National History Museum (Old Parliament)
Athens
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Athens

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The National History Museum in Athens is one of the first places on the list of must-visit places in the capital. It is impossible to learn a city well without studying its history.

The building that houses the National History Museum of Greece has a long history. Originally, it was the estate of the famous Athenian magnate and politician Alexander Kontoslavlos, who had been buying warships in the United States during the Greek revolution. When Athens became the capital of the state in 1833, king Otto gave the estate the status of his official residence. But in 1854, a fire destroyed the building almost to the ground.

The talented French architect Francois Boulanger took up the restoration of the historical monument. Queen Amalia was honoured to lay the first stone in the foundation of the building in 1858. But this did not help, as the work was interrupted because of the insufficient funding. Workers continued the works on the construction only in 1863, when king Otto was dethroned. The work was led by the architect Panagiotis Kalkos, who made significant corrections to the design of the building. 

The construction was completed in 1871, but the Greek parliament moved in the building only 4 years later. All this time it was located in a rigged up building across the street. Among the locals, it was called Barak.

In 1932, the parliament changed its place of residence again and moved to the former royal palace on Syntagma square. The Ministry of Justice moved to its place. And after the restoration works had been finished, the building was transferred to the State History Museum of Greece.

Now it is a beautiful three-storeyed building in neoclassical style with pure-white columns and a small well-kept garden around it. Near the main entrance, a bronze monument to the General Theodoros Kolokotronis was erected in 1904 — Lazaros Sohos was the author of it. The sculptor was inspired by this hero of the Greek war of independence so he created an equestrian statue. The bas-relief of the monument is decorated with the scenes from the battle near Dervakion and of the Peloponnesian Senate meeting. But this is not the only statue in the garden. If you go a little further, you will find two more statues of Greek politicians — Charilaou Trikoupi by Thomas Thomopoulos and Theodore of Diliani, the author of which is George Dimitriadis.

The entrance to the museum is guarded by two naval guns, which are directed to the sky.

Loud laughter and children's voices greet us in the foyer. School groups regularly come here from all over Greece for excursions. The first room we enter is the debating chamber, which was designed by Francois Boulanger. Now this beautiful and majestic room, which is decorated with galleries, hosts official events, conferences and seminars. But at the time when the Parliament and the Senate were located here, this room was the scene of political discussions and bright speeches of Alexandros Koumoundouros, Harilaos Trikoupis and Eleftherios Venizelos. This place also remembers the bad events. In 1905, Greek prime minister Theodoros Diliannis died on the marble steps of the museum at the hands of a compulsive gambler, Antonios Gerakaris, who could not accept the legal ban on gambling clubs throughout the country.

The discussion hall is surrounded by the former rooms of parliamentarians. In these rooms and in the corridors you can see a permanent exhibition of the museum, which covers the period of Frankish and Ottoman rule and the Greek war of independence. It was created with the help of the Historical and ethnological society of Greece that was founded in 1882. The extensive work was carried out on collecting documents, photos, uniforms and valuable information from direct participants of the warfighting. By the middle of the 20th century, the society managed to collect more than 20 thousand items of history, which they had successfully saved during the two world wars. 

Most of the space is filled with exhibits that make us immerse in the times of Frankish and Ottoman rule, the revolution of 1821, and further clashes with the Ottomans. You can take a closer look at old engravings, the weapons of ordinary soldiers and generals, and the armour of Frankish knights. The main relics of this exhibition are a gun and a cane of Ali Pasha, who had been reigning in Ioannina from 1788 to 1822 — his conflict with the sultan indirectly helped the forces of the Greek army in the struggle for independence. 

Here you will see also many paintings and icons from various international communities from all over Europe, which were providing all possible assistance to the Greek people. For those who are curious about the fleet, it will be interesting to see live the navigation devices, flags and guns taken from the ships that had directly attacked the enemy fleet. 

The museum is ready for experiments in order to introduce the history while playing and in other unusual way. So, due to the collaboration with collectors and the support of Playmobil, 20 dioramas were created that reflect the main moments of the revolution. Refugees in Parga, the oath of Filikas, Alexander Ypsilantis crossing the Bert river, the siege of Tripolitsa, the exit from Messolonghi, the murder of Capodistria — this is an incomplete list of events that come to life in dioramas. Each figurine represents one of the 80 key figures in the history. It does not need to be mentioned that this interpretation of the story is very popular with children who are happy to distinguish the details.

National History Museum in Athens can be conveniently divided into the following sections:

  • the Central corridor, which shows relics from different eras;
  • the end of Byzantium (1453 A.D.)
  • the Latin-Turkish rule of the 13th-18th centuries;
  • the harbingers of the revolution (1670-1821);
  • the Greek revolution (1821-1827);
  • the weapons used in the course of military operations;
  • life of Greek scientists in the West in the 14th-15th centuries;
  • major milestones of the revolution;
  • the Philhellenes and their support;
  • the naval war of 1821;
  • the creation of the Greek state;
  • the consolidation of the parliament and the expansion of the territory;
  • Balkan wars of 1912-1913;
  • Second world war;
  • folklore collection (shoes, clothing, jewelry, household items);
  • modern Greek society.

The museum's collection now includes more than 11 000 items. Among them, you will find oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, engravings, posters, folk lithographs, medals and other awards, decorations of historical figures, their personal belongings, ancient books, photographs and schemes. The museum also houses the original manuscript of the first Greek Constitution of 1844.

Take the route No.1, 5 or 15 and go to the ΠΛ.ΚΛΑΥΘΜΩΝΟΣ stop. The museum is 10 minutes’ slow walk from it.

Tips

  1. At the entrance, free booklets are distributed, with the help of which it will be even more interesting and understandable to explore the exhibitions. There are even booklets in Russian.
  2. Don't come here by car. It is quite difficult to park the vehicle here. In addition, there are many police officers who are constantly watching how the parking rules are fulfilled. It is better to get here by metro or by public transport.
  3. On Sundays, you can enter the museum for free but it is open until lunch.
  4. Prices at the National History Museum of Athens are quite reasonable: the standard entrance ticket costs €4. For the retired people and students — €2. A small life hack: if you arrive half an hour before closing time, you can enter for free.