Neoclassical and eclectic buildings of Old Xanthi

This route is about 3 km, about 80 minutes and of moderate difficulty. It starts from Antikas Square and ends at the border of the old town with the modern city to the west. Through this route, the visitor has the opportunity to get to know the practice of neoclassicism and eclecticism, as expressed in about 50 buildings of old Xanthi.

Neoclassicism appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries and is strongly influenced by the principles governing the architecture of classical antiquity. The buildings are distinguished for the simplicity of their geometric forms, the Doric detail, the simplicity, the absolute symmetry, the dividing lines of the vertical spreads and the pilasters with false capitals at the corners.

Eclecticism, on the other hand, is the architectural style of the 19th and 20th centuries, in which a variety of elements from various eras and styles are selected and used, in a single building. The eclectic buildings in Xanthi are influenced by neoclassicism (e.g. absolute symmetry, verticality), while individual elements are influenced by Art Deco (e.g. strong decorative mood), central Europe (e.g. turret roof configuration or turret development), English Baroque (e.g. the use of red brick) and Romanesque style (e.g. arched openings and curved arches).

Points Expand/Collapse

18. Ecclesiastical Library

Brief documentation:

The building was built between 1870 and 1890, probably initially as a residence, and was later donated to the local church. The building belongs today to the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou and was restored by the Cultural Development Center of Thrace (P.A.KE.THRA.) of which it was the headquarters from 1993 to 2005.
Today it operates as the Ecclesiastical Library of the Metropolis, with approximately thousands of volumes of ecclesiastical and historical content. The Library is open to the public during the morning hours, but only after consultation with the Metropolis. It is a two-storey building, in which neoclassical elements can be distinguished. It has an iron balcony, iron bars on the windows and the arched skylight above the entrance. The pilasters of the entrance, the frame of the skylight as well as the simple frames of the windows are made with the local stone of Mandra. The coating on the exterior of the building mimics an isodomic building system.
Inside the building there is a central hall, around which the rooms are arranged.

Category of thematic interest: ARCHITECTURAL / HISTORICAL INTEREST

History:

The building was built in the period 1870-1890 probably initially as a residence, and later it was donated to the local church. The building belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou and was restored by the Cultural Development Center of Thrace (P.A.KE.THRA.) of which it was the headquarters from 1993 to 2005. Today it operates as the Ecclesiastical Library of the Metropolis, with approximately thousands of volumes of ecclesiastical and historical content. The Library is open to the public, only after consultation with the Metropolis.

Elements of architecture:

It is a two-storey building, in which neoclassical elements can be distinguished. It has an iron balcony, iron bars on the windows and the arched skylight above the entrance. The pilasters of the entrance, the frame of the skylight as well as the simple frames of the windows are made with the local stone of Mandra.
Inside the building there is a central hall, around which the rooms are arranged.

Description of other elements:

The coating on the exterior of the building mimics an isodomic building system.

Purpose - Use: Residence, Ecclesiastical building

Characterization: Preserved, Institution of the Ministry of Culture, Decision DILAP/C/11/63051, Government Gazette 73/Β/28-2-86

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

Year of construction: 1870-1890

Monument location: 41.14382, 24.88778

Bibliographic references:

• Holy Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheoriou https://im- xanthis.gr/ekklisiastiki-vivliothiki/
• PACKETHRA https://pakethra.gr/edres/

Address: Antikas 14

Visitable: No