Explore the life of architect Alphonse Cingria, his family, and their historic mansion in Fenerbahçe, Istanbul, highlighting their contributions.
This article describes Gabriel Couteaux, who was elected as the Chairman of the 'Chambre Maritime des Compagnies de Navigation Etrangères Constantinople - Foreign Shipowners and Agents Association' established on November 6, 1902, and his mansion in Fenerbahçe.
He passed away in 1981. His grave is located in the Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery.
The architect-engineer Alphonse M. Cingria, who built the mansion in Fenerbahçe and lived there with his wife Anne Cingria and children, was a versatile Belgian architect, engineer, and designer who lived in the Ottoman capital of Istanbul during the last quarter of the 19th century and provided significant infrastructure services to the city. He played critical roles in giving the Galata, Karaköy, and Pera regions a modern European appearance.
He is also the uncle of the famous Swiss writer Charles-Albert Cingria.
Life and Period in Istanbul
The Cingria family's roots trace back to Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and are known as a wealthy Levantine family that settled in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire. Alphonse Cingria was educated at the Saint-Benoit French High School in Galata, one of Istanbul's long-established institutions.
After graduating, he specialized in architecture and engineering and became known for his work on the construction of the Galata Quays in collaboration with Marius Michel Pasha during the city's most vibrant period (between 1880 and 1900), particularly in the Pera region.
Charles-Albert Cingria
Charles-Albert Cingria was one of the 'Italo-Franco-Levantines' living in Istanbul.
The family's home was located in Nişantaşı Pangaltı.
The Cingria family migrated from the Ragusa region of Croatia to Istanbul, and his mother was Polish. However, he was actually Swiss, having lived for a while in Fribourg and passed away in Genoa (1883-1954). Unlike architect/engineer Alphonse Cingria, he was known for his monographic works.
Main Engineering and Architectural Projects of Adolphe M. Cingria
Adolphe Cingria graduated from the famous French engineering school Architect et Ingenieur de l’Ecole Centrale - École Centrale des Arts et Métiers in Paris. He participated in the Galata Quays Sewage Project (1900) during the construction and modernization of Istanbul's quays, working under the leadership of French engineer L. Guérard. The comprehensive sewage and infrastructure project he prepared for the Galata quays is considered one of the most advanced engineering applications of the time.
He managed the redesign and construction processes of the buildings of the Saint-Benoît French High School (1875-1880) in accordance with modern standards.
Pera and Galata Residences: He has a signature in the design of many masonry apartments and business centers built around Pera (Beyoğlu) for the Levantine bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century. Many of his designs were realized by the Italian architect and contractor Guglielmo Semprini. He took on the architectural drawings and site management for a school building and teacher accommodations for the Catholic/Latin community's children living in the Kadıköy region.
Archives of Alphonse M. Cingria
Period documents related to Alphonse Cingria's financial and professional activities in Istanbul are still preserved today. For instance, in the Ottoman Bank Archive under Salt Research, there are shares, bond deposit cards, and official correspondence in French (Letter C) belonging to him, which are accessible to researchers.
According to the record in Rafael Cervati's 'Annuaire Oriental du Commerce l'Industrie de l'administration et de la Magistrature' from 1885, Architect Alphonse M. Cingria's office was located on the second floor of Helbig Han on Saint-Louis Street in Galata.
Again, according to the record in Rafael Cervati's 'Annuaire Oriental du Commerce l'Industrie de l'administration et de la Magistrature' from 1889, Alphonse M. Cingria, a graduate of 'Architect et Ingenieur de l’Ecole Centrale des arts et métiers,' is registered at Grand Rue (Beyoğlu) No. 371.
In the 1900 address, his profession is recorded as 'Consulting Engineer of the Société des Quais, Docks et Entrepôts de Constantinople - Istanbul Quay, Dock and Warehouse Company' and the address is noted as 'Alléon Street 7 Perpignani Apartment.' There is a record of the Cingria family living at Pangaltı Nişantaşı No. 21 in 1921.
