Buildings of traditional architecture in Old Xanthi
This route is about 1 km, about 50 minutes and of moderate difficulty. Starting from the heart of the Old Town and ending at Lefkou Pyrgou Street, the visitor will get to know the houses and mansions of the old Xanthi built according to the principles of traditional architecture.

They can be distinguished by their structural materials, such as stone, wood and the so-called "tsatma" (mixture of clay and straw on braided reeds, wood). A key element of traditional architecture is the "sachnisi", the wooden or metal corbels that supported the projections of the floor, etc.

Many morphological elements are similar to those of houses in Epirus and Macedonia, a fact that is explained by the well-known mobility of building groups, from Epirus and Western Macedonia to the whole of northern Greece. Especially after the earthquakes of 1829, which leveled Xanthi, the well-known stonemasons from these areas are considered to have come and rebuilt the city.

30. Two-storey traditional mansion

Brief documentation:

It is a building of traditional architecture, built in the late 19th-early 20th century. It is a large mansion, a two-storey building of large dimensions with a mezzanine. The building has a "Π" shape and two symmetrical wings. It has a decorative triangular pediment on the roof of the façade and a symmetrical interior layout.
The building is a typical construction built based on the traditional, folk architecture, with a stone ground floor made of thick stone walls (with stones without prior processing) in which wooden beams were inserted, horizontally and intermittently, for their reinforcement, for the distribution of loads and for reasons of earthquake protection. The corners of the walls have square stones (cornerstones) and the floors are made of thinner and lighter walls made of tsatma (with a wooden frame where diagonal wooden elements were placed, while the gap between them was filled
with small stones, ceramic elements, braided branches, etc.). A characteristic feature of the building is the many windows on the upper floor, which were intended for use mainly during the summer months, as well as the pedimented end of the roof above the main entrance, which has painted decoration. The building has recently been successfully renovated.


Category of thematic interest:  ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST


History:

It is a large mansion of traditional architecture, built in the late 19th-early 20th century.


Elements of architecture:

t is a large mansion of traditional architecture, a two-storey building of large dimensions with mezzanine. The building has a "P" shape and two symmetrical wings. It has a decorative triangular pediment on the roof of the façade and a symmetrical interior layout. The building is a typical construction built based on the traditional, folk architecture, with a stone ground floor made of thick stone walls (with stones without prior processing) in which wooden beams were inserted, horizontally and intermittently, for their reinforcement, for the distribution of loads and for reasons of earthquake protection. The corners of the walls have square stones (cornerstones) and the floors are made of thinner and lighter walls made of tsatma (with a wooden frame where diagonal wooden elements were placed, while the gap between them was filled with small stones, ceramic elements, braided branches, etc.). A characteristic feature of the building is the many windows on the upper floor, which were intended for use mainly during the summer months, as well as the pedimented end of the roof above the main entrance, which has painted decoration.


Description of other elements:

The building has recently been successfully renovated.


Purpose - Use: Residence


Characterization: ΔPreservable, Institution of the Ministry of Culture, Decision DILAP/C/13633/180, Government Gazette 128/83


Dating (period): Late 19th-early 20th century


Year of construction: Late 19th-early 20th century


Location of the monument: 41.14235, 24.8864


Bibliographic references:

•    D. Mavridis (ed.). Xanthi, the city with a thousand colors. Xanthi, PAKETHRA 2008, p. 185


 Address: Taxiarchon 3


Visitable: No

 

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