Court cancels demolished beer factory’s allocation to Presidency of Religious Affairs

* Photo: Bomonti Hepimizin İnisiyatifi / Twitter

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After the warehouses of the Bomonti Beer Factory in İstanbul were handed over to the Presidency of Religious Affairs, they were demolished to construct "a small mosque, dorm, exhibition hall and car park". The İstanbul 12th Administrative Court has cancelled the allocation.

The court has also repealed the decisions of the İstanbul No. 2 Cultural Heritage Protection Board, which paved the way for the allocation.

The detailed ruling of the administrative court has underlined that allocating the warehouses of the factory for the act in question is not compatible with the original character of the other buildings.

The court has recalled that the construction of the Bomonti Beer Factory began in the 19th century and it was a part of a large complex that continued till the mid-20th century in the Republican period.

The İstanbul 12th Administrative Court has also indicated that the factory was officially registered as a cultural asset and it should be protected in consideration of values such as memory, originality and uniqueness. The court has noted that the act of allocating the factory "to construct a mosque" is not compatible with the original character of the buildings.

As reported by Canan Coşkun from Diken news website, the administrative court has found the allocation incompatible with the law on the grounds that the related act will lead to a different construction.

What happened?

Established in 1890 in the late Ottoman era, Bomonti Beer Factory was the first modern beer manufacturing facility in the Ottoman Empire. While the production was halted in 1991, the remaining buildings of the factory were handed over to the Presidency of Religious Affairs in 2019.

Having submitted a Parliamentary question within this context in late July 2020, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Ankara MP Filiz Kerestecioğlu also raised concerns that "the buildings of the Bomonti Beer Factory, which is an important part of the country's early industrial history and urban memory, started to be demolished a week before."

Addressing Minister of Environment and Urban Affairs Murat Kurum, she briefly shared the following information at the time:

"In fact, as noted by the Chamber of Architects and Chamber of Urban and Regional Planners, Bomonti Beer Factory as a public property and its vicinity have been registered as a 'cultural asset in need of preservation' by the İstanbul No. 1 Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

"However, in spite of this, a tender was held for the factory in 2009 and only a few buildings were left. These remaining buildings have been allocated to the Presidency of Religious Affairs with an irregular decision.

"Even though there are ongoing lawsuits against the demolition of the buildings and construction of a small mosque, dormitory and car park in their place, your Ministry has issued an official document permitting the demolition of remaining buildings. While your Ministry, as stipulated by its duties, has to work to protect architectural and cultural values, it is seen that it has drafted an unlawful document for demolition."

As indicated by the MP, while the judicial process was ongoing, the buildings of the factory were demolished in July 2020. (TP/SD)