After our successful article on the Secret Sights of Athens, we decided to expand our research to the suburbs of Athens. We tried to discover places few of us know exist. Sometimes, although we are aware of their existence, we are unaware of their real significance. In this article we present (in chronological order) 6 unique places in the Athenian suburbs.
Mycenaean Tomb of Acharnes
The vaulted (tholos) tomb is located just 3 km from the centre of the city of Menidi (also known as Acharnes) on Philadelphias Street. It is the most impressive and best-preserved Mycenaean tomb in the region of Attica. The German Archaeological Institute of Athens excavated in 1879, just three years after the impressive discoveries of Henry Schliemann in Mycenae. The tomb is on the slope of an artificial hill. It is underground and consists of three parts: a long downhill corridor 27 m long and 3 m wide, a narrower entrance and the main burial chamber. For the construction of the monument, the building materials were quarried in the area. The tomb belonged to the family of a local lord of the area.
The archaeologists found numerous objects of the Mycenaean period inside the tomb. These include clay and stone vessels, bronze weapons, ivory objects, seal stones made of semi-precious stones, jewellery made of gold, silver, copper, glass and faience. Among the most remarkable finds of the tomb are an ivory lyre and a toothed helmet. The lyre, the best preserved of the two found in the burial chamber, was eight-stringed or seven-stringed, decorated with embossed sphinxes at its base. This is a rare and valuable find for us today for the knowledge of music in antiquity. The most important finds of the tomb are exhibited today in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Fragomonastiro
Just a few hundred metres from the Monastery of Kaisariani on Mount Hymettus is Taxiarchon Hill with a magnificent view of the Saronic Gulf. The Church of Agios Markos / Saint Mark, also known as Fragomonastiro, dominates the centre of the hill. It is the only one partially surviving Byzantine basilica from the previous four that were on the same site. The oldest one was built in the 5th or 6th century. The Venetians of Morosini, after the occupation of Athens in 1687, converted the small Byzantine chapel into a Latin church in honour of Saint Mark. The Venetians stayed only a few months in Athens before abandoning the church.
After their departure, the monks of the neighbouring Orthodox Monastery of Kaisariani disparagingly named it Frangomonastiro (which means Franciscan Monastery) and let it fall into disrepair. During the 17th or 18th century, they built the nearby small cemetery chapel of Agios Nikolaos. The chapel survives in almost perfect condition to this day. Fragomonastiro and the Taxiarchon Hill are a pleasant surprise for those who walk in the forest of Kaisariani.
Doukissis Plakentias Bridge
The marble five-arched bridge over the stream of Chalandri, between Vrilissia and Melissia (at Doukissis Plakentias Street), hidden under heavy vegetation, has lost its former glory. Today there is nothing to betray the antiquity, the splendour and the excellent quality of the construction of the oldest surviving bridge in the greater Athens area. They constructed the bridge in 1836 with funding from Sophie de Marbois-Lebrun, the famous Duchess of Plaisance (Plakentia in Greek) and with designs by engineer Alexandros Georgantas.
They probably built the bridge to make the way to the duchess’s tower on Mount Penteli faster and easier. But at the same time, it facilitated the transport of marble from the quarry of Penteli to the city centre for the construction of King Otto’s palaces. The bridge today has a length of about 39.50 m, with a useful width of 3.30 m and a total height of 10.40 m from the deepest point of the stream. They also have removed the marble parapets on both sides to make easier the passage of cars. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood cross the bridge every day. However, only a few of them really know the story and the significance of this glorious bridge.
Agios Loukas and Little Bavaria
When King Otto came to Greece, he brought with him from Bavaria 33 people (courtiers and mercenaries). He granted them a house and 40 acres in the area of present-day Heraklion, which was then named Arakli. Otto chose the area himself for its exceptional climate in order to build here his country house. Thus, in 1837, Otto founded the Bavarian Military Colony of Heraklion. The Catholic church of Agios Lοukas (Saint Luke) began construction in 1842, with funding from Otto’s father, King Louis I of Bavaria. They completed the works in 1845, and the church became the second Catholic church that operated in Attica. The first was built in Piraeus in 1839 by immigrants from Syros Island. The Bavarians became fully integrated into Athenian society, giving their children ancient Greek names and Hellenising their surnames.
