Old Royal Palace

The Old Royal Palace (Greek: Παλαιά Ανάκτορα, romanized: Palaiá Anáktora) is the first royal palace of modern Greece. It is a neoclassical building situated at the heart of modern Athens, facing onto Syntagma Square. It was constructed between 1836 and 1843 to serve as the main residence of the Greek royal family and has been the seat of the Parliament since 1929. In 1836, King Otto I commissioned the Bavarian architect Friedrich von Gärtner, recommended by his father, Ludwig I of Bavaria, to design a palace that would house not only the royal family but also the ministerial cabinet. At the same time, the architect planned the future National Garden adjacent to the palace with Queen Amélie. The building served as the official royal residence until 1910, when George I chose to move to the Crown Prince's Palace nearby, which now houses the presidency of the Hellenic Republic. On the west side of the building, the site was transformed into the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. Today, the palace houses the Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων), the office of the President of the Assembly, the Vice Presidents, the Cabinet meeting room, the Parliament's television channel, and administrative services. It is accessible by public transportation via the bus and metro networks (Syntagma station).

History

King Otto The building was constructed between 1836 and 1847, intended to become the palace of King Otto, following the transfer of the state’s capital from Nafplio to Athens in 1834. It was erected at the expense of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, as a personal loan to Otto. The final selection of the site for the construction of the old palace was made by Gärtner himself at the end of 1835, after rejecting the proposals of Kleanthis, Schaubert, Klenze, and Schinkel, who had suggested locations in Omonoia, Kerameikos, and the Acropolis, respectively. Ludwig, Otto’s father, had also objected to the latter. Specifically, the area proposed by Gärtner for the construction was at the junction of Stadiou Street (then a peripheral road) and Ermou Street, on a small and gentle hill. In addition to its healthy climate, the location overlooked Athens from its easternmost edge. Thus, Gärtner was instructed to draft the building’s plans, a task he accomplished in a short time during his brief stay in Athens (from December 1835 to March 1836), a feat made possible only by his considerable expertise. The foundation of the building was laid on 25 January (Old Style) / 6 February (New Style), 1836, in the presence of Ludwig I and the ambassadors of the Great Powers. In March, Gärtner returned to Munich, leaving the supervision of the construction to Bavarian lieutenants Sloter and Hoss. From his office in Munich, Gärtner completed the detailed studies, producing a total of 247 designs related solely to the Athens palace building. These designs are now part of Munich’s large Moniger collection, while a small number have been donated to the Parliament Museum, demonstrating the care put into every detail. The primary materials used in the building’s construction were stone, marble, and wood. The stone mainly came from Hymettus, Lycabettus, and the "Pinakota" area near Strefi Hill in Athens, while the marble came primarily from Penteli, with smaller quantities from Hymettus, Tinos, Paros, Naxos, and a few from Carrara and Genoa in Italy. Lastly, the wood was sourced from Evia. Notably, many locals, especially islanders such as those from Tinos, Sifnos, Paros, and Naxos]], volunteered to work on the palace’s construction without pay. Once the walls were completed in November 1840, Gärtner returned to Athens to oversee the continuation of the construction and the interior decoration, bringing with him renowned historical painters of the time, Johann Schraudolph, Ulrich Halbreiter, and Josef Kranzburger. These artists were responsible for the large murals depicting scenes from Greek mythology and the Greek Revolution of 1821, especially in the Trophy Hall. After a three-month stay, Gärtner returned to Munich, leaving the engineer Riedel in charge, who successfully completed the building in 1847. King Otto and Queen Amélie moved into the royal palace in 1843. On 3 September of the same year, General Dimitrios Kallergis, with his men and a large part of the population, presented themselves at the windows of the sovereign to compel him to grant a constitution to the Kingdom. This peaceful revolution made the building a symbol of Greece’s political power. The square to the west of the palace was named "Constitution Square" (Πλατεία Συντάγματος, Syntagma Square) in honor of this event.

King George I and his successors After Otto’s abrupt departure and abdication, George I became the new King of Greece in 1864. He moved into the palace with his family but decided in 1868 to relocate the heir apparent, known as the Diadoch, to another building. For this purpose, he had the Crown Prince's Palace constructed. At the same time, George I had two summer residences built: the Tatoi Palace, about twenty kilometers north of Athens, and the Mon Repos villa on the island of Corfu.

The royal palace was devastated by a terrible fire in 1909. The king and his family then moved to the Crown Prince's palace, from then on known as the "New Palace". Even after the reconstruction, George did not immediately return to the palace, unlike his wife, Queen Olga, who remained there after her husband’s assassination in 1913. Constantine I neglected the palace, and his successor, Alexander, chose to reside at Tatoi. In 1924, a referendum abolished the monarchy, and the Second Hellenic Republic was proclaimed. The royal family was forced into exile. The palace was then used for many different purposes: housing a variety of government and public services in the 1920s, functioning as a makeshift hospital during World War II, a refugee shelter for Greek refugees from the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) in 1922, a museum with the personal effects of King George I (now part of the collection of the National Historical Museum), and other uses.

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