An example of railway architecture of the Early Republican Period from Eastern Anatolia: Erzurum Railway Station Building

The Industrial Revolution paved the way for changes and developments in architecture as well as engineering. New construction technologies and elements have led to the emergence of developing architectural types. This is undoubtedly the railway architecture that developed with the construction of railway lines for the purpose of carrying freight and passengers. In this phase, parallel to the rapid expansion of railway lines, new types of structures such as station buildings and railway stations emerged. The railway that emerged with the Industrial Revolution has given great speed and momentum to economic development all over the world, especially in Europe. The railway, which is an important invention for human history, has paved the way for many developments and has made positive contributions to the military and political status of countries as well as their economic situation. The importance of the railway, which was rapidly spreading in European countries, in terms of the Ottoman Empire catching up with the times was understood, and it was decided to start the construction of railway lines, primarily considering military and economic requirements. Railway construction was first started in the west and south of Anatolia as of the 19th century. In contrast, due to the lack of the necessary economic infrastructure at that time, the construction of the strategically important eastern line remained in the background; however, with the determination of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the Republican Period, the railway reached Erzurum with the construction of the Sivas-Erzurum line. It is seen that the station and station structures built during the Ottoman Empire period reflect the architectural style of the countries that received the railway privilege; it is understood that the First National Architecture Movement and the Second National Architecture Movement were effective in the construction of both new lines and station and station buildings in line with the nationalization policy during the Republican Period. The main aim of our thesis study is to produce an original work focusing on the Erzurum Train Station and examining the structure in all its details. In this direction, many sources have been reviewed, and through publications compiled by us, important data has been obtained regarding the construction process of the Erzurum Train Station, its architectural features, physical interventions in the structure, its original and current functions, registration status, and current usage situation. Based on this data, a structural analysis has been conducted. In our study, in the first section, information is given about the Early Republic Period Modern Turkish Architecture; construction innovations, architectural trends. In the second section, the construction process of the railways in Turkey is presented in chronological order. In the third section, information is given about the emergence of station buildings in general by mentioning the railway architecture and related concepts. The development of station buildings in the historical process in Turkey is mentioned with examples. In the fourth section, the history of Erzurum Station Building, which is our thesis subject, construction stages, architectural and plan features are explained in detail. In the conclusion section; the place of Erzurum Station Building in urban planning and its socio-cultural contributions to the city are mentioned, a comparison is made with structures with similar plan schemes and finally, attention is drawn to what needs to be done for protection. As a result, in our thesis study, Erzurum Train Station Building has been defined in terms of its plan and architectural features using the art historical method and a detailed current source has been presented regarding the structure. On the other hand; the history of the structure, the architects and engineers who designed the structure, the construction process, the extent to which it reflects the architectural styles of the Early Republican Period and the extent to which it contributed to the urban development of Erzurum in the Early Republican Period have been shed light on such issues.