First stop at Otto Resto Bar for breakfast.
The 10 Oldest Houses In Athens 1) The Mansion Of Benizelou The oldest surviving house of Athens is located in Plaka, 96 Adrianou Street and belonged to the aristocratic family of the Athenian archon Angelos Benizelou, whose daughter would later become known as St. Filothei. The house dates back to the 16th century but most of what we see today is from the late 17th and early 18th century. Characteristic example of it' s Ottoman architecture, with loggia, patio and well, the house has been restored in recent years and has become a museum. 2) The Mansion of Logotheti Located in Plaka, 14B Areos Street what has survived is the gate, the fountain and a small section of the yard, which belonged to a magnificent mansion built in the 17th century. It was the villa of the British consul Logothetis and his family that hosted Thomas Elgin when he visited Athens. Before the Parthenon Sculptures where sent to Britain, they spent their last nights in this mansion. 3) The Tower of Church On the corner of School Street and Epicharmou, the characteristic three-storey tower with fortification that distinguishes it from all the buildings of Plaka you can find one of the few Ottoman buildings that survived to this day. Built in the 18th century, it was used as a post by the Ottomans, before being sold to a Scottish historian and philhellene George Finley in 1835. Here stayed Finley' s comrade, Richard Church, Irish General, which gave the building the name "Tower of Church". With another name, House Dialisma, the historic house became famous again in 1928, as a matter of the famous Tsarouchis painting. 4) House of Ernst Ziller You have probably walked passed it countless times without giving it a second look. The impressive neoclassical located at 22 Mavromichali street, which he designed for himself in 1882-85. It stands out for both it' s two clay Herms, which Ziller designed himself, and decorate the openings of the upper floor. The building was partially destroyed by fire in 1977 (when it belonged to the National Opera, which was used as a dressing room) and later plundered by burglars, who were arrested. It is currently being renovated slowly but steadily, to become an annex to the Byzantine and Christian Museum. 5) Kleanthis-Schaubert Residence Also known as the Old University, the amazing building that now houses the Museum of History of the University of Athens, on Tholos Street in Plaka, was once the home of the architects Stamatis Kleanthis and Edward Schaubert. The two architects who built the first city plan of the newly formed capital of the Greek state, restored the home "from the Ottoman ruins" in 1831 and stayed there until 1837. The previous history of the house is not known -the only thing we know is that the two bought the dilapidated from the Turkish Sante Khanum, while the prevailing view regarding it' s date is the 17th century, perhaps even earlier. Kleanthis and Schaubert rented the house to the Greek government in 1837, to house there the first Greek university, who worked here until 1842. 6) Mansion of Kyriakoulis Mavromichali The beautiful three-storey neoclassical on the corner of Amalia and Xenofontos, now houses the offices of the European Parliament in Greece. It was built in 1870 to plans by Theofilos Hansen, architect of the Academy and the Library. It originally belonged to Kyriakouli Mavromichali, grandson of the eponymous hero of the Revolution and Prime Minister of Greece in 1909-1910. It housed the Russian Embassy, in 1876-79, and it was here that the ambassador Savourof organized legendary balls of which exceeded luxury like no other in the city. The gossip of the time was that Savourof cost as much as all the Ambassadors together. The Russian Ambassador had four carriages and many horses and dogs in the garden of the Palace which he donated to the Athenians when he left to take up his new duties in Berlin. 7) Anton Prokesch Von Osten Mansion Located on Feidiou Street the residence of the Austrian ambassador, which Hans Christian Andersen in 1841 describes as isolated at the edge of town, overlooking the wide desert and high mountains. It was one of the first mansions which were built in Athens, in the period 1836-1837. Later he housed the Greek Conservatory of Manolis Kalomiri. Today it belongs to the Ministry of Culture, abandoned and collapsing day by day. 8) Ilision Mansion The complex currently houses the Byzantine and Christian Museum (Sofias 22), designed by Stamatis Kleanthis and constructed in the period 1840-1848, out of the city, near the banks of the river Ilissos. It was the residence of the aristocrat Sophia de Barmoua Lempren and if the name does not tell you something, it is because you have known as Duchess of Plakentias. 9) Stathatou Mansion On the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Herodotus, the current Museum of Cycladic Art is one of the finest buildings in the city. Designed by Ernst Ziller and built in 1895 as a residence and headquarters of Ithaca’s shipowner and merchant carbon Otto Stathatou. Donated by the descendants of the Greek government, and subsequently housed the Bulgarian embassy, officers club of Britain (which they dictated in 1945), the Canadian embassy in 1970 and the embassy of Libya. In 1982 it was bought by the Public Real Estate Corporation, from which in 1991 donated to the Goulandris Foundation to house the new wing of the Museum of Cycladic Art. 10) Dekozis- Vouros House The beautiful building on Paparrigopoulou street now houses the Museum of the City of Athens and the cafe of the Black Duck in its lovely garden. It was one of the first houses which were built in liberated Athens in 1833. It was designed by German architects G. Luders and J. Hoffer and it’ s one of the first examples of austere classicism in Greece. The house belonged to Chian banker Stamatio Dekozis Vouros (1792-1881) and hosted Otto and Amalia from 1837 until 1843, expecting to complete their palaces, the current parliament. Originally posted in Greek on In2Life.
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