Cathedral of Arapgir

Arapgir, Turkey

No longer standing

Demolished or destroyed.

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ReferenceKulturenvanteri↗

The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Arapgir, Turkey, was a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic cathedral built in 1249 as one of the largest churches in Western Armenia, with capacity for some 3,000 worshippers. Constructed in the Armenian architectural tradition, the cathedral endured attack, looting, and burning during the Armenian genocide of 1915, after which it was repaired and converted to a school. In 1950 the Municipality of Arapgir voted to demolish the structure, and on September 18, 1957, it was destroyed by dynamite. The land subsequently passed into private hands, and only ruins remain at the site today.