An open architectural encyclopaedia
On the streets of Piraeus, between warehouses, kafenia (traditional coffee houses), and shipping offices, façades from different eras are on display: neoclassical, eclectic, industrial, and modern.
The city that was reborn after 1834, when Athens became the capital, and was modelled on European metropolises: wide roads, symmetry, squares, and axes leading to the port. Currently, more than 150 neoclassical buildings are preserved, since most were destroyed during the 1944 bombings.
In Kastella, the Ziller Quarter or Villa Quarter started being built in 1877 by legendary German architect Ernst Ziller and it is still reminiscent of the time when Piraeus hosted the bourgeois elite of Athens. The imposing mansions with plaster reliefs, spiral marble staircases, and balconies overlooking the sea exude a sense of old grandeur.
In the centre of Piraeus, the imposing building of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation (1917, former Stringou Mansion) houses one of the most important maritime libraries in Greece. The Vattis Mansion (1924), on Akti Miaouli, and the residence of Spyridon Metaxas (1897, a work of Ziller) bear elaborate façades and metal balconies that combine Viennese aesthetics with Greek austerity. The Mansion of the Mariner’s Retirement Fund, located next to the Central Municipal Market, is also of special architectural value.
At the edge of the port, the Hellenic Naval Academy (1905, designed by Ziller, known as the Vassanio Megaro), symbolises the heyday of maritime training, while the Chatzikyriakio Orphanage (1889) remains one of the most imposing buildings of charitable architecture of modern Greece.
One of the most recognisable points on the city skyline is the Piraeus Tower, with a height of 84 meters, marking the new era of the city as a metropolitan destination.
A little further on, on Polydefkous Street, the contemporary art scene has found a dynamic method of expression, thanks to the creation of private art galleries nestled between workshops and port equipment stores.
The city that was reborn after 1834, when Athens became the capital, and was modelled on European metropolises: wide roads, symmetry, squares, and axes leading to the port. Currently, more than 150 neoclassical buildings are preserved, since most were destroyed during the 1944 bombings.
In Kastella, the Ziller Quarter or Villa Quarter started being built in 1877 by legendary German architect Ernst Ziller and it is still reminiscent of the time when Piraeus hosted the bourgeois elite of Athens. The imposing mansions with plaster reliefs, spiral marble staircases, and balconies overlooking the sea exude a sense of old grandeur.
In the centre of Piraeus, the imposing building of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation (1917, former Stringou Mansion) houses one of the most important maritime libraries in Greece. The Vattis Mansion (1924), on Akti Miaouli, and the residence of Spyridon Metaxas (1897, a work of Ziller) bear elaborate façades and metal balconies that combine Viennese aesthetics with Greek austerity. The Mansion of the Mariner’s Retirement Fund, located next to the Central Municipal Market, is also of special architectural value.
At the edge of the port, the Hellenic Naval Academy (1905, designed by Ziller, known as the Vassanio Megaro), symbolises the heyday of maritime training, while the Chatzikyriakio Orphanage (1889) remains one of the most imposing buildings of charitable architecture of modern Greece.
One of the most recognisable points on the city skyline is the Piraeus Tower, with a height of 84 meters, marking the new era of the city as a metropolitan destination.
A little further on, on Polydefkous Street, the contemporary art scene has found a dynamic method of expression, thanks to the creation of private art galleries nestled between workshops and port equipment stores.
