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.

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16. Matsopoulos House

Brief documentation:

This house was built in the decade 1890-1900, by the doctor George Matsopoulos. Since 1894, Matsopoulos settled in Komotini and was persecuted during the First World War by the Bulgarian conquerors of the city. In 1920 he was elected MP for Rodopi. He was honored for his work by the Prime Minister of the country Eleftherios Venizelos, with the medal of the "Cross of the Order of King George I". Until today this building has been used as a residence.
It is a neoclassical, two-storey building, narrow-faced and coated with red paint. The construction of chiseled, local granite, as can be seen in the semi-basement, becomes obvious. All openings of the semi-basement and ground floor have visible stone frames. On the windows of the lower floor there is simple, decorative wrought ironwork. Access to the first floor is by a wooden staircase, while the skylight above the entrance door ensures the illumination of the staircase.
This building, like others on Antika Street, has served as a backdrop for filming television and film productions, thanks to the aroma of a bygone era that they preserve and emit. Among these productions is the series directed by Kostas Koutsomitis, which brought to the television screen the book "Bloody soils" by Dido Sotiriou and several shootings took place in this building.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

This house was built in the decade 1890-1900, by the doctor George Matsopoulos, son-in-law of the landowner Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos, who was married to Eleni Kougioumtzoglou. Since 1894, Matsopoulos settled in Komotini and was persecuted during the First World War by the Bulgarian conquerors of the city.
In 1920 he was elected MP for Rodopi. He was honored for his work by the Prime Minister of the country Eleftherios Venizelos, with the medal of the "Cross of the Order of King George I". Until today this building has been used as a residence.

Elements of architecture:

It is a neoclassical, two-storey building, narrow-faced and coated with red paint. The construction of chiseled, local granite, as can be seen in the semi-basement, becomes obvious. All openings of the semi-basement and ground floor have visible stone frames. On the windows of the lower floor there is simple, decorative wrought ironwork. Access to the first floor is by a wooden staircase, while the skylight above the door entrance ensures the illumination of the staircase.

Description of other elements:

This building, like others on Antika Street, has served as a backdrop for filming television and film productions, thanks to the aroma of a bygone era that they preserve and emit. Among these productions is the series directed by Kostas Koutsomitis, which brought to the television screen the book "Bloody soils" by Dido Sotiriou and several shootings took place in this building.

Purpose - Use: Residence

Characterization: ΥMATH/5385/24-11-1995, ΦΕΚ 1097/Δ/1995

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

Year of construction: 1890-1900

Monument location: 41.14356, 24.88794

Bibliographic references:

• D. Mavridis (ed.). Xanthi, the city with a thousand colors. Xanthi, PAKETHRA 2008, p. 191

Address: Antikas 4

Visitable: No