The most complete
information guide about Athens, Greece
Churches in Athens
Evangelismos tis Theotokou (Annunciation
of the Virgin)
The Cathedral of Athens
The Cathedral of Athens, dedicated to the Annunciation of the
Virgin, is situated in Mitropoleos (Cathedral) square on the street
with the same name. Building began in 1842 and was completed by
1862. It is a three-aisled, domed basilica.
The
construction cost exceeded the predicted amount. The difference
was covered partly by the sale of ecclesiastical property and
partly by donations, mostly from King Otto and the wealthy Sinas
family who lived in Vienna (Austria).
The
church was built in four stages. The architect Theophilus Hansen
prepared the first drawings which resulted in that part of the
building up to the first series of windows. Then, in 1843, construction
work was interrupted due to financial problems. Three years later,
Dimitrios Zezos took over and introduced a Greco-Byzantine style.
After his dead in 1857, the municipality of Athens asked the French
architect François Boulanger to continue the project.
Boulanger
worked together with Panayotis Kalkos who was responsible for
the actual execution of the construction work. Material from ruined
Byzantine churches was used to build the cathedral. The internal
wall paintings by Piridon Giallinas and Alexander Seitz follow
Byzantine tradition while the ornaments were made by the painter
Konstantinos Fanellis from Smyrna.
The
sculptural architectural elements, the capitals and the pulpit
were designed by the sculptor Georgios Fitalis. The numerous stylistic
alterations effected during construction led to an ill-defined
architectural character, especially by comparison with the church
of Saint Eleftherios (Gorgoepekous) right next to the cathedral.
Characteristically, the lower part of the church, designed by
Hansen, looks smaller in relation to the rest of the building.