°59′02″E
Feriköy Protestant Cemetery Feriköy Protestant Cemetery (Istanbul) |
| Type | Protestant Cemetery |
| Style | 19th Century European |
In 1857 the Ottoman government donated the land for this cemetery to the leading Protestant powers of that time, the United Kingdom, Prussia, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Hanseatic League together with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. Since then, roughly 5,000 individuals have been interred here.
In Istanbul, all members of the Reformed Churches as well as Lutherans and Anglicans belong to the Protestant Cemetery in Feriköy, and burial plots are distributed by the Consulates General of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary and Switzerland. They exchange the task of management biennially.
The cemetery contains examples of many different styles of memorial from the 17th century to the present day. The stones propped up along the walls are some of the last links to the old Frankish burial ground in the Grand Champs des Morts, Pera's 'Great Field of the Dead', which was lost to urban development during the 19th century.