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Selimiye Barracks is a Turkish Army barracks on the Asian side of Istanbul. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III for the soldiers of the newly established Nizam-ı Cedid (literally 'New Order') within the framework of the Ottoman military reform efforts. Today, it serves as the headquarters of the First Army of Turkish Land Forces.
The original wooden barracks was designed by Krikor Balyan but was burnt down in 1806 by rebel Janissaries, who were resisting the sultan's reforms. Sultan Mahmud II commissioned the rebuilding of the barracks in stone in 1825 and the work was completed in 1828. During the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I, the barracks were renovated twice, first in 1842-43 and again in 1849–50. During this process, a tower seven stories in height was added to each of the four corners, giving the barracks its current appearance. The barracks is a vast rectangular building measuring 200 m × 267 m with a large parade ground in the centre. Three of the wings have three floors but the eastern wing only has two floors due to the sloping terrain.
During the Crimean War (1854–56), the barracks were allocated to the British Army, which was on its way from Britain to the Crimea. After the troops of its 33rd and 41st foot regiments left for the front, the barracks was converted into a temporary military hospital.
On 4 November 1854, Florence Nightingale arrived in Scutari with 37 volunteer nurses. They cared for thousands of wounded and infected soldiers until she returned home in 1857 as a heroine.
During the war around 6,000 soldiers died in the Selimiye Barracks, mostly as the result of a cholera epidemic. The dead were buried at a plot near the barracks, which later became the Haydarpaşa Cemetery.
Today, the northernmost tower of the barracks houses a small museum partly in memory of Nightingale.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.