National Historical Museum
(Stadiou 13, Athens, tel. 210 3237617)
It was officially founded in 1926 and since 1962 it has been housed in the current building of the Old Parliament, which is the work of the French architect Boulanger. In 10 rooms on the ground floor, historical objects of medieval and modern Hellenism are exhibited, such as drawings of travelers who had visited Greece during the period of the Turkish occupation, relics and weapons of the Revolution of 1821 and souvenirs of the kings Otto and George I. Also, there are objects from the struggles of Hellenism (Cretan revolutions, Balkan Wars, Asia Minor disaster and Greco-Italian war), as well as a small folklore collection. Among the most important exhibits of the museum are the heirlooms of the Philiki Etairia, the weapons of Kolokotronis and Karaiskakis, the originals of the oil paintings painted by P. Painter commissioned by Makrigiannis, the sword of Kallergis and the heart of the arsonist K. Kanaris. Also, there are the ceremonial sword of the Byzantine emperor Leo V' (813 - 820), the seat of Kapodistrias, as well as part of the press that printed Mayer's "Hellenic Chronicles" in Messolonghi.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou