Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage

Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, also known as Prinkipo Palace or Büyükada Greek Orphanage has a unique location on the Manastır Hill of Büyükada. The architect of the Prinkipo Greek Orphanage, commissioned by a French company as a hotel between 1898 and 1899, is the famous Alexandre Vallaury. The orphanage, which is still worth seeing even though it is not used today, is under the control of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. According to some claims, the most distinctive characteristics of Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, considered the largest wooden building in the world, is that it is the world's first multi-storey wooden building.

The first owner of the Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, which was designed and built as a hotel under the name of "Prinkipo Palace" in the first place, but later passsed into other hands due to lack of necessary permissions, was a Greek woman named Eleni Zarifi. In fact, the orphanage, which served in the Balıklı Greek Hospital in Yedikule and moved to its current building in 1902, was used as Kuleli Military School during the First World War. Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, which has a magnificent appearance even though it has a simple design, was opened as an "orphanage" in 1903 with a big ceremony.

Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, which opened its doors to Greek immigrants for a while, was transferred to Heybeliada and the building was completely closed and evacuated in the 1960s. Although the building, built in a wooden carcass system in general terms, is essentially qualified as five-storey, it has the characteristic of being six-storey on the side parts. An administrative building was added later to this magnificent building, which immediately catches the glimpse through bird's-eye view of Büyükada, and after a while it was used as a primary school. You need to climb the hill to see the Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, which has survived until today with the building added later.