Architectural tour in Old Xanthi (80')

This route is about 3 km, about 80 minutes and of moderate difficulty. It covers almost the entire area of Old Xanthi, starting from the west and the mansion of Muzafer Bey and ending at the district of Ydragogeiou Street in the north.

Through it and the more than 50 buildings it includes, the visitor will get to know extensively the architecture of Old Xanthi. Walking through its alleys you will observe the morphological features of the mansions and houses, the shops, the schools, the churches and the metropolitan mansion, the inns, community buildings, the mosques, as well as the way in which all these are integrated into the urban fabric of the city. At the same time, he will be initiated into the architectural trends of neoclassicism, eclecticism and traditional architecture, as expressed in the various buildings of the old town.

18. Ecclesiastical Library

Brief documentation:

The building was built between 1870 and 1890, probably initially as a residence, and was later donated to the local church. The building belongs today to the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou and was restored by the Cultural Development Center of Thrace (P.A.KE.THRA.) of which it was the headquarters from 1993 to 2005.
Today it operates as the Ecclesiastical Library of the Metropolis, with approximately thousands of volumes of ecclesiastical and historical content. The Library is open to the public during the morning hours, but only after consultation with the Metropolis. It is a two-storey building, in which neoclassical elements can be distinguished. It has an iron balcony, iron bars on the windows and the arched skylight above the entrance. The pilasters of the entrance, the frame of the skylight as well as the simple frames of the windows are made with the local stone of Mandra. The coating on the exterior of the building mimics an isodomic building system.
Inside the building there is a central hall, around which the rooms are arranged.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

The building was built in the period 1870-1890 probably initially as a residence, and later it was donated to the local church. The building belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou and was restored by the Cultural Development Center of Thrace (P.A.KE.THRA.) of which it was the headquarters from 1993 to 2005. Today it operates as the Ecclesiastical Library of the Metropolis, with approximately thousands of volumes of ecclesiastical and historical content. The Library is open to the public, only after consultation with the Metropolis.

Elements of architecture:

It is a two-storey building, in which neoclassical elements can be distinguished. It has an iron balcony, iron bars on the windows and the arched skylight above the entrance. The pilasters of the entrance, the frame of the skylight as well as the simple frames of the windows are made with the local stone of Mandra.
Inside the building there is a central hall, around which the rooms are arranged.

Description of other elements:

The coating on the exterior of the building mimics an isodomic building system.

Purpose - Use: Residence, Ecclesiastical building

Characterization: Preserved, Institution of the Ministry of Culture, Decision DILAP/C/11/63051, Government Gazette 73/Β/28-2-86

Dating (period): Last quarter of the 19th century

Year of construction: 1870-1890

Monument location: 41.14382, 24.88778

Bibliographic references:

• Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou https://im- xanthis.gr/ekklisiastiki-vivliothiki/
• PACKETHRA https://pakethra.gr/edres/

Address: Antikas 14

Visitable: No