CHURCH BUILDING
Union Church of Istanbul (Dutch Chapel)
Istanbul · Protestant
- Locality
- Istanbul
- Tradition
- Protestant
- Type of place
- CHURCH BUILDING
- Coordinates
- 41.03048° N, 28.97619° E
Identity checked:
History: Union Church of Istanbul (Dutch Chapel)
The Union Church of Istanbul, an international Protestant congregation, worships in the Dutch Chapel on İstiklal Avenue, in the grounds of the Consulate General of the Netherlands. The stone building dates from 1711, when the Dutch envoy had a store built to protect papers and furniture from fire; after the envoy’s wooden palace burned again in 1831, it was fully converted into a chapel. The congregation, begun around 1831 by families of American missionaries, has met there since 1857.
An interesting detail
It is regarded as the oldest existing Protestant congregation in Türkiye, and each week it prays for the Dutch king in thanks for the use of the chapel.