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Omonia Metro Station

Line 1 platform of Omonia Metro Station is governed by the principles of modernism and is a listed monument.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )


    1895 The ground station of line 1 was inaugurated and had been the terminal station until 1948, when the "Victoria" station was inaugurated.

    1928 The construction of the underground station of line 1 began.

    1930 It was inaugurated. It received rave reviews for its quality and luxury. At the same time, Omonia Square was renovated.

    2000 The station of line 2 was inaugurated.

    2001 The station of line 1 was listed as a protected monument.

    2003 The station of line 1 was restored with new ground paving and new lighting.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1821)


  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

The Omonia station is developed on 4 levels and is a hub for lines 1 and 2 of the metro. The station of the newest line 2 does not present any significant architectural difference from other stations of the same line. Granite is the main material and common decorative patterns are followed. The platforms of the older line 1, however, deserve our attention, as do the stairs from the ticket level to the central platform. Their elliptical shape, curves and balustrades directly refer to interwar modernism. At the same time, the cladding with a certain type of orange tiles takes us back to the 1930s. Modern tiles have been installed in place of worn old ones. They have similar colour for consistency, but it is also clear that these are modern additions. At the transition points from the first level to the line 2 platforms, passengers can admire two works of art. The first is the 14.7m long “Football Players” (2000) by Pavlos (Dionysopoulos). The figures were revealed when people threw confetti onto glued-down sea plywood. The second is the 21m long “Queue” (2000) by Nikos Kessanlis. The male and female figures on fabric stretchers are tense and gesticulating.

What I can't see

The decoration of metro stations with works of art had been a central decision of the metro construction company. The works had to be monumental and at the same time connected to the history and social fabric of each area. Omonia station has been classified as a protected monument and is about 10 km from Piraeus station.

Bibliography

Elliniko Metro Inc., (2021), Η ιστορία της γραμμής 1, [The history of line 1], in

https://www.emetro.gr/?page_id=18

Last visit 4/8/2023

 

Field observation by scientific editors

 

ISAP, (2007), Ομόνοια, [Omonia], in

https://web.archive.org/web/20120117053152/http://www.isap.gr/stations.index.asp

Last visit 4/8/2023