Historic building is restored to its original elegance

Work on 19th-century Schliemann house completed

By Nikos Vatopoulos - Kathimerini

The restoration of the Heinrich Schliemann residence – or the Iliou Melathron, which houses the Numismatic Museum of Athens – to its original condition promises an exciting aesthetic return to late-19th century architecture. Work on the building is in its final stages and the scaffolding is about to be removed.

“The restoration work to the interior is even more impressive than the work done on the facade,” the museum’s director, Despina Evgenidou, told Kathimerini.

A walk through the museum’s gardens reveals a new cafe set up for visitors. Also there are the building’s statues awaiting their original roof-top spots along the cornice.

Also being restored, the cornice of this impressive building, which was designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller in 1878, should come as pleasant surprise for many Athenians. Originally, there were 24 statues, commissioned from a Vienna studio. Statues were commonly used in Athens in the late 19th century to adorn buildings.

The sculptures selected by Ziller and Schliemann, the 19th-century explorer-archaeologist who resided in the building, were good-quality copies of well-known Roman, Hellenistic and neoclassical era sculptures. “Most of the originals have been saved, which allowed us to proceed with the creation of copies for 10 of those,” said Evgenidou. Ziller and Schliemann worked closely on the entire building’s design. The new copies were made using specially refined cement that was colored like the ceramic originals.

In the 1930s, a statue had fallen from the building’s cornice onto the footpath below which prompted the removal of the remainder as a safety precaution. The removed statues remained in storage, but the decision to completely restore the historic building brings them back out into the light.

The return of these statues brings back some of the aura and glamour of Athens’s neoclassical era. Most of the buildings of the time, which were adorned with sculptures, have been demolished. Recently, sculptures were reinstated on the roof of the Presidential Mansion, in accordance with Ziller’s plan for the building. The sculptures that graced the Archaeological Museum’s cornice, but were removed following the major earthquake in Athens in 1999, have yet to return.

Evgenidou, of the Numismatic Museum, said the dates for the installation of the sculptures and the restored museum’s official inauguration have yet to be set. “It’s important for us that the number of visitors from abroad has risen significantly,” said Evgenidou. At present, restoration work is being completed on the second floor. Wall paintings and mosaics were restored with great care by the Culture Ministry’s division for monument restoration.

The condition of the garden, an integral part of the building’s overall plan, is also being improved. Quite soon, this garden and its new cafe will in combination form a very pleasant Athenian corner.