Demre St. Nicholas Church: Russian Repairs and Conservation in the Longest Century

Abstract

This study investigates the 19th-century Russian restoration of the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey, within the framework of evolving international conservation practices and Ottoman heritage policies. Through archival analysis, travelers’ accounts, and comparative architectural evaluation, the research reveals how geopolitical rivalries and ideological agendas shaped the church’s transformation. While European nations like Italy, France, and England institutionalized conservation ethics in the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire’s delayed adoption of systematic policies until the 1869 Antiquities Regulation allowed foreign interventions to proceed unchecked. Russian efforts, initiated in 1850s preserved the church structurally but imposed radical alterations which compromised historical authenticity. The Ottomans countered through militarized control of strategic sites like Andriake Port, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate resisted Russian hegemony to safeguard religious identity. Archival documents underscore the church’s role as a contested space, reflecting Trigger’s paradigm of archaeology as a tool of nationalism and imperialism. This case study illuminates the duality of conservation as both a technical and political practice, where preservation and power intersect. By exposing the tensions between authenticity, ideology, and legacy, the study contributes to broader discourses on heritage management, urging a re-evaluation of conservation as a dynamic socio-political process rather than a mere technical endeavor.