TCDD Railways Museum İzmir
Across from the important cultural heritage of Alsancak Train Station in Izmir, a building in Bagdad now serves as a museum. The Izmir TCDD Museum and Art Gallery, a memory of railways, welcomes visitors with true witnesses of history.
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Alsancak Train Station is the starting point of the first railway line in Anatolia. In addition to playing an active role in the development and rapid shaping of Izmir’s economy in the 19th century, it is also an important cultural heritage of the city. Before the station was even built, the area around the station, which was a residential area for industrial facilities and workers at flour mills, also witnessed the settlement of Levantine families. In the early 1800s, English families lived in the buildings in the area. In 1857, the foundation of the Ottoman Empire’s first railway, the Izmir-Aydin line, was laid, and Punta (Alsancak) Station began operating one year later.
Alex Baltazzi begins the section on Alsancak Train Station in his book “Alsancak 1482 Street Memories” with the following lines by Kosmas Politis: “The area around Punta (Alsancak) Station was one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city with its large houses made of stone or marble in shades of gray and green. In the station square adorned with tall cypress trees, horse-drawn carriages waited for passengers getting off the train. The train was quietly whistling. There was a sense of calm and grandeur.
Now, while there are no longer carriages waiting in front of the station, and the silence has given way to heavy traffic, the station and its surroundings continue to offer a nostalgicically scenic view. The Alsancak Station, which has stood tall since then, and the structures around it constitute Izmir’s cultural heritage. The station, which is an integral part of the city’s identity and still hosts many passengers and trains, is accompanied by the clock tower that signals the time of travel.
Adres: Atatürk Caddesi No: 444 Gar Karşısı Alsancak-İZMİR
Contact: +90 232 464 31 31 / 4520