The Construction, The Story and The Foundation Treatment of The Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

St. Stephen Church is one of the most important structures left in the this concrete jungle of a city, Istanbul. It was built 120 years ago by the Orthodox Bulgarian community on the shore of the Golden Horn. The church is also known as the Iron Church and it was reopened after a lengthy restoration process.


In the 19th century, the Orthodox churches in Istanbul performed sacraments in Greek. Therefore, the Bulgarians asked permission from the Fener Greek Patriarchate to establish an independent church in Istanbul in order to have the sacraments in their own language. But the Patriarchate rejected their wish. Thereupon, the Bulgarians decided to leave the Greek Patriarchate and have their own independent church.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Here is the untrue story of Bulgarians building a church for themselves known by the general public. From the negotitions between the Bulgarians and the Fener Patriarchate, Sultan Abdulaziz knows that building an independent church fort he Bulgarians was not granted. However, in order to not directly reject the wishes of the Bulgarians,The Sultan says, "I will let you build the chuch if you finish the construction in three months”. In those days it is not possible for such a construction to be completed within three months. The Bulgarians got the iron-made church in Vienna, shipped it through the Danube River and the Black Sea and had it at the shore of Golden Horn in exactly three months. With this incredible achievement, Sultan Abdulaziz keeps her promise and the church stays. Although this story is known and accepted by the general public, here is true story of this structure:

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

The 19th century was the period when the Panislavism era became very strong. The Bulgarians, who wanted to have the sacraments in their own language, asked the Fener Greek Patriarchate to build an independent church but the Patriarchate opposed the wishes of the Bulgarians. But the young Bulgarian state, who took Russia behind it, wanted to demonstrate a power over the Ottoman Empire.
In 1849 Stefan Vogoridis, the leader of the Bulgarian community in the Ottoman Empire, and then a deputy, received permission to build a church from Bâb-ı Âli. For the construction of the church, it also grants a 25-room house, two buldings which are built of stone, one wooden building, and a large courtyard.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Thus the Bulgarian leadership starts in 1850. The wooden church gets dedicated to the donor, St. Stephen. After 10 years, the Bulgarians declare that they will no longer accept the Fener Greek Patriarch as a religious leader. Fener Greek patriarch overthrows the Bulgarians in 1872. On top of that, the Bulgarians took permission from the Ottomans to make a bigger and more flamboyant church instead of the wooden church.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

When the permission is granted, the Bulgarians starts a competition for the construction of the church. The Armenian architect Hovsep Aznavur wins the contest, and the Austrian Rudolf Waagner Company wins the bid. Construction of the church takes 1.5 years. All the outer pillars, side walls, window edges, stairs, the bell-tower of the church and almost everything was made of iron,therefore it gets popular with the Iron Church name.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Since the location of the church is very close to the sea, the church is made entirely of iron instead of concrete against the erosion. The Waagner company prefabricated the church beforehand in their premises for testing. Afterwards the pieces are transported to Istanbul via the Danube River and the Black Sea. In 1898 the St. Stephen Church opened and the Patriarchate accepted the Iron Church in 1945.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

The only wooden part of the Neo-gothic and Neo-Baroque style built church is the altar it is covered with gold. The church signed a contract with a Muscovite fabricator for the icons and the painter Lebedev portrays these icons. The six bells, which are in the tower of the church and the largest weighting arounf 400 kg was poured in Russia.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

The material of the church which weighs 500 tons is brought to Istanbul by small ships. 325 piles made out of trees grown in Brazil were piled in the Golden Horn. The parts made of complex iron were mounted on the trees with screws, and a church was open to worship in 1898.

Iron Church, Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Due to the fact that trch was built on the sea, corrosion occurs in time, the iron on the building starts to melt. When the Golden Horn is arranged and due to the road built in front of the church, the trees that live in the sea no longer can not water and mudding accurs. The church begins to slip towards the sea. To prevent from sliding into the sea, in 2006 330 concrete piles were driven around the church. In addition, the area around the church was rehabilitated with the Jet grouting system.

At the time, there were 2 iron churchs in the whole world, and one disappear in time, the St. Stephen Church in Balat remained as the only iron church in the world. The three-domed and cross-shaped church attracted attention with its richness. The altar faces the Golden Horn. The bell tower is on the entrance gate and it is 40 meters high. The Iron Church was closed for restoration for 9 years and it reopened on January 7, 2018 for prayer and sightseeing. We will recommend you to visit this interesting and beautiful church when you are around Golden Horn, Istanbul.

We as Erke Group are proud to be part of that important and prestigius project with sea piles with SEMW Diesel Hammer and soil improvement with Soilmec JetGrouting sets.

Quotation: listelist.com / Nurten Bengi Aksoy