Hereke Carpet and Silk Weaving Factory Museum in Kocaeli, Turkey

Hereke Carpet and Silk Fabric Weaving Factory is the official English name of the historic National Palaces site in Hereke, Kocaeli. Founded in 1843 and in production from 1845, the factory was established to make furnishing fabrics and curtains for Ottoman palaces. It now functions as a museum-factory while continuing to produce textiles based on historical Hereke designs.

A Factory Built for Palace Textiles

The factory was established on the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmit during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid. Its early production centered on silk furnishing textiles intended for newly constructed Ottoman palaces and other royal residences.

Production began in 1845 with Jacquard looms imported from France, and French designers also worked at the factory. The use of mechanized patterned weaving allowed the factory to manufacture detailed upholstery and curtain fabrics for palace interiors while developing its own textile vocabulary.

The historic complex became known as Hereke Fabrika-i Hümayun, or the Imperial Hereke Factory. Its products were used in palaces, pavilions and kiosks administered by the Ottoman court. Fabrics and carpets made at Hereke were also presented to members of foreign ruling families, carrying the factory’s work beyond the Ottoman Empire.

How Hereke Carpet Weaving Developed

Carpet weaving was not the factory’s original purpose. The first decades concentrated mainly on woven silk and furnishing textiles. A carpet-weaving section was added during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, and by 1891 the factory had expanded its carpet production with new looms.

Craftspeople brought to Hereke worked from designs supplied for palace use and then developed patterns associated with the emerging Hereke carpet tradition. This connected the name Hereke not only with silk fabrics but also with finely made carpets produced for Ottoman interiors.

The relationship between factory and palace can still be understood through the National Palaces collections. Hereke textiles were made as working furnishings rather than as later decorative reproductions. Carpets, upholstery fabrics and curtains formed part of the interiors for which the factory had been created.

The Factory as a Museum-Factory

After the establishment of the Turkish Republic, the factory continued operating under state institutions and later became part of Sümerbank. In 1995 it was transferred to National Palaces, placing the historic factory together with the palace buildings and collections that had used its products.

The site is unusual because its manufacturing role has not been reduced to a static historical display. National Palaces continues to describe Hereke as a museum-factory. Historical textile patterns are studied and converted into weaving templates, allowing fabrics based on original Ottoman-period designs to be produced again on Jacquard looms.

Some of this production supports the furnishing and restoration of National Palaces properties. Designs whose original weaving templates no longer survive can be reconstructed with the help of research into older Hereke fabrics. The factory therefore links surviving industrial equipment and textile knowledge with the conservation of palace interiors.

Kaiser Wilhelm Museum-Pavilion

A separate historic structure stands beside the factory: the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum-Pavilion. The wooden pavilion was prepared at Yıldız Palace for the 1898 visit of German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II and was brought to Hereke as a prefabricated building.

The pavilion contains reception spaces opening toward both the land and the sea. Its interior was furnished with Hereke-made carpets, silk upholstery and curtains, placing the factory’s textiles within the type of setting for which they were originally produced.

National Palaces treats the pavilion as an affiliated museum space open to visitors. The current official ticket listing gives separate prices for the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum-Pavilion: 50 TL for domestic visitors, 100 TL for foreign visitors and 50 TL for the discounted ticket category.

Visiting the Hereke Factory

The complex is in the Hacı Akif neighborhood of Hereke in Körfez district, on the northern side of the Gulf of İzmit. National Palaces lists the ticket office as operating from 09:00 to 17:00. National Palaces locations are closed on Mondays, apart from separately stated exceptions for other properties.

The official holiday schedule lists New Year’s Day, the first day of Ramadan Bayram and the first day of the Feast of Sacrifice as closed days. Other days of those religious holidays and several national holidays are listed as open. Visitors planning a trip on a holiday can check the National Palaces website for the current schedule before traveling.