Rusya’da 19. Yüzyılda Projede Kalan İki Cami
Abstract
Rusya’ya yüzyıllar boyunca başkentlik yapmış olan Petersburg’da, şehrin kuruluş yıllarından itibaren yerleşik bir Müslüman nüfus mevcuttur. 19. yüzyılın başından itibaren, şehirde yaşayan Müslümanların ibadet gereksinimlerini karşılamak amacıyla bir cami inşa edilmesine yönelik girişimler hızlanmış ise de, böyle bir proje ancak 20. yüzyılın başında gerçekleştirilebilmiştir. Ancak, inşa edilen bu camiden yüz yıl kadar önce, 19. yüzyılın başında, iki farklı mimar tarafından tasarlanan iki cami projesi daha vardır; her iki proje de çeşitli sebeplerle gerçekleştirilememiştir, fakat çizimleri günümüze ulaşmıştır. 1803 tarihli ilk projeyi tasarlayan Luigi Rusca, İsviçre kökenli İtalyan bir mimar olarak, 1780’lerden itibaren uzun yıllar boyunca Rusya’da çalışmıştır. 1804 tarihli ikinci projeyi tasarlayan Andrey Voronihin de, Çar I. Aleksandr döneminin gözde mimarlarındandır. Bu iki mimara ait uygulanmamış cami projelerinde, dönemin imar ve şehircilik politikaları doğrultusunda klasisist tutumun öne çıktığı görülür. Bu genel çizgi içinde, İslâm mimarisine daha yakın bir görünüm yakalamak için eklendiği anlaşılan sivri kemerli pencereler gibi bazı detaylar dikkati çeker, fakat her iki proje de minaresizdir. Birçok önemli İslâm şehri ile coğrafî yakınlığına ve tarihsel ilişkilere rağmen, söz konusu projelerin şekillendiği 19. yüzyıl başında, Rus mimarlık ortamında İslâm mimarisinin tanımlayıcı özellikleri veya bölgesel üslup ayrımları hakkında belirgin bir kavrayışın henüz oluşmadığı ya da dikkate alınmadığı görülmektedir. Bunun yerine, Avrupa’daki diğer dönem modalarını uyarlarken, İslâm mimarisi “uyarlamalarının” da Avrupa’dan naklen alındığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, uygulanmamış bu iki cami projesi, günümüze ulaşan çizimler ve diğer kaynaklar ışığında incelenmekte ve muhtemel esin kaynakları, dönemin mimarlık ortamı çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır.
Keywords
Two Unbuilt Mosques of The 19th Century in Russia
Abstract
Petersburg has had a settled Muslim population since the city’s founding years. Although attempts to build a mosque to meet the needs of Muslims accelerated from the beginning of the 19th century, such a project was only realized at the beginning of the 20th century. This mosque, which is still intact and functional today, was built in a very central area of the city and revisits the Timurid architectural style with a revivalist approach. However, about a hundred years before this mosque was built, there were two other mosque projects designed by two different architects at the beginning of the 19th century; neither project could be realized for various reasons, but the drawings of both projects have survived to the present day. Luigi Rusca, who designed the first project in 1803, was an Italian architect of Swiss origin, who worked in Russia for many years from the 1780s and planned many important buildings, some streets and squares. Andrey Voronikhin, who designed the second project in 1804, was one of the favorite architects of the reign of Tsar Alexander I and undertook many projects, especially in Petersburg and its surroundings; he stands out especially as the architect of the Kazan Cathedral, one of the most monumental and symbolic buildings of the city. The unrealized mosque projects of these two architects, who were among the most demanded and productive of their era, differ from their other projects in terms of function, but it is seen that the difference in function is not reflected much in the form. In line with the general architectural attitude at the time, the classicist approach is seen to be prominent in both projects. Within this framework, some details such as pointed arched windows seem to have been added to achieve an appearance closer to Islamic architecture. However, both projects are without minarets.
Despite the geographical proximity and historical relations with many important Islamic cities, it seems that at the beginning of the 19th century, when these two projects were prepared, a clear understanding of the defining characteristics of Islamic architecture or its regional stylistic distinctions had not yet been formed or was not taken seriously among Russian architects. The mosque built a hundred years later, at the beginning of the 20th century, would turn to a completely different approach under the influence of the changing political conditions and would directly reconsider a remarkable period of Islamic architecture; however, the two architects who designed the mosque projects in the 19th century seem to have been influenced by different sources. It may be thought that in those years, architects and administrators who were trying to create a city that seems closer to Western styles did not even feel the need to examine original Islamic architecture. Instead, it appears that Eastern and Islamic architectural “trends” were also imported from Europe, while adapting other Western styles. In this paper, these two unrealized mosque projects are examined in the light of surviving drawings and other documents, and possible sources of inspiration are discussed within the framework of the architectural culture of the period.
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