The legendary Governor’s Mansion (“Palataki” or “Kyverneion” in Greek) of Thessaloniki, the imposing edifice with its magnificent view, which has hosted heads of state, kings and prime ministers, is being revived. The impressive aesthetics of the building marked the life of the city in the second half of the last century and it became a landmark that Thessaloniki’s residents and visitors alike were proud of and admired. For 18 years it has remained unbroken, there on the edge of the Little Embankment at Karambournaki, but abandoned and surrendered to the ravages of time.

Now, however, he is preparing to live a second life. And from a “luxury ruin”, as some derisively call it, without a shred of respect for its long history, to become once again the palace that all who have known it have felt the noblest of emotions and pride in. The solution is now in place. On 5 June last year, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Greek Parliament, the State Treasury and the Public Real Estate Company (RTF) was signed, with the aim of developing the building. This was preceded three weeks ago by the Prime Minister’s explicit commitment during his speech at the General Assembly of the Association of Exporters of Northern Greece for the “here and now” revival of the building, giving the general coordinates of what will follow.

First lesson: when there is political will, the right, thorough solutions will come. At the June event, he also defined the “for the time being”: “We are taking the first step to return this historic building, so identified with the modern history of Thessaloniki, back to the city as a public space,” the prime minister said. What is the solution? To give the Parliament a permanent presence in Thessaloniki, a place for debates, conferences, culture, in the renovated, restored and fully functional building of the Governor’s House.

Second Zappeion

The Palataki or Kyverneion is a building that fully justifies its grandiose title. A proper little palace. A small Maximus Palace. Even a Zappeion, as envisioned by the President of the Parliament, Konstantinos Tasoulas. Imposing, the hallmark of an entire era. The newer one, but with such character and style, as well as route, that it immediately became a landmark of the city. For at least one generation of Thessalonians who grew up with it, walked on it, loved it, took pride in it, were proud of it and were depressed and bitter about its state.

For this building, which was bursting with life, presence and action, has remained mute and empty for years now, devoid of life, mired in abandonment. Even though it is located in the most privileged position in the city. When the horizon is clear, the visitor gazes across the Olympus, the Pieria and even the Pelion. At its “feet” the entire coastal front of Thessaloniki spreads out. And opposite the Eptapyrgio, the castles, and behind it the Chortiatis, the definition of the panoramic view. Today, only a few scattered events in the summer, in its courtyard, remind us that there was once life in this building.

The locals when they see it in such disrepair are saddened. And most get angry. Visitors to the capital city wonder. At the state, the authorities, the institutions that have left such a property at the mercy of decay for so many years. The building is guarded from uninvited visitors, e.g. squatters of all origins, but who will protect it from the relentless invasion of moisture and the inevitable wear and tear of time?

So much for that though. The Palace will regain its identity. It will be reborn, even leveled up and become a true Palace. The Prime Minister’s words from his very first statement moved many. First of all, those who had become aware of the situation and took initiatives to save the building. Among them were many well-known people from culture, art, science and even sport, who years ago formed a movement, outside of parties and political considerations, which later developed into an association. They mobilised, they performed, they found supporters. And now, at last, their struggle seems to be vindicated.

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For the recent positive developments, the people who supported the “Save the Palace” initiative deserve credit. Its chairman is Nikos Karakostas, its secretary is journalist Babis Giannakidis and many influential people of the city are leading the way with them. The president of the alumni of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and professor of genetics Zacharias Skouras, former vice-rector Nikos Varsakelis, doctor and former basketball player Dionysis Ananiadis, lawyer Kostas Mamelis, deputy prosecutor Athanasios Akritidis and architect Prodromos Nikiforidis. But also symbols of football in the capital, in a gathering of forces that caused a sensation, such as George Koudas, Koulis Apostolidis, Costas Aydiniou, Yannis Venos, George Foiros, George Semertzidis and Clement Gounaris. They also stepped forward, as well as the actors Dimitris Pyatas, Ieroclis Michaelides, Maria Solomou, the artistic director of the National Theater of Northern Greece Asterios Peltekis and the president of TIF-Helexpo Tasos Tzikas.

