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.

Points Expand/Collapse

31. Two-storey brick house

Brief documentation:

The building was erected in the early 20th century.
It is a narrow-fronted middle-class residence, built in the district of Agios Georgios. The building has a semi-basement, ground floor and first floor, with these various levels separated by a flat or stepped cornice, on the ground floor and on the first floor respectively. There are decorative cornices on the coronation of the masonry.
The entrance to the building is placed on the right side of the house, while the façade is dominated by many windows, which give plenty of light to the interior of the house. Above the central arched entrance there is an arched skylight and above it a balcony with iron railings. Under the window openings, decorative frames are created, which recede in the ground floor and protrude in the first floor, while on either side of the windows decorative false pillars are formed, which are crowned with false capitals.
The building was created in imitation of similar constructions in England. Its main feature is that it is made and decorated with red plinths.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

The building was erected in the early 20th century.

Elements of architecture:

It is a narrow-fronted middle-class residence, built in the district of Agios Georgios. The building has a semi-basement, ground floor and first floor, with these various levels separated by a flat or stepped cornice, on the ground floor and on the first floor respectively. There are decorative cornices on the coronation of the masonry.
The entrance to the building is placed on the right side of the house, while the façade is dominated by many windows, which give plenty of light to the interior of the house. Above the central arched entrance there is an arched skylight and above it a balcony with iron railings. Under the window openings, decorative frames are created, which recede in the ground floor and protrude in the first floor, while on either side of the windows decorative false pillars are formed, which are crowned with false capitals.

Description of other elements:

The building was created in imitation of similar constructions in England. Its main feature is that it is made and decorated with red plinths.

Purpose - Use: Residence

Characterization: ΔPreservable, Institution of the Ministry of Education, Category "A", Decision 5385, Government Gazette 1097/95

Dating (period): Early 20th century

Year of construction: Early 20th century

Location of the monument: 41.14272, 24.88619

Bibliographic references:

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

Address: Taxiarchon 12

Visitable: No