What I can see

The Museum of Greek Folk Instruments is housed in one of the oldest houses in Plaka, which was built during the years of king Otto. It has about 1200 Greek folk instruments from the 18th century to the present day. Only half are on display and the the rest are available for research and traveling exhibitions. The collection is spread over 3 floors and is divided into 4 sections a) membraphones (e.g. drums), b) aerophones (e.g. bagpipes), c) chordophones (e.g. lute) and d) idiophones (e.g. bells). The order of the exhibition follows history and tradition and the visitor has a full musical and dancing experience. In addition, the visitor can also hear the instruments’ sounds with the help of headphones.

What I can't see

The museum is housed in the residence and stables of the general and scholar Georgios Lassanis. It was built from left overs of the palaces (today’s Parliament) building materials. A small hammam is also preserved, which shows that the house was probably built on the site of an older house of the Ottoman period. Lassanis left his property to the University of Athens. The musicologist Phoebus Anogianakis started to create the collection, which he donated to the public. Moreover, the main building houses the ethnomusicological library with more than 5000 titles and the annex houses the Center for Ethnomusicological Research.

Info

• Address: 1-3 Diogenous St.
• Postal Code : 10556
• Phone: +30 210 3254119, 3254129
• E-mail: [email protected]

Bibliography