Tophane-i Amire

Categories: Cultural Center, Museum

About the place

“Cannons Casting Buildings”, known as Tophane-i Amire, were in use of the Ministry of Defense for long years and active from the conquest date of İstanbul to the establishment date of Republic of Turkey.  At first it was planned that the building site was going to be converted as Military Museum but then with the protocol signed by Military Museum authorities and Mimar Sinan University in 1992, the site was left to the usage of the university.

The construction of the cannons casting site in the neighbourhood, known as “Metopon” before the conquest of İstanbul and as “Tophane” during the Ottoman Empire, was ordered by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror.  Starting with the construction of the casting building and the artillery barracks, the site enlarged with the addition of other buildings.  The regeneration movement took place in III.Selim period, had effects on the army as well and in addition to cannons casting buildings in Tophane, the Artillery Barracks were built.  The cannons were cast in cannons casting buildings and the soldiers were trained in barracks.  There are many visual documents on the construction of Tophane neighbourhood, belonging to this period.

The formation of Tophane neighbourhood and the construction of the cannons casting buildings with the other buildings belonging to army should be handled as the pieces of the same project that was designed and applied consciously within a time frame.  This designing period, starting straight away from the selection of the area, developed in time and formed a neighbourhood that was active in military and industry.  Among these buildings, only 2 cannons casting buildings on the slope of the hill and “Tophane Kasrı” (small palace like), dating back to 1851, were remained today.

Today, the buildings are used by Mimar Sinan University, Fine Arts Faculty as exhibition space.

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