Only a few travelers know about this museum. Moreover, not every resident of Athens can boast about a visit here (even as a part of an ordinary sightseeing tour held by schools). This aspect is a great loss for the cultural development of people as this museum preserves vintage furniture of the former royal palace. Let us start an excursion about this impressive landmark!
The exterior of the building ruins all stereotypes related to museums at once. The word expression “royal palace” makes our imagination to draw the picture of a sumptuous palace with kilometers-long gardens, plenty of refined statues made of marble, and the fountains. In terms of the European measurements, this palace is modest and simple in structure. It consists of two buildings, which are linked through a bridge. The first building is “the old palace,” built in the neoclassic style. It was the home for King Otto and Queen Amalia. They lived here during the period from 1836 to 1843. The second building was constructed in the eclectic style. It dates back to 1859. It is an excellent example of the bourgeois mansion of the middle of the XIX century.
While walking about the rooms on the first floor, you can easily forget about the fact that you are in Greece. The old-style furnishings of the XIX century, the decorations on the walls, small décor items, carpets, and old books in the heavy cupboards make you feel as if a minute late, you will hear the influential landlord inviting you to share the five-o’clock-tea.
The first room preserves numerous paintings, the engravings, and lithography of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Parthenon, and other famous sites. Here, you can see a rich collection of the world-famous artist – Jacques Carrey. The size of its masterpieces impress at once: it is 3x5 meters. The artist depicted the marquise Nointele and his entourage at the background of Athens Acropolis. The painting is of great historic value as it depicts Parthenon in all its beauty, without damage caused by cannonballs of the Venetian troops, headed by Kenigsmark. Unfortunately, the room housing the picture has a lack of light. This was done to preserve the color of the paint on it.
On the first floor, visitors can watch a short video about the history of the city’s construction. You can choose either the Greek or the English language. It is an excellent opportunity for people who are interested in this topic to track a difficult period in the establishment of the city.
After you leave the room and step upwards along the staircase, you will see a huge showcase, under the glass of which, there are the household items of the XIX century, marked by King Otto.
The room, which is on the left, exhibits several plans and models of the city. There is a plaster model of the city, constructed by the talented sculptures – Ioannis Travlos and Nikos Gerasimov, on a scale of 1:1000. They built it based on the sketches by Fr. Stauffert. He drew them from 1836 to 1843, based on numerous photos, written data, and pictures of the city. The model represents the city at a specific historic period when its population covered over 25.000 residents.
There is a living room, a dining room, and a library on the second floor. Each room is filled with chandeliers, wall-carpets, and furniture of the XIX century. The walls are adorned with original paintings by famous Greek artists: the portrait of Lord Byron, the portrait by Vikatos, and the portrait of Kiki Papastrau by Gunaropulos. The scribal copy of the Constitution of 1844 is one of the historic relics, which are a real treasure for the museum. This document was used by King Otto. Another priceless relic is the map of Greece of 1838. It includes only the Peloponnese and a small part of Central Greece.
The staircase, leading to the third floor, is adorned with pictures of Athens of the XIX century.
The exposition of the museum provides a visitor with a full idea about the historic events, which are connected to the establishment of modern Greece. It includes the period from 1830, when Athens became the capital of Greece, up to the beginning of the XX century. The exposition comprises a diverse collection of paintings, sculptures, engravings, and pictures that allow a visitor to immerse into the atmosphere of Athens of the XIX century.
The museum has got the reproduced living quarters of the aristocracy of those times, which makes it possible to get more profound knowledge on the life of the prosperous residents of that period.
The museum takes an active part in both the cultural and educational lives of the city. It regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, in the frameworks of which, professionals hold open lectures on art, history, and culture for students and adults. In 1990, the museum got an award from Athens Academy.
To get to the Museum of the City of Athens, you need to use the facilities of the Athens Metro. Catch one of its trains to get to Syntagma Square. After that, take a walk along Stadiou Street. You will find the landmark within 15 minutes.
