What I can see

The building of the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation is from the Ottoman period, probably belonged to a Turk and is one of the few buildings of that era that are still preserved. Its architecture is simple and exudes strength. The openings of the first floor are denser than those of the ground floor; it also has a Π-shaped ground plan and an internal courtyard.

What I can't see

It housed the first hotel in Greece after the Greek Revolution, with the symbolic name “Europe”. Then, it was bought by the Kontostavlou family, to whom it belonged for about a century. It housed the 2nd high school, the guardhouse, the criminal court and refugees of 1922. The NBGCF is a noteworthy cultural institution with important publications, a collection of works of art, a historical and palaeographic archive and a literary and historical archive. Moreover, it has a branch in Thessaloniki, bookstores in Athens and Thessaloniki, conservation laboratories, grants scholarships and awards the Panagiotis Mοullas prize. Archives collections include Department of Egyptian Hellenism, Department of Performing Arts, Photographic Archive, Ephemera and a library of over 100,000 titles from the 19th century to the present day. Near Omonia Square, the neoclassical Eynardou Mansion houses the NBGCF cultural centre, the Photography Archive and the Paxinou- Minotis Museum.

Info

• Address: 13 Thoukididou St.
• Postal Code : 10558
• Phone: +30 210 3221335
• Website: http://www.miet.gr

Bibliography