St. John Baptist Church is one of the most impressive architectural structures of Buca. The church is still actively open for worship, is considered a cultural heritage value that carries a lot of information about the regarding bygone era of Buca and Izmir. The building was built as a small chapel in 1834 so that Protestants living in Buca could carry out their worship, and in 1865 it was converted into a church in its present form. The church was transferred to Buca Municipality in 1960 due to the decreasing congregation and was used by Buca Municipality as a Marriage Office and Buca Cultural Center until 2001.
The church was reopened for worship in 2001. The largest feature of the St.John Baptist Church is known as the cruciform plan structure. The interior ceiling compartment of the Neo-Gothic planned structure is worth seeing with its wooden decor. There is a historical piano in the church, of which there are two in the world.
St.John Baptist Church, which has a quite extensive garden, is also home to the tombs of many famous Levantine families who lived in Buca in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and pioneered important events for Buca and İzmir. Among the famous Levantine families whose grave structures you can see in the cemetery in the garden are the Rees, Decong, Forbes, Giraud and Gouth families.
The shapes of the graves, grave decorations, burial shapes, age groups are important in terms of giving an idea of the life of Buca and Izmir in the past period.
Where is the St. John Baptist Church? 📍
St. John Baptist Church Visiting Hours 🕖
St. John Baptist Church can be visited by appointment with the guidance of the church pastor.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Sunday: 12.00-17.00
Telephone : +90 (232) 440 22 22
How to get to St. John the Baptist Church? 🚌
Bus: You can reach St. John Baptist Church by taking the ESHOT buses numbered 515,353 and 878 getting off at the 40066 İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Faculty bus stop and taking a 5-minute walking.
