In front of you is the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Mitropoli, seat of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. Governments are sworn in here, great state funerals are held here, and every Easter thousands of people wait, candles in hand, for midnight on Holy Saturday.
1A cathedral for a new capital
When Athens became the capital in 1834, it was a small town battered by war. The new kingdom needed a cathedral to match its ambitions. King Otto and Queen Amalia laid the foundation stone on Christmas Day 1842, and the church was not consecrated until 1862. Several architects worked on the project, among them the Dane Theophil Hansen, Dimitrios Zezos and the Frenchman François Boulanger, which explains its mix of styles.
2Stones from other churches
It is often repeated that materials from dozens of small churches, demolished for the city's new street plan, went into its construction. The exact number varies depending on who tells it, so treat it as a tradition with some truth in it.
Inside lie the remains of Patriarch Gregory V, hanged in Constantinople in 1821.
3What to look for
- The two bell towers with clocks, framing the façade.
- The golden mosaic of the Annunciation above the entrance.
- The statues in the square: Gregory V and Archbishop Damaskinos, a key figure during the Nazi occupation.
Documented
The foundation stone was laid on 25 December 1842 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1862; it holds the remains of Patriarch Gregory V.
Oral tradition
The number of demolished churches whose stones were reused (often given as 72) is not well documented.
Sources and credits
Archdiocese of Athens, Metropolitan Cathedral (iaath.gr); Kostas Biris, Athens: From the 19th to the 20th Century (1966); This is Athens, the city's official tourism website.
Photos:
- Façade of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens with its two bell towers: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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