The Twin Churches
(Templar & Hospitaller)

Templar and Hospitaller Chapels photo by: Simon Brighton [ enlarge photo ]

Two rather four-square churches sit in the north of the walled town of Famagusta, the twin churches of  the Templars and the Hospitallers. Both the orders of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller orders were formed in 1350 during the Crusades, but the proximity of the churches is deceptive; in reality the two orders positively hated one another! When the leaders of the Knights Templar were burned as heretics in 1311, the Knights Hospitallers took over their church.

The Twin Churches in Famagusta; which one is which?

The larger and earlier of these two churches is the original Templars' Church. It has a fine rose window and houses an art gallery and theatre. The Church of the Hostpitallers has sockets in its eaves for banners to be hung from, and is used as a music rehearsal room. Inside, both are somewhat bare inside but with fine vaulted ceilings, and a corridor links both church buildings.