THE HELLENIC PARLIAMENT

The Parliament of Greece is housed in the famous building of Syntagma Square. The construction of the building was created after the transfer of the capital of the young Greek Government from Nafplio to Athens, intended to be used as the home of King Otto.

The selection of the location and the construction were made by the architect, Friedrich von Gärtner (1792-1847), who served as director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and official architect of the country. Gärtner prepared the plans with respect to the archaeological heritage of Athens. He planned a simple and compact square neoclassical building of 6.994 sq. meters, with four exterior wings (with three floors in each one), one middle wing (with two floors) and the north wing, with no unnecessary decorative elements.

The foundation was laid on 25 January /6 February 1836. The building was planned in such a way as to have access from all its sides. Each entrance served a different function. Communication between floors was made by a sufficient number of stairs located in all the wings of the building.

The cost of the construction was undertaken by the father of King Otto, King Ludwig I of Bavaria, as personal loan to King Otto. The Greeks secured the land that the building occupied, the square on the front and the royal garden. The first Parliament operated temporarily first in a private home on Kolokotronis Street, later in the University building, and in 1857 in the building of Stadiou Street - where nowadays the National Historical Museum is housed.

During 1884 and 1990 the building suffered damages from fire and finally, the royal family abandoned it in 1910. The building’s function as Parliament Building started in November 1929, when the government decided to transfer the Parliament from the old building on Stadiou Street and house it with the senate in the building of the Old Royal Palace. The architect, Andreas Kriezis, assumed the arrangement of the building and the supervision of the project to convert it to Parliament.

Today it is the headquarters of the Greek Parliament. It houses offices, the auditorium of the Parliament, the office of the President of the Parliament, the Archives and various other services.

THE ADDRESS

The Hellenic Parliament
Vasilissis Sofias 11
10671 Athens (Greece)
Tel. +30 210 - 3692272

HOW TO GET THERE

BY ATHENS METRO: 1 (Green Line), 2 (Red Line), 3 (Blue Line), Station "Syntagma"

BY BUS: 024, 025, 026, 027, 040, 057, 106, 126, 134, 135, 136, 137, 155, 185, 209, 227, 230, 790, 856, A2, A3, B2, B3, E14, E 22, X14, X95

TROLLEY: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 21

BY TRAM: 4, 5

BY FOOT: The Hellenic Parliament ist located on Syntagma Square and is accessable from numberous streets such as Eleftherios Venizelos Avenue, Stadiou Street, Ermou Street, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, Vasilissis Amalias and Filellinon Street.

• Official Site of the Hellenic Parliament Foundation

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