Old Royal Palace

The Old Royal Palace (Greek: Παλαιά Ανάκτορα, romanized: Palaiá Anáktora) is the first royal palace of modern Greece. It is a neoclassical building situated at the heart of modern Athens, facing onto Syntagma Square. It was constructed between 1836 and 1843 to serve as the main residence of the Greek royal family and has been the seat of the Parliament since 1929.

In 1836, King Otto I commissioned the Bavarian architect Friedrich von Gärtner, recommended by his father, Ludwig I of Bavaria, to design a palace that would house not only the royal family but also the ministerial cabinet. At the same time, the architect planned the future National Garden adjacent to the palace with Queen Amélie. The building served as the official royal residence until 1910, when George I chose to move to the Crown Prince's Palace nearby, which now houses the presidency of the Hellenic Republic. On the west side of the building, the site was transformed into the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.

Today, the palace houses the Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων), the office of the President of the Assembly, the Vice Presidents, the Cabinet meeting room, the Parliament's television channel, and administrative services. It is accessible by public transportation via the bus and metro networks (Syntagma station).

Text adapted from “Old Royal Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Old Royal Palace ranks #526 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #10 of the 123 mapped in Greece. Founded 1836, it is older than 10% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 562 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 9,220 times in the last 60 days, more than 92% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Athens, 1 km away. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