Iliou Melathron
Iliou Melathron ( Greek Ιλίου Μέλαθρον , Palace of Ilion ) is a neo-Renaissance palace in the center of the Greek capital Athens , which Heinrich Schliemann had his friend, the architect Ernst Ziller , built as a family residence. Today it houses the Numismatic Museum .
building
The palace was built in 1878/79 and inaugurated on January 30, 1881 after the interior had been painted for a year by the Slovenian painter Jurij Šubic (1855–1890).
The building has a floor area of 25 × 23 meters. Formally it follows the Italian Renaissance style with Tuscan influences, but also has many quotations from Greek antiquity. The impressive facade on Panepistimiou (Universitätsstraße) is dominated by a two-story loggia painted in dark red , which is closed off by an arcade of Ionic marble columns. The palace is surrounded on three sides by a garden. The swastika symbols on the fence are based on models in Troy, which Schliemann dug up there and interpreted as a fire agitator.
Schliemann's stipulation: “Since I lived in small houses all my life, I would like to spend the remaining years of my life in a large building. I want space and nothing more. You can choose any style, my only requirement is a wide marble staircase that should lead from the ground floor to the first floor and a terrace at the top "led, according to Georgios Korres, to one of the" most representative, magnificent and original buildings in Europe of the previous [19.] Century ". The street view of the compact three-storey building on an approximately square floor plan shows a round arch loggia and is reminiscent of the Palazzo Trevisan in Venice in the 16th century, but the relationship with Nicolai's Seebach house and Semper's Villa Rosa can also be recognized. Schliemann was particularly impressed by the Villa Rosa on a trip to Dresden, and is said to have recommended it to Ziller as an example of architecture. Ziller also quotes himself, however, as he had already used this arcade arch sequence at the theater in Patras in 1871 .
use
On the ground floor there were two museum rooms for Heinrich Schliemann's excavation finds, as well as the utility rooms. On the first floor were the large reception rooms such as the Hesperides Hall, a social and ballroom that served for receptions and as a literary salon. Schliemann's work rooms, his library with office and the family's living quarters were set up on the second floor. Heinrich Schliemann and his family lived in Iliou Melathron until his death in 1890, when his wife Sophia inherited it . The latter sold it to the Greek state in 1926 to support their son Agamemnon , who was in financial difficulties .
From 1934 to 1981 the house was the seat of the Greek Supreme Court, Areopagus . Then it was extensively renovated. Since December 1998 it has housed the Numismatic Museum .
Floor plan
The following room layout relates to the planning of Ziller in the floor plans shown in the picture:
ground floor
- 1,2: Museum
- 3–5: Servants' room
- 6: basement
- 7: kitchen
- 8: bathroom
First floor
- 9: hall
- 10–12: common rooms
- 13: dining room
- 14-16: toilets
Second floor
- 17: anteroom
- 18: library
- 19.20: study
- 21: bedroom
- 22-25: different rooms
Web links
- Iliou Melathron on the Athens Numismatic Museum website
- Iliou Melathron on the website of the Heinrich Schliemann Museum Ankershagen
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Stephan Spichty: The town hall of Hermoupolis. A travel report . Final thesis of the NDS / gta 1995–1997. ETH Zurich, Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture. P. 38 f. (From: Georg Korres: Heinrich Schliemann's "Iliou Melathron" in Athens . In: Antike Welt, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 62.)
- ↑ Danae Coulmas: Schliemann and Sophia. A Lovestory. Piper, Munich / Zurich 2002, ISBN 3-492-23699-5 , p. 287.
- ^ Hans Hermann Russack : Germans building in Athens. Wilhelm Limpert-Verlag, Berlin 1942, p. 151.
Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 40.1 ″ N , 23 ° 44 ′ 7.4 ″ E