The Architecture and Painting of the Church of Saint Panteleimon in Veles by Andreja Damjanov
This monograph elaborates the first independent work of the Macedonian revival builder Andreja Damjanov - the Church of St. Panteleimon in Veles. Damjanov is one of the most important representatives of the Revival Movement in the Balkans whose work deserves attention, since it is an important segment which reflects on the cultural and artistic circumstances in Macedonia. The nineteenth century is characterised with focusing the architectural history on identifying specific national features rooted in the architectural styles from earlier periods, but it is also a period when builders increasingly focus on creating architectural styles that would simultaneously serve as a national determinant and a representative. It is in this period that the national architectural styles, especially in church construction, strive for their associative and inspiring connection, above all with the Byzantine architectural heritage.
Conditioned by the complexity of the historical context at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, different stylistic tendencies of religious building construction emerged in most European and Balkan countries. The presence of Macedonian master builders in different cultural environments, their contacts with builders from the wider Mediterranean region, as well as their ability to incorporate stylistically formed architectural elements outsourced from various architectural environments confirm this complexity of the developmental lines of the church building.
An Ottoman Era Town in the Balkans
An Ottoman Era Town in the Balkans: The Case Study of Kavala presents the town of Kavala in Northern Greece as an example of Ottoman urban and residential development, covering the long period of Kavala’s expansion over five centuries under Ottoman rule. Kavala was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1387 to 1912. In the middle of the sixteenth century, Ibrahim Pasha, grand vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, contributed to the town's prosperity and growth by the construction of an aqueduct. The Ottomans also rebuilt and extended the existing Byzantine fortress.The book uncovers new findings about Kavala, and addresses the key question: is there an authentic "Ottoman" built environment that the town and its architecture share? Through the examination of travellers’ accounts, historical maps, and archival documents, the Ottoman influences on the urban settlement of Kavala are assessed. From its original founding by the Ottomans in the late fourteenth century to the nineteenth century when the expansion of tobacco production in the area transformed its prosperity, the development of Kavala as an Ottoman era town is explored.The book will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Ottoman history and urban history.