Cingria's architectural style allows for more detailed information about the exact current locations (addresses) of the buildings he designed. The first general assembly of the Société Anonyme Ottomane des Quais, Docks et Entrepôts de Constantinople, in which he served as Secretary General, was held on September 26 in Istanbul. The meeting was chaired by Marius Michael Pasha, with Gabriel Aubaret (Vice President), Felix Granet, and Alphonse M. Cingria as Secretary General, representing Duparchy with Aubineau and Board Member Delpech representing Granet. (Source - Le Journal des chemins de fer, des mines et des travaux publics, June 6, 1891)
According to The Levant Herald and Eastern Express, the first part of the construction was delivered to the Nafia Nezareti commission on June 26, 1899, with the ceremony attended by company director M. Granet, chief inspector Verlaque, and other officials (Source: The Constantinople Quays). The second part of the construction, due to the experience gained from the construction of the Galata Quay, was built in a shorter time under the chief engineering of Alphonse M. Cingria, and the construction of Eminönü Quay, which has a total length of three hundred seventy meters, was completed in 1900.
For family life, they purchased a 40-acre plot of land located at the edge of Fenerbahçe and Kalamış, where they built an Ottoman-style wooden/masonry mansion and lived there with their family during the summer months.
The mansion in Fenerbahçe is known as Madam Anne Cingria's Mansion (commonly referred to as Çıngırlı Mansion or Çıngırlı's Garden).
The large land in Fenerbahçe was transferred to Alphonse Cingria and his wife Anna Cingria through a deed dated 1873-1874, while it belonged to the Yavuz Sultan Selim Foundation. Alphonse M. Cingria later built a magnificent mansion on this land.
In the work titled 'History of Shipowners and Agents' published by the Shipowners and Agents Association, it is recorded that Cingria was a Belgian engineer and that his wife Anne Cingria was of French nationality. Some sources indicate that Anne Cingria was Belgian, while the primary historical compilation states that she was French.
The mansion was purchased by Sakıp Sabancı in 1986 and changed hands again in 2001. It is necessary to conduct comprehensive research on 'the complete biography of Madam Anne Cingria and the genealogy of the Cingria family in Istanbul' by investigating particularly the Ottoman Archive, Levantine family records, Istanbul French/Belgian consulate records, Galata Quay company records, old newspapers, and 19th-century Istanbul almanacs.
The assumption that the Cingria family is actually of Swiss origin is mentioned on the Levantine Heritage Foundation (Craig Encer) website...
In this source, while discussing the mansion of another member of the Cingria family named Albert Cingria in the Fenerbahçe research, it is stated that the Cingria family is of Swiss origin, but three of the family's children acquired French citizenship, and in the next generation, Albert's sons Alexander and Charles returned to Swiss citizenship. Later, this property passed into the ownership of Gustave Couteaux, a lawyer, businessman, and ship broker of Belgian origin.
1873–1874: Purchase of the Fenerbahçe Land
The most important date in Madame Anne Cingria's life is 1873-1874. In the document study I conducted regarding Gabriel Couteaux, it is stated that the land of approximately 40 acres in Fenerbahçe initially belonged to the Yavuz Sultan Selim Foundation.
The land was sold to Madame Anne Cingria with a deed dated 1873-1874. This information is extremely important for understanding Anna Cingria's economic and social status in Istanbul.
This very large land encompassed a significant portion of Fenerbahçe, was close to the sea, and was later transformed into a large mansion and garden. After acquiring the land, a large mansion was built here. Sources describe the architectural character of the mansion as a Levantine mansion built in the Ottoman style.
According to some documents left by Gabriel Couteaux, the ground floor of the mansion was paved with large rectangular Maltese stones. There was a hall accessed by a wooden staircase. On either side of the hall were large rooms. The rooms contained double-door cupboards and wardrobes.
Wide Romanian timber was used on the floors instead of parquet. The kitchen was a separate structure in the garden. The tall brick chimney could be seen from afar. These features indicate that the structure is a combination of Ottoman residential architecture and the Levantine lifestyle rather than a classic European villa.
Over time, the mansion has been known as 'Cingria Mansion,' 'Red Mansion,' and 'Çıngırlı's Garden.'
Living Arrangement of the Cingria Family
According to the document studies I conducted regarding Gabriel Couteaux, the Cingria family lived in Fenerbahçe during the summer months and in their home on Alyon Street in Beyoğlu during the winter months.
This is consistent with the lifestyle of wealthy Levantine families in Istanbul at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Indeed, most families returned to Beyoğlu during the winter months. Only the Levantines living in Moda, most of whom were English, continued their lives in Moda year-round. While Fenerbahçe was used as a summer and vacation area, Pera/Beyoğlu was the social and commercial center of the city. Another wooden house belonging to the Cingria family was inhabited by Carmelite Nuns (Osman Öndeş 'Kadıköy’s Summer Resort Moda' - K Publishing).
Source: SeaNews Türkiye