Families of Old Xanthi
This route is about 2 km, lasting about 60 minutes and of moderate difficulty. In it you will meet the families of old Xanthi, who in various ways contributed to the history of Xanthi, but also to the form that the old town has today. Touring the residences of old families of Xanthi, rather unknown aspects of their family stories will unfold and important personalities of the city will be pulled out of oblivion.

Some of the most important families of the Greek Orthodox community are: Chasirtzoglou, Stalios, Sigalas, Valixoglou, Michaloglou, Metaxas, Leontaridis, Blatsios, Angelos, Alexiou, Kalevras, Kougioumtzoglou, Kaloudis, Adamides, Christidis, Karadimoglou, Alatas. Also important were the families of Ottoman commanders, such as Hamdi Bey, Muzaffer Bey, Hilmi Pasha and Memet Pasha, as well as the Jewish families of Aaron Moses and the Cohens.

Through this route, the population composition of the city will be revealed, the religions combination that existed and exists until today, the economic and social stratification in direct correlation with the type and form of residence and the type of professions developed. Many names, marking streets in old Xanthi, will come alive and will be understood through this route.

15. House of Ath. Kougioumtzoglou

Brief documentation:

The building was built in the decade 1890-1900, by the tobacco merchant, prominent elder and benefactor of the city, Athanasios Kougioumtzoglou.
It is a neoclassical building, corner, with symmetry and entrance on Orfeos Street. There is a cornice that defines the different levels of the house, namely the semi-basement, the ground floor and the first floor. With the protrusion on the first floor, the traditional but slightly protruding triangular sachnisi on Antika Street, the floor space becomes rectangular and therefore more functional. The building, like the rest of old Xanthi, has many windows that offer plenty of light inside the house as well as decorative ironwork in the openings of the ground floor and on the balcony. The beveled corner, created at the junction of Antika and Orfeos streets, contributes to the protection of the walls of the building from the carts that turned and to the better exploitation of public space.
The great-granddaughter of the original owner is Melpo Logotheti-Merlier, who was born in Xanthi in 1889 (-1979). The well-known musicologist and folklorist, together with her husband Octavio Merlier (1897-1976), founded the Music Archives of Tradition. After the war, this Association was named "Centre for Asia Minor Studies – Melpo and Octavius Merlier Foundation" and operates until today in Athens as an active, scientific institution.


Category of thematic interest:  ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST


History:

The building was built in the decade 1890-1900, by the tobacco merchant, prominent elder and benefactor of the city, Athanasios Kougioumtzoglou.


Elements of architecture:

It is a neoclassical building, corner, with symmetry and entrance on Orfeos Street. There is a cornice that defines the different levels of the house, namely the semi-basement, the ground floor and the first floor. With the protrusion on the first floor, the traditional but slightly protruding triangular sachnisi on Antika Street, the floor space becomes rectangular and therefore more functional. The building, like the rest of old Xanthi, has many windows that offer plenty of light inside the house as well as decorative ironwork in the openings of the ground floor and on the balcony. The beveled corner, created at the junction of Antika and Orfeos streets, contributes to the protection of the walls of the building from the carts that turned and to the better exploitation of public space.


Description of other elements:

The great-granddaughter of the original owner is Melpo Logotheti-Merlier, who was born in Xanthi in 1889 (-1979). The well-known musicologist and folklorist, together with her husband Octavio Merlier (1897-1976), founded the Music Archives of Tradition. After the war, this Association was named "Centre for Asia Minor Studies – Melpo and Octavius Merlier Foundation" and operates until today in Athens as an active, scientific institution.


Purpose - Use: Residence


Characterization: Preservable, Institution of the Ministry of Culture, Category "A", Government Gazette 215/Β/21-4-88


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


Year of construction: 1890s-1900s


Monument location: 41.14348, 24.88802


Bibliographic references:

•    Katsari-Vafiadis, J. Ed. 2023. "History and recording of the neoclassical buildings of the traditional settlement". Xanthi: Municipality of Xanthi, p. 54


 Address: Antikas and Orfeos 43


Visitable: No


 

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