Old Parliament House (National Historical Museum), Athens

The building before you is the Old Parliament House, now home to Greece’s National Historical Museum. Its design is Neoclassical architecture, and its architect was Panagis Kalkos. The Greek Parliament used these rooms from 1875 to 1935, during a period that included the declaration of the Republic in 1924.

A large equestrian figure in bronze stands before the building: it portrays General Theodoros Kolokotronis and was made by sculptor Lazaros Sochos. The museum’s holdings follow the story of modern Hellenism, including the Revolution of 1821, the creation of the independent Greek state, and later political, social, and intellectual development. Weapons, personal objects, paintings, manuscripts, and regional costumes fill the building’s rooms, turning this former political workplace into a place of historical memory.