Nevertheless, the area took the nickname ‘German Village’ (Germanochori) from the inhabitants of the surrounding areas. Among the first inhabitants was Ioannis Karolos Fix. He was none other than the “baron” of Greek beer. Here he built his first small brewery (1858) before transferring it first to Kolonaki and, in 1893, to its landmark building on Syggrou Avenue. Today what remains from Little Bavaria (around Mandilara Square) is Agios Loukas, in whose courtyard the visitor could see the only surviving bust of King Otto.
Also, opposite the church is the ruined building of the first brewery of Fix. Finally, near the church there is a Catholic cemetery and an area of 27 acres, which was the residence of Fix. A pleasant detail is the monument of the Bavarians fallen in the Greek national wars, located in the opposite square.
Ippios Kolonos Hill
Ancient Kolonos (which means ‘hill’ in Greek) was located north of the centre of ancient Athens and extended to the plain of Kifissos. It was named “Ippios” after the temple of the Ippios (Equine) Poseidon who was the patron saint of the area. It is speculated that Sophocles, the famous tragedian, was also born in Kolonos since he refers to the area in the tragedy of “Oedipus at Colonus”. A small marble plaque on a rock on the way to the top of the hill reminds us of the origin of the tragedian from the area.
At the top of the hill, the visitor can see the fenced area with the burial monuments of two great philhellenes. The first belongs to the German poet Wilhelm Müller, who was buried here in 1840 at his request. It is a tombstone work of the famous architect Christian Hansen. The second is an impressive marble bath carrier that is the burial monument of the French archaeologist Charles Lenormant.
Lenormant, fluent in ancient Greek, made two large archaeological missions in Greece. During his third trip to Greece, he organised an archaeological symposium of Plato’s Academy but died a few days later. The sudden death of the philhellene Lenormant shocked the whole country. At the request of the municipal council in 1859, the mayor of Athens, George Skoufos, addressed a letter to the son of the deceased, asking to bury Lenormant’s heart in a special place at Plato’s Academy, at the top of Ippios Kolonos Hill.
The original monument, designed by a French sculptor, went up in 1860. It featured a marble water carrier, or hydroforos, whose design drew inspiration from ancient Greek funerary monuments. At the time, the hill stood deserted, so people used the monument as a shooting target. In 1936, at the initiative of the Municipality of Athens, Michalis Tombros created a replica of the original. Today, the hill also houses an open-air theatre. It is a green and peaceful place for a pleasant walk close to the city centre.
The Stone Houses of Charokopou
The settlement of Kallithea, which later became an independent municipality, marked the first attempt by the newly established Greek state to expand Athens’ urban plan in an organised way. Kallithea began to take shape on November 14, 1883, when the state founded a construction company and purchased 910 acres in the area. The company then drew up a street plan for the new suburb. However, officials modified the original plan many times and eventually implemented only a small part of it.
Of the planned squares, only what are now Cyprus Square and Davaki Square retained their original locations. In 1909, the same company built 50 identical two-storey stone houses in the Harokopou area, each featuring exceptional architectural design. The famous German architect Ernst Ziller designed the houses, which aimed to attract middle-class buyers.
Today, of the typical stone houses, only four survive on the small Riga Fereou Street (perpendicular to Harokopou Street). The houses consist of two residential complexes with separate entrances and inner courtyards. Opposite the two-storey stone houses, on the same street, there is another cluster of also identical two-storey houses but of later construction (1912-1930) and a different architectural style. All these houses on this small street are a pleasant surprise of good taste in a suburb of the city, where the subsequent urban development destroyed every aesthetic on the altar of fast expansion and development, turning Kallithea into an impersonal urban area.
Discover hidden secrets of Athens
All the above attractions are part of Athens’ history and its suburbs. Let’s see our city and its neighbourhoods with new eyes and discover more hidden secrets. We are waiting for your suggestions in order to discover more unknown corners of this unique city.
