History

The Galata School holds an important place among the educational institutions established by the Greek community during the occidentalization process of the Ottoman Empire. It was built with the support of the renowned benefactor of the time, Eleni Zarifis, who donated the land to the Greek community of Galata in order to contribute to the modern education and training of Greek children. The inauguration of the school building took place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, 1910.

The architects of the school were Patroklos Kambanakis and Stavros Christidis. Periklis Fotiadis acted as consultant architect. Marcos Langas, a prominent building contractor of the time, was entrusted with the implementation project. In 1958, due to the widening of the central avenue, the level of the road in front of the School was lowered to its present level. The necessary adjustment work was carried out by the civil engineer Savvas Panagiotidis.

The School was designed according to the neoclassical-eclectic architectural style of the era and is located in Galata, the historical trade and finance centre of Istanbul.

The School was designed according to the neoclassical-eclectic architectural style of the era and is located in Galata, the historical trade and finance centre of Istanbul.
The school suspended its educational activities in 1988 due to demographic problems; it operated as a kindergarten between 2000 and 2007, and was officially shut down in 2015.

The School, whose corridors echoed with the voices of children in the past, was immersed in silence for many years, until 2012, when it was returned to its rightful owner, the Istanbul Greek community. From that time on, and until the building’s restoration works started in 2019, the School has organized important cultural events and hosted important cultural activities of the city.

Restoration

The implementation of the renovation project has been initiated under the auspices of His All- Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. With the kind and generous sponsorship of Marina and Athanasios Martinos, and thanks to the valuable support and coordination of Murat Tabanlıoğlu of Tabanlıoğlu Architects and Penelis Consulting Engineers S.A (Prof. George Penelis, Dr. Gregory Penelis) who took into account the special qualities of the building, renovation works have been meticulously accomplished by Ark Construction.

Under its new corporate name ‘’The School’’ aims to operate as a cultural, artistic and educational space opening a new perspective that enriches the public life of the city. As an institution of Greek identity and cultural heritage, Galata Greek School embraces all Istanbulites, preserving its memory and its deep-rooted past.