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King Konstantinos

Horseback statue of King Konstantinos in Dimokratias Square (Vardari).

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


    1937 Construction began by Georgios Dimitriadis.

    1940 Completed.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


  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

This is the only marble statue of a king in the city. The marble equestrian statue is placed on a high pedestal, on which there is the coat of arms of the royal family. Initially, the statue had static problems, so the sculptor placed a bush at the horse’s feet, making it more stable without significantly affecting the sculpture’s aesthetics. Nevertheless, the difference between the curves of the bush and the strictness of the horse’s lines is visible. The sculpture was placed during the Metaxas dictatorship, as can be seen from the inscription on the base. It was first placed in the park of the ΥΜCA, and a few years later was moved to Vardari Square, which at the time was located in the middle of Egnatia Street.

What I can't see

Konstantinos (1868-1923) reigned for a total of 7 years (1913-1917 and 1920-1922). When he was born, Greece reclaimed the regnal name “Konstantinos” from Konstantinos Paleologos, the last Byzantine emperor – seemingly as an act of revenge. Early on, he showed that he wanted to reign with impunity and ignore the constitution and the parliament. In 1885, still a prince, he was head of the army and police, where he demonstrated both inefficiency and authoritarianism. He took advantage of the Athens Olympic Games in 1896 to internationalize his upcoming leadership. Although he repeated numerous serious mistakes, the people loved him because he advocated the Great Idea, i.e. the rebirth of Byzantium with the recapture of the territories from the Ottoman Empire. In the Greek-Turkish war of 1897, however, Greece lost and Konstantinos received volley fire. He regained his popularity once again with the Turkish surrender of Thessaloniki to the Greek army, of which he was the leader. In addition, his reputation was enhanced when he led a successful first advance against the Bulgarians. He was later linked to the National Division and the Asia Minor Catastrophe. His tomb is located in the royal palaces of Tatoi in Athens, where he was interred after his body was transferred from Florence after his death.

 

Info

  • Address: Dimokratias/ Vardari Sq.

Bibliography

Theodoridis P., (2013), Θεσσαλονίκη, διήγηση ενός αιώνα, [Thessaloniki, a narration of a century] Thurathen

 

Dordanas S.N. (2015), Ο εχθρός προ των πυλών: η Θεσσαλονίκη ως διακύβευμα κατά τον Α΄ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, [The enemy at the gates: Thessaloniki at stake during World War I], in Kairidis D. (2015), (επ), Θεσσαλονίκη, μια πόλη σε μετάβαση, 1912- 2012, [Thessaloniki, a city in transition, 1912-2012], OFF, PEEV, Νavarino Network, Epikentro, p. 244- 255

 

Μavrogordatos G.T., (2003), Οι πολιτικές εξελίξεις από το Γουδί ως τη Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή, [The political developments from Goudi to the Asia Minor Catastrophe] in Ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνισμού, [History of Modern Hellenism], v.6, p.p. 16-30

 

Orfanidis D., (2016), Υπαίθρια Γλυπτά της Θεσσαλονίκης, παράμετροι υποβάθμισης και φθοράς των υλικών τους, Διπλωματική Εργασία, [Outdoor Sculptures of Thessaloniki, parameters of degradation and wear of their materials], A.U.Th.

 

Tsitiridis G., (2019), Ανακάλυψε τα γλυπτά της πόλης: «Βασιλιάς Κωνσταντίνος Α΄» του Γεωργίου Δημητριάδη, [Discover the city’s sculptures: “King Konstantinos I of Georgios Dimitriadis] in Parallaxi

https://parallaximag.gr/thessaloniki/anakalypse-ta-glypta-tis-polis-vasilias-konstantinos-a%CE%84-tou-georgiou-dimitriadi

Last visit 12/7/2020