Lusignan House () is a
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in the
Yeni Jami quarter of
North Nicosia
North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( ; ) refers to the largest settlement and the ''de facto'' capital of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality. , North Nicos ...
. It is located on the Yeni Cami Street.
[
]
History
The house was built in the 15th century as a residential building for the Latin nobles during the Lusignan
The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...
period. After the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, the house was modified and a ''cumba'' (bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...
in Ottoman and Turkish architecture
The architecture of Turkey includes heritage from the ancient era of Anatolia to the present day. Significant remains from the Greco-Roman period are located throughout the country. The Byzantine period produced, among other monuments, the cel ...
) was added. By 1872, the house was in a dilapidated state and was inhabited by the Turkish family of "Kaloria Al Effendi". In 1958, the house was transferred to the possession of the Cypriot government by the Classen family, which then used it as their place of residence and a weaving workshop. Subsequently, the house was partitioned, and after the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the ...
, used by refugees. In the 1980s, it was emptied by the Turkish authorities.[ In 2013, the building underwent another renovation, which enabled it to be used for formal social events. There is also a café on the premises that serves traditional Cypriot food.]
Architecture
The two-floor building is a combination of the Lusignan Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
and Ottoman architecture
Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...
. The entrance is through a Gothic arched doorway with Lusignan coats of arms carved on top. Some of these coats of arms are not well-preserved. On the ground floor, there is a large living room. In 1872, Archduke Louis Salvator reported that the rooms had ornate windows and carvings, some reminiscent of the Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...
i style, and doorways adorned with reliefs and carvings in the Turkish and Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
styles. He wrote in depth about richly carved shelves. In 1987, Haşmet Muzaffer Gürkan reported that much of these had not survived, but those that did survive included the ornately carved and painted ceiling in the upper floor.[
In the yard, next to the staircase that leads to the upper floor, there is a pool. Within the yard there are also some ]ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
walls and arches, which, according to Gürkan, are remnants from "very old times".[ The inner courtyard has a rectangular plan and these arches could have previously been a part of the extensions of the mansion.][
]
References
{{coord missing, Cyprus