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

62. Two-storey building – Byzantium

Brief documentation:

The building was built at an unknown date. Its original owners were Ioannis and Konstantinos Korelis and Anastasios Liapis with a percentage of 1/3 each. Their origin was from a village in Ioannina. In recent years it has been operating as a store.
The presence of the people of Epirus in Xanthi was particularly intense, especially after the catastrophic earthquakes of 1829, when groups of craftsmen came from Epirus, rebuilt the old Xanthi, while other Epirotes came and stayed here, engaged in tobacco trade, founding inns (hotels) etc. Until today there is a Brotherhood of Epirotes of Xanthi.
The building is one of the two two-storey buildings on Antika Square, which is a central public space of old Xanthi and the center of modern nightlife with many restaurants, cafes and bars.
The façade of the building is simple and narrow-fronted. The ground floor is dominated today by the open plan window of the store with wooden frame and door and glazing. In the interior of the ground floor, the building area is distinct, with raw stone and intermediate wooden frames.
On the first floor there is a balcony with iron railings, while similar ironwork exists on the windows on either side of the balcony door. The openings on the first floor are surrounded by a simple stone frame, made of the characteristic local granite. At the corners of the building, false pilasters are formed, while there is a cornice under the roof.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

The building was built at an unknown date. Its original owners were Ioannis and Konstantinos Korelis and Anastasios Liapis with a percentage of 1/3 each. Their origin was from a village in Ioannina. In recent years it has been operating as a store.
The presence of the people of Epirus in Xanthi was particularly intense, especially after the catastrophic earthquakes of 1829, when groups of craftsmen came from Epirus, rebuilt the old Xanthi, while other Epirotes came and stayed here, engaged in tobacco trade, founding inns (hotels) etc. Until today there is a Brotherhood of Epirotes of Xanthi.

Elements of architecture:

The building is one of the two two-storey buildings on Antika Square, which is a central public space of old Xanthi and the center of modern nightlife with many restaurants, cafes and bars.

The façade of the building is simple and narrow-fronted. The ground floor is dominated today by the open plan window of the store with wooden frame and door and glazing. In the interior of the ground floor, the building area is distinct, with raw stone and intermediate wooden frames.

Description of other elements:

On the first floor there is a balcony with iron railings, while similar ironwork exists on the windows on either side of the balcony door. The openings on the first floor are surrounded by a simple stone frame, made of the characteristic local granite. At the corners of the building, false pilasters are formed, while there is a cornice under the roof.

Purpose - Use: Commercial space

Characterization: Government Gazette 612B/30-4-1976 and Government Gazette 661/Β/17-5-1976, Government Gazette 1097/14.12-1995

Dating (period): Unknown

Year of construction: Unknown

Location of the monument: 41.14207871332049, 24.88735418150523

Bibliographic references:

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

Address: Vas. Konstantinou 128

Visitable: Yes