Zappeion Hall

The Zappeion was funded by the cousins Evangelos and Konstantinos Zappas, benefactors who pushed for the revival of the Olympic Games, and was completed in 1888 to designs by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen. Its plan is unusual: a rectangular building wrapped around a circular interior courtyard ringed by a two-storey colonnade, open to the sky, which is the part visitors remember. The hall served as the fencing venue in the 1896 Games and as the Olympic village of sorts, and it has since been Greece's principal conference and exhibition building, used for state occasions and signings. The surrounding gardens run into the National Garden, with palm avenues, statues, an open-air cinema in summer and a cafe under the trees.

History

In 1869 the Greek Parliament set aside public land between the Palace Gardens and the Temple of Olympian Zeus for the building works of the Olympic Games, and the Zappeion became the first building raised specifically for their revival; the cornerstone was laid on 20 January 1874 to a design by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen. Its benefactor Evangelos Zappas did not live to see it, leaving his cousin Konstantinos to finish the work, and it opened on 20 October 1888; it served as the main fencing hall of the 1896 Olympics, as the Olympic Village of the 1906 Intercalated Games, and from 1938 as home of the Athens Radio Station, the country's first national broadcaster (Wikipedia, Zappeion).

What's there

• The circular courtyard - a colonnaded rotunda open to the sky inside the building.
• The neoclassical facade - Hansen's marble front and portico.
• The gardens - palm avenues and statues linking to the National Garden.
• The summer cinema - open-air screenings in the grounds.

When to go

Year-round; the courtyard is accessible when no private event is running, and the gardens are pleasant at any season. Evenings in summer bring the outdoor cinema and cafes to life.

What to expect

The interior halls are used for conferences and are usually closed to casual visitors, so the visit is the courtyard, the exterior and the gardens. Events occasionally close the whole building.

Nearby

The National Garden is immediately north; the Panathenaic Stadium and the Temple of Olympian Zeus are minutes away.

Key facts