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Kolonaki (Κολωνάκι) is an upscale neighborhood in Athens, Greece, known for its boutique shops, nightlife, and restaurants.
History of Kolonaki
During the Ottoman period, the area was an open field called Katsikadika because farmers used it to graze their goats. The area was developed around 1890 and given the name Kolonaki after a lone two-meter column that stood at what is now Dexameni Square.
Kolonaki Square, which was originally called Queen Olga Square, was landscaped and designated a square between 1895 and 1900. It’s officially named Filiki Eteria Square after the Filiki Eteria, or Society of Friends, that initiated the Greek Revolution. The aforementioned column was moved to its present location in the center of the square in 1938.
Today, in addition to nightlife and shopping, Kolonaki hosts several embassies and art galleries. There are also a handful of excellent museums in the area, a few interesting modern buildings, and the funicular station for Lycabettus Hill. The square is a popular place for meeting friends over a cup of coffee as well as people watching.
Maraslean Pedagogical Academy
Starting on the east side of the neighborhood at the intersection of Patriarchou Ioakim and Marasli is the Maraslean Teaching Center, which is run by the University of Athens for the purpose of training teachers. It’s a Neoclassical building constructed in 1905 as the Maraslean Pedagogical Academy. The building was donated by Grigoris Maraslis (1831-1907), the long-time mayor of Odessa.
Petraki Monastery
The land for the Maraslean Pedagogical Academy was donated by the Petraki Monastery (Μονή Πετράκη), which sits a block to the east. Officially named the Monastery of the Holy Incorporeal Taxiarchs (Άγιοι Ασώματοι Ταξιάρχες), it dates back to the 10th century during the Byzantine period but it wasn’t mentioned until the Ottoman period.
The church was built in the 13th or 14th century and decorated by iconographer Georgios Markou in 1719. The popular name comes from Parthenios Petrakis, a monk from Dimitsana who renovated the monastery in 1673.
By the 19th century, the Petraki Monastery was one of the largest landowners in Athens. It donated plots of land to the government that now host the Academy of Athens, the Gennadius Library (see below), and a few hospitals. This made it one of the biggest benefactors in the history of Greece.
After the Greek Revolution for a short time and again during the Balkan Wars from 1912 to 1913, the monastery was converted to a military hospital. In 1923, it housed Greek refugees from the population exchange between Turkey and Greece, and during World War II it provided meals to needy families every Sunday. The Synodal offices of the Church of Greece were relocated to the Petraki Monastery in 1958 from the Archdiocese of Athens complex in Plaka.
Gennadius Library
A block north is the imposing Gennadius Library. It was founded by Ioannis Gennadius (1844–1932), who donated his personal library of over 26,000 books to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1922. The Greek government donated the land and the Carnegie Corporation financed construction of the building. It opened to the public on April 23, 1926.
The Neoclassical building was designed by Thompson & Van Pelt of New York City. It has been expanded and modernized since 1999. Today, there are nearly 150,000 “rare books and bindings, research materials, manuscripts, archives, and works of art that illuminate Hellenism, Greece, and neighboring civilizations from antiquity to modern times”. The collection also includes rare maps of the Mediterranean, early editions of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and a laurel wreath belonging to Lord Byron (1788-1824).
The Gennadius Library is open to the public on weekdays and visitors must apply for a library card. It’s a non-circulating library, meaning no books or documents may leave the building.
The Runner
A few blocks south of the Petraki Monastery and across Queen Sofia Avenue is the Great School of the Nation Square. In the center of the square is The Runner. It was originally built at Omonoia Square between 1988 and 1994 by Greek artist Costas Varotsos. Due to construction of the Athens Metro, the sculpture was dismantled and later rebuilt in its present location. It stands 12 meters high and is made of thousands of pieces of glass.
Olive Tree
In the same square is an olive tree that has been alive since the 6th century. It was gifted to the City of Athens by ERGOSE and comes from the village of Elaionas in Aigialia. It was transplanted in December 2015.
National Gallery
Immediately south of the square is the National Gallery (Εθνική Πινακοθήκη), which focuses on post-Byzantine Greek art. The first concrete steps towards creating the gallery started in 1878 with a small collection of 117 works exhibited at the National Technical University of Athens.
The National Gallery was officially established on April 10, 1900, four years after Greek lawyer Alexandros Soutsos (1839-1895) bequeathed his art collection to the Greek State with the intention of creating a museum of fine arts. The first exhibition opened to the public in 1915. The main building was closed in 2013 for renovation and the addition of a new wing and reopened to the public on March 24, 2021. I visited in November 2023 and will add updates as soon as possible.
Rizari Park
Running west along Queen Sofia Avenue is Rizari Park. This pleasant space opened in 2010 on land beaqueathed to the Greek State in 1844 by Georgios Rizaris (1769-1842). It covers an area of 3.7 acres and has sculptures and benches scattered along its paths. The park is planted with exclusively Mediterranean flora. The north side has an access point to the Evangelismos metro station.
Sarogleion Mansion
Walking west past the War Museum and Byzantine Museum and in front of the entrance to the Lyceum is the Sarogleion Mansion. It was built between 1924 and 1932 with money bequeathed by artillery officer Petros Saroglos (1864-1920). The building was designed by architect Alexandros Nikoloudis (1874-1944) and now serves as the Greek Armed Forces Officers’ Club.
Gestapo Interrogation Memorial
Two blocks past the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture and down Merlin is a memorial to one of the darkest periods in Greek history. It commemorates the hundreds of Greeks who were detained, tortured, or killed by the Gestapo during Axis Occupation of Greece.
The building served as the Gestapo headquarters from April 1941 to October 1944. Anyone suspected of being a member of the Greek resistance or committing individual acts of defiance were taken there and tortured or sent to the Haidari concentration camp. The bodies of those who died would be left hanging from trees from several days. The memorial includes one of the original torture chamber doors.
Deligiorgis Mansion
Finally, around the corner to the north and near the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is the Deligiorgis Mansion. This mansion was built in 1890 by journalist and politician Leonidas Deligiorgis (1839-1928). It was designed by German architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923) and combines the Neoclassical and Art Nouveau styles. It housed the Film Archive of Greece for many years and now hosts the Allouche Benias Gallery. It’s open daily from Tuesday through Saturday.
