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.

57. Vardalis House

Brief documentation:

This building belongs to the old Xanthi family Vardalis and its construction took place around 1870.
According to testimonies during the Bulgarian occupation, the building was requisitioned to accommodate the Bulgarian Mayor of the city, who left in 1919 trying to escape with the family's furniture but was arrested.
It is a large, folk traditional architecture building with an extensive sachnisi on the first floor, on Orfeos Street and in the lane. The ground floor consists of stonework, a solid and robust construction, with intermediate wooden frames that help the antiseismicity of the building, while the first floor is made of wooden construction (tsatma). There are windows on the ground floor, with guardrails, and on the first floor, with simple wooden frames. These are two consecutive residences with entrances on Orfeos Street and the lane. In the corner, the characteristic detachment of the building, the beveled corner, is formed to protect the wall from carriages.
Decorated ceilings are observed inside the building.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

The building belongs to the old Xanthi Vardalis family and its construction dates back to around 1870.
According to testimonies during the Bulgarian occupation, the building was requisitioned to accommodate the Bulgarian Mayor of the city, who left in 1919 tryinh to escape with the family's furniture but was arrested.

Elements of architecture:

It is a large, folk traditional architecture building with an extensive sachnisi on the first floor, on Orfeos Street and in the lane. The ground floor consists of stonework, a solid and robust construction, with intermediate wooden frames that help the antiseismicity of the building, while the first floor is made of wooden construction (tsatma). There are windows on the ground floor, with guardrails, and on the first floor, with simple wooden frames. These are two consecutive residences with entrances on Orfeos Street and the lane. In the corner, the characteristic detachment of the building, the beveled corner, is formed to protect the wall from carriages.

Description of other elements:

Decorated ceilings are observed inside the building. A member of the family was on the committee of the Taxiarchs Monastery, while Miltiadis Vardalis was among the distinguished Xanthians taken by the Bulgarians fleeing as hostages after the end of the 1st Bulgarian occupation of Xanthi (November 1912 – July 1913), for reasons of their personal safety. During the 1920s, a Greek athlete from Xanthi is recorded with the surname Vardalis.

Purpose - Use: Residence

Characterization: Preservable, Institution of the Ministry of Culture, Decision DILAP/C/108/5352, Government Gazette 91/90

Dating (period): Second half of the 19th century

Year of construction: Second half of the 19th century

Location of the monument: 41.14383, 24.88851

Bibliographic references:

• D. Mavridis (ed.). Xanthi, the city with a thousand colors. Xanthi, PAKETHRA 2008

Address: Orfeos 40-42

Visitable: No