Vassilissis Olgas Avenue

What I can see

Vassilissis Olgas (=Queen Olga’s) Avenue is also called “Avenue of the Countryside” or “Avenue of the Towers” because of the impressive mansions and villas of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. These buildings belonged to wealthy Greek, Jewish, Turkish and European inhabitants and were distinguished by their architectural diversity –with an emphasis on eclecticism– and impressive decorations. Very few of the mansions have survived and some remain in poor condition. Nowadays, Vassilissis Olgas Avenue is a bustling central avenue, one of the city’s most significant streets. It is dominated by modern buildings and does not resemble a countryside even remotely, especially because of the expulsion of Jewish owners from the Nazis, the post-war “modernization” of the buildings and the use of asphalt. It is also interesting that each building’s architecture (eclecticism, Art Nouveau, Austrian architecture with Alpine roofs) reveals the owners’ influences on an ideological as well as a cultural level through experiences that several traders acquired from their transactions in various regions throughout Europe.

What I can't see

The district was founded and developed after the demolition of the eastern walls in the late 19^th century and flourished with the opening of the tram line. Most houses had large gardens, were built on the seaside and had private beaches. In the 1960s however, the seafront was embanked and Megalou Alexandrou Avenue and the New Seafront were developed. As a result, these buildings disappeared into the modern urban web. Those that survived, were either public property or were caught in inheritance battles.

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