The history of the old royal property in Tatoi – Newsbeast

The history of our country, especially that of the last century, is a history full of important events that, to a large extent, determined the subsequent course of Greece. In many cases, this story has been linked (whether for good or bad reasons) to specific locations.

One of them is located just 15 kilometers from the center of Athens. At the foot of Parnitha. Its own heavy and intriguing history runs almost entirely the corresponding modern history of the state. This is old royal property in Tatoi. That’s where the former royal family’s summer residence was.

Recently, the property (previously abandoned) was returned to the news on the occasion of the efforts of the Ministry of Culture to make it a pole of attraction for tourists, but also for Athenians who want a short city break.

The progress of the projects, which are already underway, was reviewed in successive teleconferences under the supervision of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Mr. Lina Mendoni and immediate rescue efforts are already underway.

Specifically, for the palace building, technical reports for cleaning, disinfection and restoration of the roof and frames with the installation of scaffolding are ready. The ranger’s house, after being maintained and restored, will function as an information center for visitors. Rescue operations will begin immediately in the parking lot. At the same time, the studio assignment for the kitchen building is underway.

In a few days, tolls will be completed to transport boxes and items from kitchen buildings and stables so registration and maintenance can proceed immediately. As for the paper material from the archive of the old royal property, its registration, evaluation, maintenance and digitization will be included in the current NSRF, with a budget of 700,000 euros. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

The “birth” of the real state

We are in 1872 when the then king of the country, George I, buys at his request. Ernest ziller an area of ​​20,000 acres in Tatoi.

The legendary architect insisted on this market because he imagined a large palace complex similar to Versailles! But he was soon disappointed when the then king rejected his plans, as he intended to expand the royal family’s leisure heritage.

What George wanted was the creation of a huge artificial forest, where he even created two artificial lakes and released Hungarian deer.

Therefore, Ziller designed a simple two-story house, which he described as “Greek-Swiss style,” which was completed in 1874 and was the first royal family vacation home.

Ten years later, the construction of the new palace begins, mainly by the architect Savvas Boukis. At Queen Olga’s urging, Boukis traveled to Russia, where he photographed an English-style farmhouse in the Peterhof palace complex owned by his uncle, Tsar Alexander II.

The royal family first lived in the new palaces in 1889. Since then, they have visited them every year from the end of May until shortly before the arrival of winter.

By the turn of the century, the palace was already surrounded by dozens of buildings, including worker housing estates, a winery, a butcher shop, warehouses, workshops, and guards’ shelters.

A heavy story, full of intrigue.

As already mentioned, the “life” of the estate goes through modern Greek history and, of course, many important moments unfolded there. Obviously not everyone can be mentioned, however the most important ones will be mentioned briefly so that everyone understands the weight of the story they are “carrying”.

In 1917 during First World War, Entente’s forces invade the estate with savage dispositions, occupy it and forcefully expel the then King Constantine.

During the Second Hellenic Republic (1924 – 1935) part of the palaces became a museum dedicated to the royal dynasty. At the same time, at that time it was the summer residence of the then President of the Republic.

In the winter of 1941, in the middle The Second World WarCritical meetings were held at the palace under George II in view of the German attack, but also those that preceded the royal family’s flight to Egypt, South Africa and London after the collapse of the Front in April of the same year.

On Easter 1944 and while the country was immersed in the vortex of civil war, the guerrillas of the Hellenic Liberation Army arrived at the farm. At first they maintain a friendly attitude towards all residents. Until fall, the entire estate now operated under his command. EAM Executives The civil war will end dramatically when the guerrillas leave, carrying out three workers who were considered collaborators with the enemy, setting fire to a part of the farm.

Shortly before leaving in 1966, two secret meetings between George Papandreou and Panagiotis Kanellopoulos are said to have taken place inside the palace, with the aim of overthrowing the “apostate” government.

In 1967 and after the country has entered its “plaster” Colonel of the colonels, the royal family, after the failed disobedience on December 13, leaves the palace and escapes to Rome. This was the last time in its history that the royal properties in Tatoi were inhabited. On June 1, 1973, the board abolished the kingdom and the state became the property of the Greek state for the first time.

The infamous “royal riff”

In the years that followed, until 2003, there was a constant legal dispute between the ancient royal family and the Greek government on the one hand over ownership of the property and on the other about the treasures hidden within.

The controversy has even reached the European Court of Justice! That’s where ex king Constantine He claimed that, unlike the winter palaces, the palaces of Tatoi, Mon Repo and Polydendri were privately owned by his family, which did not stem from his institutional role and therefore had to be compensated.

Finally the European court of justice awarded to the Greek State to pay compensation of 13.2 million euros!

In the early 1990s, however, a major political and economic scandal erupted that went down in history as the “royal riff.” Government Mitsotaki He made a secret agreement with the former royal family to allow him to take various valuables from the palace!

According to reports of the time, Konstantinos confiscated nine containers from the Tatoi Palace with a gross weight of 32 tons in six trucks! Some of the valuables were liquidated at Christie’s auction in 2007.

What was removed will probably remain unknown forever. It appears, however, that the “sinful” containers, with the permission of the then government, included paintings of great value, while publications of the time noted that “their jewelry is believed to be included.” Romanov from 1830 “, which was a real treasure.

It is worth noting that during the years of neglect, the estate had become a pole of attraction for all kinds of gold diggers, who, “enchanted” by various myths, searched the estate for chests full of pounds of gold. In one of the most characteristic incidents, in 2006, four people were arrested (three of them in uniform), who were looking for … gold pounds with the help of a metal detector!

However, according to what is known, despite the fact that the property has been withdrawn from time to time, around 17,000 objects of lesser or greater value are still preserved today, including valuable paintings. All this will soon have its place and when the restoration and maintenance work is completed, visitors to the former royal palaces will be able to admire them.