Agios Nikolaos Church and the Church of the Dormition in Karlovasi were both designed by architect Angelos Angelidis (Άγγελος Αγγελίδης, see previous page) in the late 19th to early 20th century, when the port town was thriving economically from shipping and its tanning industry. The ruins of the factories and tanneries and the mansions of the merchants can still be seen near the port.
Detailed information about the history of Angelidis' churches on Samos is difficult to find, and I have not yet discovered in which order they were designed or built. However, Agios Nikolaos appears to be more ambitious in design, more elegant, its proportions more harmonious, and features some more advanced features than his other churches. This could be the culmination of the development of his design ideas, or it may be that he just had a better budget.
Although the site on which it was built is larger than that available for the others, and includes a large garden which surrounds the building, the church seems more compact.
Like the other churches, it is a tall stone building topped by a brightly painted blue and white dome. In this case the blue appears more turquoise, although this may be a trick of the light. The dome is pierced by tall arched windows, whereas the windows of his other churches are placed around the drum on which the domes sit. The tall supporting drum itself also has windows above which are four half domes.
Twin belltowers have been built directly above the first level of the front (west) of the building, tightly framing the dome. The right (northern) tower features a clock with four faces, at the time considered a modern, innovative - and expensive - feature for a building.
As at the Church of the Dormition in Neo Karlovasi, grey marble columns with ionic capitals have been used to support arches at the entrance, and the widows are vertical rows of small, simple panes set in stone.
The church's location allowed the architect to plan the grand facade and the main entrance to directly face the road to the port, and the generous space around it allows a good view of the entire exterior.
Since Karlovasi's bigger churches are the largest, grandest and most visible buildings in the town, as in other towns and villages on Samos, there can be no doubt that they were meant to impress as status symbols for the island's communities and Orthodox Christianity during a period when Samians were hoping for independence from the Ottoman Empire. |
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The dome of
Agios Nikolaos Church
For further information about
Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas),
the patron saint of mariners, see:
Kastellorizo gallery, page 99. |
