Old Royal Palace, Parliament building in Athens, Greece
The Old Royal Palace is a neoclassical building in Athens organized around two interior courtyards with four connecting wings. Its facades display polished Carrara marble accents alongside lighter stone walls, while wooden doors and window frames line the openings throughout the structure.
Friedrich von Gärtner designed the palace between 1836 and 1843 as a residence for King Otto, the first monarch of independent Greece. After a fire in 1909, the building was reconstructed and has served as the seat of the Hellenic Parliament since 1929.
The western entrance attracts visitors who come to watch the changing ceremony of the Evzones guards wearing traditional uniforms with white kilts and red caps. These costumes recall the Greek independence fighters and connect the building to national identity through daily ritual.
The parliament building sits directly on Syntagma Square in central Athens and is within walking distance from most city neighborhoods. Some rooms and exhibitions are open to visitors, while the ceremony in front of the entrance can be watched from the square at any time.
During construction in the late 1830s, residents from several Greek islands volunteered their labor without requesting payment. Their participation reflected the widespread enthusiasm for building the new independent state and its royal residence.
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