National Historical Museum of Athens
National Historical Museum of Athens
This impressive neoclassical structure was occupied originally by the house of the Athenian magnate and politician, Alexandros Kontostavlos. After Athens became the capitol of Greece in 1833, King Otto chose it as temporary residence, pending the construction of the Royal Palace in Syntagma (which now houses Parliament).
Designed from the beginning as a parliamentary building, by architect Francois Boulanger, it had two amphitheaters, one for the parliamentary meetings and another for the meeting of the Senate. In this museum one has the unique opportunity to visit the central room of the old Parliament – having left the seats of its members and the tribune intact. The hall exudes a unique atmosphere and is where some of the more important decisions in the Modern Greek history were made.
There are 3 statues erect in the courtyard of the Historical Museum: 1) of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a prominent figure of the Greek Revolution, on horseback; 2) of Harilaos Trikoupis, a famous Greek politician of the late 19th Century; and 3) of Theodoros Diligiannis, Hellenic Prime Minister and political opponent of Trikoupis, assassinated at the entrance of the Parliament in 1905.