All of them were completely satisfied with the Prime Minister’s commitment, as any talk of the property’s tourist development, a possibility that had caused strong reactions, was taken off the table.

The people of Thessaloniki could complain about many things in relation to the unequal treatment of the central state towards their city, but not about the fact that the co-capital did not have a palace itself. The building was originally designed as a government building. It has a floor area of 1,604 square meters on two levels (ground floor with 922 square meters and first floor with 682 square meters) plus a basement of 1,330 square meters and 1,105 square meters of impressive balconies (660 square meters of the ground floor and 445 square meters of the first floor), from which the host could present an incredible view to his guests. Built in the 1950s, the period of the reconstruction of the Greek state, by Pericles Sakellarios and with the final treatment by the architect I. Christopoulos.

The then Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis had it as the front of his projects in Thessaloniki. He himself looked after and supervised its construction and resided there. It is of Ionic style, a typical example of “palatial” neoclassical form, with a prepylon and peristyle of Ionic columns and an Ionic colonnade along the entire length of the south side, symmetrically structured. On the first floor are the auxiliary rooms and two suites. The living rooms, the ballroom, the atrium. There is a main entrance gate with guard chambers, a chapel, a helipad and access to a dock on the sea.

From Paul to Andreas

Opened in 1960 to be used as the residence of the Minister of Northern Greece. In 1963 it was granted for use as the royal residence/office of King Paul and subsequently Constantine, by order of the Ministry of Finance.

However, only Paul stayed there and only for one night, as all members of the royal family preferred to use the old “Méditerranée” hotel on the old beach for their visits to Thessaloniki. In 1968, the regime of the colonels decided to return the use of the property to the Ministry of Northern Greece.

After 1974 and the post-independence period, it was used as a residence by the Minister of Macedonia – Thrace, but also by the Prime Minister and later President of the Republic, Konstantinos Karamanlis, when he visited the city. A great moment was the visit of the French President Giscard d’Estaing on 19 September 1975. A year after his election as President of the French Republic, and also the return of the Greek Prime Minister and close friend, Constantine Karamanlis, after his long exile in Paris, and in the presidential aircraft. At the Government House, the French President dedicated the introduction of his speech to Thessaloniki and Northern Greece: “Mr. Prime Minister, here is Thessaloniki… and the Greece of the borders. This is where Aristotle’s thought and Alexander’s dream emerged. This crossroads, over the centuries, I would say millennia, has been the theatre of many conflicts. Here the brotherhood of arms of our two peoples was sealed and the spilled blood of our soldiers was mixed.”

But the Palataki has seen its greatest successes under PASOK governments. Especially in the first eight years. In one of the two periods of each year when Thessaloniki de facto becomes the focus of domestic news, that of the Thessaloniki International Fair, in early September. The other is the triple celebration over the three-day period 26-28 October: Patron Saint Demetrios, the liberation of Thessaloniki from the Turks and the anniversary of the “No” in 1940.
The third anniversary of the “Greek War of Independence”.
The threefold celebration of the “Greek War of Independence” of 1940.
In the 1980s, the famous reception following Andreas Papandreou’s speech at the TIF was held in Palataki, where politicians were invited, along with the then Prime Minister’s large entourage and exhibitors, foreign delegations and consuls, representatives of Northern Greece, businessmen, universities, artists, but also hundreds of ordinary citizens, with the offices of the PASOK MPs flooded with voters in search of the “magic card” of the invitation. Battles were Homeric, although from one point onwards the entrance was practically free and a “mega crowd” was gathering in the bowels of the Governor’s Office. Particularly when Papandreou himself was present, it was crowded.

The crowd. It was the undisputed cosmic event of Thessaloniki for some fifteen years, with its last flash in 1995. With Kostas Simitis abolishing it and the potential guests transferring their energy to adjacent or even remote “cultural centers”. Two years later, however, in April 1997, it experienced days of glory and incredible popularity, with the magnificent exhibition of nine representative works by Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio (1571-1610), organised by the European Capital of Culture ‘Thessaloniki ’97’. The Council of State has declared the whole area as a site of “special natural beauty”, while the Ministry of Culture has declared it an archaeological site since 1989 and the building as a listed building since 2001. Several important foreign political personalities (presidents of the Republic, kings and prime ministers) have stayed in its rooms, with the US Secretary of Defence William Cohen, who only visited the building in 1999, being stunned by the imposing building, the beauty of the landscape and at the same time the image of abandonment, and consequently the indifference of the Greek authorities.

