Sursock Palace (French: ''Palais Sursock''), is a grand residence located on

Rue Sursock Rue Sursock is a historic street in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. Named after one of Beirut's most prominent families, the Sursock family, the street is home to many of Beirut's beautiful historic mansions that were built in the 18th a ...

in the city of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. The palace, which was completed in 1860 by Moïse Sursock, was owned by Lady Cochrane Sursock, an advocate of preserving historic buildings in Lebanon. The palace, a symbol of the

Sursock family The Sursock family (also spelled Sursuq) is a Greek Orthodox Christian family from Lebanon, and used to be one of the most important families of Beirut. Having originated in Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire, the family has lived in Bei ...

's rich history, is located on the historic Sursock Street, in the

Rmeil Rmeil ( ar, الرميل) is one of the neighborhoods of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. It is located near Ashrafieh, and Saifi. The neighborhood is known for its Greek Orthodox churches such as Saint Georges and Saint Nicolas. Cultural areas ...

district of Beirut. Sursock House is surrounded by gardens that can be hired for special events, such as weddings. The palace faces the

Sursock Museum The Sursock Museum ( ar, قصر سرسق), which is officially known as the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, is a modern art and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon. History In 1912, the wealthy and prominent Lebanese aristocrat Nicolas I ...

, a villa from 1912 that was bequeathed to the city of Beirut by Nicolas Sursock and became a museum in 1961. After the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, it took 20 years of careful restoration to restore the palace before it reopened in 2010. It was damaged during the

2020 Beirut explosions On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 30 ...

, but there are plans to rebuild the palace.

References

{{coords, 33.8934, 35.5175, display=title Sursock House Sursock House (Lebanon) Houses completed in 1860 19th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria Sursock family

External links

Images of the Sursock house and museum following the August 2020 Beirut explosion.
from

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

newspaper.