Hellenic Parliament Building

Hellenic Parliament Building, ochre-coloured Neoclassical building on the east side of Síntagma Square in Athens, Greece, that houses Greece’s legislative body. The building was designed in 1836 by the German architect Friedrich von Gärtner and was built (1836–43) originally as a palace for the young Bavarian king Otto. Gärtner chose a simple, monumental style that reflects the ancient history of Athens, and the resulting building was an imposing, elegantly Neoclassical square structure with four exterior wings of three floors, and one middle wing of two floors and two courtyards. Each wing was accessible separately and designed to facilitate different functions. The interior of the palace was decorated with scenes from history and Greek mythology, but few have survived.

Over the checkered next eighty years, the palace became home to King George I (reigned 1863–1913). It suffered two fires: one in 1884 that damaged the northern wing and another in 1909 that resulted in substantial damage to the central wing, forcing the royal family to move out. Though few repairs were made, various members of the royal family continued to live in the Old Palace until 1922.

In 1924 the Greek Republic was established and the dynasty was ousted. After that, state administrative bodies, the air force defense, the Greek Red Cross, student housing, and a hospital and orphanage were among the entities that occupied the building before the decision was made to relocate parliament there. In 1929 the central wing was rebuilt and the interior reorganized to accommodate the building’s new function. The Hellenic Parliament took over the building on July 1, 1935, and continues there today.

Another modernization program for the building began in 1975 and has continued. There is a library within the building that is open to the public, and tours of the rest of the building are available.