Picture of destruction

Its last “tenant” was the former minister of Macedonia and Thrace, Nikos Tsiarchionis, during the government of Kostas Karamanlis (2004-2006). He chose to live there so as not to burden the state with the costs of renting another house in the city and its 24-hour security, but also because he believed that a building that is inhabited is kept in better condition than an uninhabited one. Describing the condition he found when he first entered the building, he said that when he turned on the faucets, brown water ran, and the shutters were rotting from moisture, as were the curtains.

During his tenure, some events were also held in order for Thessaloniki to claim the 2008 World Expo EXPO of Thessaloniki. When his successor, Giorgos Kalantzis, took over, the Palataki was closed in order to be renovated, which never happened.

Today its image is truly sad. Destroyed railings, windowsills, plaster, furniture, paintings, kitchens, living rooms, marble, frames, everything is in ruins. The erosion has also opened a large hole in the slope next to the gate, the electricity meter has come apart and bare wires are hanging in the street with danger to passing walkers. The interior masonry has succumbed to mould and damp. Significant damage has also been recorded on the exterior of the building, on the balconies and verandas. The courtyard, garden and external gate show unprecedented neglect. The plumbing is also damaged, while the sewage system has serious problems.

Works of art, carpets, collectible furniture and gifts from high-ranking guests have been transferred to warehouses for maintenance and security reasons, and some paintings are in the Ministry of Macedonia – Thrace. This is because suddenly, a mosaic of rare beauty was found, inexplicably, in the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Sixty-four paintings ended up in the Museum of Contemporary Art. In addition, 48 very expensive carpets, which decorated the main hall and the rooms on the first floor, had disappeared from the Governor’s House over the course of time. These were eventually found in the warehouse of a carpet cleaning company (!) and returned.

The recovery of all the movable property of the Governor’s Office was under the care of Doctor Pavlos Canonides, who catalogued it and transferred all the highly valuable objects and works of art to the basement of the Governor’s Office. Two large pianos were excluded, as well as furniture, which remain in the palace in an amphora to protect them from mould and dampness. In addition, according to a study carried out by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki a few years ago, the Governor’s Office also has problems with soil subsidence due to erosion from the sea. The ladder that used to moor the boats is also disintegrated.

The ladder that used to moor the boats is also disintegrated.

The last rays of life were given to it in May 2016 by the wedding reception of George Savvidis, the eldest son of PAOK’s major shareholder Ivan Savvidis, who preferred Palataki even though he had bought three important listed buildings in the city shortly before, the Villa Ahmet Kapantzi (Cultural Capital building) in the Salamina area, the Villa Morpourgos (Zardinidis House) in Depo and the Megaro Loggou (‘Red House’) in Aghia Sophia Square, which belonged to private owners and the Red Cross. Also, the garden of the Governor’s House hosted in previous years part of the activities of the autumn Reworks Festival.

The new page

In the new page for the Palace, which will have the House of Commons seal of approval, it is understood that its uses will be entirely consistent with its historic character. Which points to a multi-purpose cultural venue for art and other exhibitions, theater performances even, lectures, conferences, concerts and other events, as the indoor and outdoor spaces are more than adequate. The cost of the complete renovation is not a small one, earlier modest estimates put the cost at over 10 million euros. But the fact that a cultural landmark of Thessaloniki will be reborn from its ashes is superior to any expenditure, at least in the mind of the person who decides and that is why he turned the scales in that direction.

All this, at a time when the architectural and historical wealth of Thessaloniki seems inexhaustible, with abundant examples of rescue, renovation and utilization of emblematic buildings, jewels of architectural heritage, such as the Villa (Casa) Bianca, which houses the Municipal Gallery, Villa Allatini, which houses the Region of Central Macedonia, the Epaulis Modiano, which houses the Folklore and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia – Thrace and many more, shows the one-way street for the legendary Palataki. The absolutely obvious.