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.

41. Metaxas Mansion

Brief documentation:

The building was built in 1900, as evidenced by the dedicatory inscription located above the main entrance, in the area of the districts of Agios Georgios – Agios Vlasios by the tobacco trading family Metaxas.
It is an imposing three-storey mansion of bourgeois character. The architectural style of the building is influenced by neoclassicism. Its exterior includes a number of decorative elements, such as false pillars with false capitals, cornice on the windows, the main entrance and the coronation of the masonry, as well as decorative sculptural elements on the window frames.
The main entrance of the mansion is arched and includes a dedicatory inscription and a ceramic lion's head as a decorative element.
The building has two balconies with ornate ironwork and painting decoration of folk aesthetics on the lower side. The staircase of the entrance is also decorated with a painting depicting the four goddesses of antiquity Athena, Artemis, Hera and Aphrodite.
In front of the building there is a small courtyard, surrounded by an iron courtyard, which is decorated with propellers and spears.


Category of thematic interest:  ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST


History:

The building was erected in 1900, as evidenced by the dedicatory inscription located above the main entrance of the building. It is located in the area of the districts of Agios Georgios – Agios Vlasios and belonged to the homonymous tobacco trading family. The building was originally designed to function as a residence and does not seem to have changed use since its foundation.


Elements of architecture:

It is an imposing three-storey mansion of bourgeois character, which is built according to the standards of neoclassicism. The exterior of the building is constructed with absolute symmetry and includes a number of decorative elements, such as false pillars with false capitals, cornice on the windows, the main entrance and the coronation of the masonry, as well as decorative sculptural elements on the window frames.
The main entrance of the mansion is arched and includes a dedicatory inscription and a ceramic lion's head as a decorative element.


Description of other elements:

The building has two balconies with ornate ironwork, which are decorated with paintings of folk aesthetics in the their underside.
The staircase of the entrance also includes painting decoration depicting the four goddesses of antiquity Athena, Artemis, Hera and Aphrodite. In front of the building there is a small courtyard, surrounded by an iron rail, which is decorated with propellers and spears.


Purpose - Use: Residence


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


Dating (period): Early 20th century


Year of construction: 1900


Location of the monument: 41.141743762449345, 24.885384011219628


Bibliographic references:

•    Dimitris Mavridis, Angelophylaktos Xanthi, Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou, Xanthi 2007
•    Dimitris Mavridis, Houses of Xanthi, Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou – D.E.A.X., Xanthi 2009
•    Eleni Kouni, Vasilis Aivaliotis, Sofia Adamantidou, Lefteris Kounis and jewelry in Xanthi, P.A.KE.THRA. – d.e.a.x., Xanthi 2006
•    Xanthi. The city with a thousand colors, MUNICIPALITY OF XANTHI – P.A.KE.THRA., XANTHI 2008
•    Katsari-Vafiadis, J. ed. 2023. "History and recording of the neoclassical buildings of the traditional settlement". Xanthi: MUNICIPALITY OF XANTHI, P. 163


 Address:  Markou Botsari 26


Visitable: No

 

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