The Wiener Bankverein in Karaköy Redux

My mother worked at the Ziraat Bank. (old The Wiener Bankverein or Bank-Verein [1] 1912 building).

Mavi Boncuk |

Karaköy Mosque stood behind the bank building until 1959. Build during the reign of . Abdülhamit the second by the royal architect Raimondo D'Aronco[1] it was dismantled during the massive modernisation that caused many architectural treasures to dissappear. With plans to be transfered to Kınalıada, one of the Princes islands the transport ship listed and lost its unbalanced cargo during the short trip.

One of the marble pices saved is in the courtyard of the Kınalıada Mosque. It's intricately carved ebony mihrab/prayer niche can be seen at 'daki Yahya Kethüda Mosque in Kasımpaşa.

[1]Wiener Bank- Verein. branches in Istanbul and Izmir.The Wiener Bankverein or Bank-Verein (WBV, lit. 'Viennese Bank Union') was a major bank in the Habsburg Monarchy and the First Austrian Republic, founded in 1869. In 1888 it was the fourth-largest bank of Austria-Hungary by market capitalization, behind the Austro-Hungarian Bank, the Länderbank, and the Creditanstalt.

The Wiener Bankverein's creation was sponsored in 1869 by the Allgemeine Bodencreditanstalt, which had been established in Vienna in 1863.[3] In 1871, with assistance from Anglo-Austrian Bank and Darmstädter Bank, it sponsored the creation of a joint-stock bank in Constantinople, the Austro-Ottomanische Bank;  but that venture soon faltered and was acquired by the Imperial Ottoman Bank in 1874.

In 1906, it returned to Constantinople and opened a branch office there, soon followed by the construction of a prominent branch building inaugurated in 1912. On 25 July 1914, the prospect of impending war triggered a bank run at the Wiener Bankverein's branch in Constantinople, which was subsequently closed on 1 August 1914. The Wiener Bankverein [Vienese banking trust] branch in Constantinople opened a branch in Smyrna in 1910. After the First World War was lost, the bank had lost its function as a link between Vienna and the Orient. The Wiener Bankverein was therefore forced to cede the branches in Constantinople and Smyrna to a related French bank for around 7 million francs.

1895 Republic of Turkey Ziraat Bank Building on R. Huber maps

1906 C.E. Goad Istanbul Insurance Map Karaköy Square and the Credit Lyonnais building seen on the site of the building.

Late 19th century-20th. Karaköy Square and Credit Lyonnais building sign at the turn of the century.

Le Crédit lyonnais au Levant : Constantinople (Istanbul), Smyrne (Izmir) et Jérusalem. 

[2] Raimondo Tommaso D’Aronco (1857–1932) was an Italian architect renowned for his building designs in the style of Art Nouveau. He was the chief palace architect to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in Istanbul, Turkey for 16 years.

Art Nouveau was first introduced to Istanbul by d'Aronco, and his designs reveal that he drew freely on Byzantine and Ottoman decoration for his inspiration. D'Aronco made creative use of the forms and motifs of Islamic architecture to create modern buildings for the city.

The buildings, which he designed at Yıldız Palace, were European in style. The best known of these are Yildiz Palace pavilions and the Yildiz Ceramic Factory (1893–1907), the Janissary Museum and the Ministry of Agriculture (1898), the fountain of Abdulhamit II (1901), Karakoy Mosque (1903), the mausoleum for the African religious leader Sheikh Zafir (1905–1906), tomb within the cemetery of Fatih Mosque (1905), Cemil Bey House at Kireçburnu (1905), clock tower for the Hamidiye-i Etfal Hospital (1906). Casa Botter (1900–1901), a seven-story workshop and residence building in Istiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu, which he designed for the sultan’s Dutch fashion tailor M. Jean Botter, represents a turning point in D’Aronco’s architecture.