Government House

Government House

We are at Government House, prime location to have witnessed history of Izmir in last two hundred years. Of course, this building is imprinted on our memories with the moment when Turkish Army liberated Izmir and raised Turkish Flag up to the flagpole on 9 September 1922.

This was the mansion of Izmir voivodes or ayans(1), namesake building for the district. This building was on lease from Ali Pasha and Lady Ayse foundations; most recent tenant of this mansion and premises was Katipzade Mehmet, hence it was known as Katipzade Mansion. Katipzade family ran Izmir from late 18th century to 1816. During Mahmud II's efforts for modernization of the state, Katipzade Mehmet was executed, and reign of this family had come to an end.

This three storey wooden mansion has undergone extensive repair works in 1819, and then it was assigned as residence for local administrators of Izmir. When Izmir was named as administrative centre of Aydin Province, established by Act of Provinces dated 1867, this mansion was on focus again. It was in serious disrepair and not suitable for high ranking officials of the city, so it was completely demolished in late 1867. It was rebuilt as a masonry building in 1869-1872, according to the plans drawn by French architect Ron Vitali.

When it was first built, there were gardens and ponds in front of Government House, but they had been removed in the months following the declaration of second constitutional monarchy (1908). This mansion stood tall until the great fire of 1970; a few months after the fire it was demolished. The building you see today was built after 1980, faithful to original form and structure. Restoration works on Government House started in January 2018 are still ongoing.

1 Architectural, sculptural, and painting style that admires classical styles and imitates Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and classical approach that was developed in Italy in 16th century (Renaissance).