CLASSICISM, MODERNITY AND THE POWER OF THE STATE. THE MAUSOLEUM OF ATATÜRK IN ANKARA, PART ONE: ARCHITECTURE

This article analyses the Mausoleum of Atatürk (d. 1938) in Ankara, Turkey, from an architectural viewpoint. Constructed between 1944 and 1953, the mausoleum employs architectonic design elements which can only be understood against the background of the reception of ancient architecture, in particular classicism. In addition, the mausoleum was shaped by contemporary European modernism, and the role of the architecture of contemporary Germany is apparent in its overall form. In spite of numerous points of contact with, for example, the architecture of Fascist regimes in Europe, the Mausoleum successfully melds antiquity and modernity to emerge as a powerful expression of the modern Turkish Republic.