Academy of Athens description and photos - Greece: Athens (Topic)

Academy of Athens description and photos - Greece: Athens. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Academy of Athens.

Photo and description

The Athens Academy of Sciences has the official status of the National Academy of Greece and is the highest research institution in the country. The Academy is supervised by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religion. The Athens Academy was founded on March 18, 1926. It owes its name to the ancient Academy of Plato, founded in 385 BC. and named for the mythical hero Akadem. The official charter of the academy divides its activities into three areas: natural sciences, art, morality and political sciences.

The main building of the academy is a masterpiece of the neoclassical style, is part of the famous Athens trilogy, together with the Kapodistrian University of Athens and the National Library of Greece ... The design of the building belongs to the Danish architect Theophilus von Hansen and is recognized as his best masterpiece in Greece.

The building has been under construction for 28 years. The work was supervised by the architect Ernst Ziller. The first stone was laid back in 1859 with funds from the philanthropist Simon von Sien (Austrian entrepreneur), but due to political instability in 1864, construction stopped. Four years later, work resumed and in 1885 the building was completed. On March 20, 1887, the main building was put into operation. Despite the fact that the building was originally intended for the national academy, in the absence of such it was transferred to the numismatic museum. Later, the Byzantine Museum and the State Archives were located here. On March 24, 1926, the building was transferred to the newly created Academy of Athens.

The structure consists of a central part and side wings. In front of the facade of the building there are two columns with statues of Apollo and Athena (by the famous Greek sculptor Leonidas Drosis). Also, in front of the entrance you can see two seated statues of Socrates and Plato. The frescoes and decorations are by Austrian Christian Greipenkerl.

The Athens Academy has 12 research centers, 10 research departments, a library and the Biomedical Research Foundation.

We also recommend reading Lin Fong Temple description and photos - China: Macau

Topic: Academy of Athens description and photos - Greece: Athens.