The recently restored building known as Imaret (poorhouse) is one of the first Ottoman buildings in Europe and dates back to the 2nd half of the 14th century. The founder is said to be Hadji Gazi Evrenos who conquered the wider region of Rhodope. During the period 1913–1919, when the region was annexed by Bulgaria, the Imaret was converted into a church. Following the incorporation of Thrace into the Greek state in 1920, it came under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Maronia and Thassos. It is located in the city centre and has access from Xenophontos Street perpendicular to Venizelos pedestrian street. Today it houses the ecclesiastical museum of the Metropolis of Maronia and Komotini. The museum houses the collection of ecclesiastical objects (portable icons, sacred vessels, priestly vestments, manuscripts and liturgical books) collected from the churches of the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolis and from donations made by refugees who settled in the area of Komotini. The exhibits cover the period from the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century and bear witness to the post-Byzantine ecclesiastical art of the region. The aim of the Museum is to collect, preserve, conserve, exhibit and promote all kinds of objects that illustrate the ecclesiastical art and history of the Holy Metropolis of Maronia and Komotini. The museum is under the direct supervision of the Holy Metropolis of Komotini and Maronia.
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