| Sainte-Croix Church of Tunis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Church |
| Location | Tunis |
| Area | Medina of Tunis |
| Built | 19th century |
The Sainte-Croix Church of Tunis is located in the medina of Tunis in Tunisia. It is a Roman Catholic church that was built in 1837 before the establishment of the French protectorate. Given to the Tunisian government in 1964, it now houses offices of the municipality.
First buildings
This church is the first chapel since the disappearance of Christian communities in the eleventh century. The appearance of this church was due to the settle of a large convicts of Christian slaves who were captured before.[1]
Building the church
The increase in the Christian population makes it necessarily to build a bigger place of worship rather than the small chapels that were built for Christian slaves before.
History
It was built without any external religious symbols outside so as to not offend the local population. However, the building quickly faced structural problems, as seen by Armand de Flaux who visited the church in 1861. Construction began and the new building is completed in 1865.[2]
The neighborhood was populated by poor families and after the arrival of many Christian families from Malta or Italy there was increased local desire for Christian worship. Accordingly, the church was decorated with sixty statues of French, Sicilian and Maltese saints in a short time.
a postcard showing the church
The access to the church
The architecture in the church
Outside view
The interior of the church
The entrance door of the church
See also
References
- ↑ Flaux, Armand de (1819–1883) Auteur du texte (1865). La régence de Tunis au dix-neuvième siècle / par A. de Flaux.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Guérin, Victor (1821–1891) Auteur du texte (1886). La France catholique en Tunisie, à Malte et en Tripolitaine / par Victor Guérin,...
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)