Zographeion College ( el, Ζωγράφεια Διδασκαλεία) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

educational institution that operated from 1873 to 1891 in the village of

Qestorat Qestorat ( rup, Chiãsturat or ) is a community of the former Lunxhëri municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Gjirokastër. From 1874 to 1891 the villag ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in modern southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It was named after its sponsor

Christakis Zografos Christakis Zografos ( el, Χρηστάκης Ζωγράφος, tr, Hristaki Zoğrafos Efendi; 1820 – 19 August 1898) was an Ottoman Greek banker, benefactor and one of the distinguished personalities of the Greek community of Constantinople ( ...

. In the 18 years of its existence, it provided 400 teachers to the Greek schools of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

as well as to the rest of the Greek world.

Background

The initiative was undertaken by the benefactor and native of

. Zografos was at that time a distinguished businessman in the Ottoman capital,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, and sponsored the erection of various cultural and educational institutions of the local Greek communities, such as the Zographeion Lyceum in the Ottoman capital. In 1869 he founded a primary Greek school in his hometown.

Institutions

The Zographeion College was established at 1873 and aimed at training teachers for the Greek schools of the wider region. The teacher's school was built next to the existing kindergarten, primary, secondary and female schools, which formed altogether an imposing structure. Most of the teachers of the Zographeion were graduates of notable Greek schools, like the

Zosimaia School The ''Zosimaia'' School ( el, Ζωσιμαία Σχολή, ''Zosimaía Scholí'') of Ioannina (in Epirus) has been one of the most significant Greek middle-level educational institutions (high schools) during the last period of Ottoman rule in th ...

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

and the

Phanar Greek Orthodox College Phanar Greek Orthodox College or Phanar Roman Orthodox Lyceum ( tr, Özel Fener Rum Lisesi), known in Greek as the Great School of the Nation and Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople ( el, Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή, ''Megáli t ...

(Constantinople). The main goal of the institution was to provide national and religious education to the personnel that would teach to the Greek schools of the region. Moreover, Zografos provided on annual base scholarships to 60 assiduous students, 30 females and 30 males, with complete coverage of their living costs.

Disagreements and end of operation

The College was a field of Greek-Albanian cultural conflict: on the one hand,

, founder and supporter of the area's Greek character and the spread of Greek education and on the other hand,

Koto Hoxhi Konstandin Hoxhi, known as Koto Hoxhi (1824–1895) was an advocate of the Albanian language. He taught the language secretly to his students in Qestorat in Southern Albania. He was imprisoned and died in prison for his beliefs. Biography Koto Ho ...

, figure of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...

and some local pro-Albanian circles in Ottoman administration. The latter side, supported Albanian education and launched accusations against the Zographeion, claiming that the teaching stuff was fostering anti-Ottoman rebellious activities. On the other hand, the local Greek consulate and the Orthodox Bishop of Gjirokaster supported the educational activities of the College. Finally after intervention from Zographos the Ottoman authorities allowed the institution to continue its operation. Disagreements emerged when the newly installed Orthodox Bishop of Gjirokaster, Kosmas, accused the teaching stuff of the Zographeion to the Ottoman authorities, of being incapable to provide high level education and of anti-Ottoman activity. As a result of this situation, the Ottoman authorities closed the institution in 1891, while the death of Zografos in 1897 marked the definite end of this initiative. Until the collapse of the Socialist Republic of Albania (1945–1989), Zografos was the subject of negative propaganda in Albanian historiography, presented as enemy of the Albania nation, while people that bore the name Zografos were persecuted by the Socialist regime. However, today this situation has changed and the College facilities have been renovated and reopened as a museum.

Notable teachers

* Vasileios Papachristou

References

{{coord missing, Albania Education in the Ottoman Empire Buildings and structures in Gjirokastër 1797 establishments in Europe 1769 disestablishments in Europe 18th-century establishments in Greece