49

schoolchildren carefully processed and studied the material. The exhibition, displaying over 300 objects, was cer- emonially opened on 30 January 1976. It comprised original nineteenth-century legal records, banknotes, household ar- ticles, plates and dishes, clothing, uten- sils and other items (Fig. 38). The exhibi- tion is housed in two classrooms. One of them contains a complete reproduction of a nineteenth-century peasant’s hut, or isba (Fig. 40). All the exhibits here are original. The fitting-out and the artistic and architectural design were carried out by the pupils themselves, and it is they who act as keepers, guides and attendants in the museum.

‘Bread-making lessons’ and ‘Russian fair-days’ are regularly held in the isba. Each class prepares a display and assem-

bles exhibits relating to a particular city, like Tula, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Suzdal, Rostov and others.

The Rossiyanka Museum carries out a great deal of scientific and instructional work. In its six years of existence the museum has drawn over 10,000 visitors. Thirty pupils in the seventh to tenth grades provide conducted tours for pupils from other schools and workers from various Moscow enterprises. The mu- seum’s council devotes a great deal of at- tention to mobile exhibitions, and that prepared by the pupils has been pre- sented in many enterprises in Moscow and the Moscow region.

These very different museums - in schools, factories and collectives - pur- sue a common task. They are not only sources of knowledge but centres of

culture. Widespread participation by the working public in museum activity testifies to the rising standard of culture and education among the Soviet people, and to their growing creativity and heightened interest in the history of their country.

[ Tratdated from Rassian]

Nicholas T. Cholevas Born in Greece. Diploma, Special School for the Study and Restoration of Monuments, University of Rome, 1979. Doctor of Architecture, Aristotelian University of Salonika, 1984. Professor of the History of Art at the Laboratory for the Restoration of Works of Art and Archaeological Finds, Athens, 1973-79. Since 1975, member of the teaching staff of the National Technical University of Athens. Since 1984, member of the Central Council for Modern Monuments in the Ministry of Culture and Science, Athens. Author of books and articles on the history of architecture and art and the restora- tion of monuments.

42 The buildings of the City of Athens Museum.

The City of Athens Masea Among the many and important mu- seums in the Greek capital, the City of Athens Museum may escape the notice of, the traveller, since he is often blinded by ancient Greek history to Greece’s more recent cultural legacy.

The City of Athens Museum is an ad- mirable example of private enterprise. It was created by the Vourou-Evtaxia Foun- dation following the entry into force in 1973 of a decree establishing it, which defines the purpose of the museum as

follows: ‘To portray the history of the city of Athens from the time of Frankish domination onwards, to establish an ap- propriate library and archives and, in general, to improve and develop historical knowledge and studies on Athens covering the period specified. ’1

1. For the founding of the City of Athens Museum, see A. Kokkou, Moxseio t i s p o h s ton Atbinon Idn’ma Vouron-Evtaxia [City of Athens Museum, Vourou-Evtaxia Foundation], p. 64, Athens / Munich, 1980.

50 Nichol'as T. Chol'evas

43 Model of Athens in 1842 designed by I. Travlos and constructed by N. Yerasimof, 1977-79.

A few years ago the first of the three sections which will constitute the museum was inaugurated. This first sec- tion is today housed in a neoclassical building at No. 7 Paparrigopoulos Street which gives on to one of the most central squares in Athens, Klathmonos Square.

This building is also known as the Old Palace, since it was used as a temporary residence from 1836 to 1843 by Otho I, the first King of Greece after the declara- tion of the country's independence. The building was the work of the German ar- chitects G. Lüders and J. Hoffer, and was

44 The kitchen.

The City of Athens ilfzlsezinz 51

erected in 1833, constituting one of the earliest examples of classicistic architec- ture in Greece.

After restoration and conservation of the building by the architect I. Travlos, and once the paintings adorning the in- terior had been fully restored, it was ready to receive visitors in an atmosphere typical of a nineteenth-century Athenian mansion.2

The second section of the museum is to be housed in the adjoining building, which also belongs to the Vourou-Evtaxia Foundation and is the work of the Greek architect G. Metaxas (18559, though later altered in the early twentieth century by the architect A. Chelmis, also a Greek, along the lines of eclectic architecture. This section will contain collections of mainly original works and engravings from the period of Frankish domination onwards.

The third section, which is later to be housed in the nineteenth-century building on the corner of Asomaton and Dipylon Streets, will exhibit architectural features from neoclassical buildings, fur- niture, objets d'art and other items associated with the recent history of the Greek capital. For the time being only the rooms of the Old Palace are open to the public, since in the other buildings work is under way to adapt them to their ne-w museum fùnction.

In the building on Paparrigopoulos

45 From the museum exhibits: E. Lear (1812-8&), The TempLe of P o s d o n at Szaizcm, water-colour and Indian ink,

Street, furniture and works of art have been painstakingly assembled so as to give an excellent idea of the atmosphere 26 d 5 cm. of nineteenth-century Athens. The wa- ter-colours, engravings and oil paintings on display depicting both Athens itself and life in Greece after liberation froin the Ottoman yoke constitute unique possessions for the city. These are all gathered together on premises where the traditional functions of the actual man- sion have been revived.

A number of mementoes of the period of King Otho were recently donated to the museum by the Government of the Land of Bavaria, Federal Republic of Ger- many, and are now on display.

The City of Athens Museum con- stitutes both a pole of attraction and a very important source of material for study and research on the recent history of the Greek capital.3

[ TransZatedfrom Gee&]

2.For the Dikoti Vourou Mansion, see: Kokkou, op. cit., p. 61.

3. I wish wholeheartedly to thank Mr Manos Charitatos of the Vourou-Evtaxia Foundation for his most obliging help. I am particularly grateful to him for permitting publication of the photographs from the museum archives.