THE PROTECTION OF HISTORIC

BUILDINGS AND ENSEMBLES

IN GREECE.

GREECE

Historic Cities

and Settlements

LE PREMIER PLAN D’ ATHENES

PLAKA

Historic Buildings

ATHENS

Important

Historic buildings

ATHENS

Historic buildings in the commercial center.

Historic cities and

settlements

NAFPLIO

KORONI

MONEMVASSIA

Historic cities and

settlements.

ASTYPALAIA

HYDRA

POROS

The problems that usually come up in the historic cities

and settlements originate from :

- The lack of maintainance of the old stuctures and the high

cost of restoration works compared to the profitability of

the possible new uses,

- The over-exploitation of land and the uncontained

development of short-term economically modern

functions and intensive activities

- The uncontrolled car traffic.

The obligation for preservation of real property in Greek legislation

originates from:

1. The law 5351 / 32 ‘on antiquities’: Special Decrees for the

declaration of historical buildings and historical sites are issued

based on this law.

2. The 1975 Constitution and especially from article 24, with its

subsequent amendments.

3. The residential law 1337/83, which was modified by the law

2508/97 which was concerned with the subject of ‘Viable

residential development of the cities and human settlements of the

country and other provisions’

4. Within the zoning laws and more specifically from:

4.1. The General Building Code (Law 1577 / 85, article 4),

which allows for the procedure for the characterization of human

settlements as traditional and of buildings as ‘listed buildings’

this code was supplemented with and improved by the law 2831

/00, which extends the subject of protection to the architectural

heritage.

4.2. The Presidential Decree 28/4/88 ‘on maintenance, repair or

restoration of architectural and static elements of listed

buildings’, which imposes severe penalties for the unsolicited

destruction, alteration or demolition of listed buildings and

traditional structures inside traditional human settlements.

5. The law 2039 /92, which validates the Granada Convention

which refers to the basic principles of maintenance and

prominence of architectural heritage.

6. The law 3028 /02 ‘For the protection of Antiquities and

cultural heritage in general, which extends the subject of

cultural heritage and the extent of the protection offered and

also incorporates the concepts of usage of a monument and its

integration into social life.

The above mentionned legislation includes regulations for :

• Preserving the historic entity as a whole, including its

natural environment,

• Preserving the individual historic buildings and elements,

• Keeping the functional character of the historic city

• Dimunuating vehicular traffic and promoting

pedestrianizations.

• Controling new interventions in the city, to keep the

historic character of the area

THE CASE OF PLAKA

(the historic core of Athens)

A special study and intervention

for its protection and development

In the case of Plaka, the pressure for the spreading out

of the archaeological excavations at the expense of the

19th century city on one hand and the pressure for the

broadening of the commercial and administrative

district of the city with its high building coefficients

on the other, together with the intense traffic load of

public spaces and the unrestrained development of

tourist and entertainment venues, had led to the

architectural, functional and social degradation of the

area resulting in driving out most of the residents and

losing the multifaceted aspect of the area’s historical

character.

LEGISLATIVE MEASURES,

SOCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES

AS WELL AS

WORKS FOR THE UPGRADING OF PUBLIC SPACES

SUPPLEMENTED THE LEGISLATIVE MEASURES.

•Precise indication of the area that needed protection,

•Safeguarding of the area’s traditional urban web

•Traffic arrangements that included a wide network of pedestrian ways

Pedestrianization anf fixing parking plots in Plaka

Listing of historic buildings

Existing land uses

Establishment of land use restrictions and building rules for the

incorporation of the new constructions into the historic environment

Replacement of public utility networks (sewage, water supply),installation

of underground natural gas supply and cable television networks and

repavement of pedestrian ways and public spaces.

THE SITUATION TODAY

Despite the initial positive consequences of the 1979 interventions,

from that time until today, the functional development and

enhancement of the Plaka as well as the wider historic center of

Athens has depended on the degree of observing the measures and

regulations established then

Many commercial shops has been replaced by tourist shops, which

naturally create more disturbances to the area’s pedestrian ways.

The monitoring and control of the special measures regarding traffic

circulation seems inadequate judging from the excessive illegal

traffic and parking incidents today.

Although a large number of traditional buildings in the area

have been recently restored, there are still many buildings that

have major structural problems while others have lost their

architectural elements due to bad interventions or the addition of

modern elements. Furthermore there are buildings where only

the façade was preserved and a new modern interior was

constructed.

Open excavation areas destroy the break up the coherence and

function of public areas while free open areas, have been

excessively occupied by restaurant tables and chairs and tourist

merchandise. Moreover there are still empty lots, many times

used as parking areas, which break up the continuity of the

urban web and injure the image of the area.

The intervention in Plaka is an internationally acknowledged

example and it received many distinctions (Europa Nostra

award in 1983 and award within the framework of Habitat ΙΙ in

1998). The methodology applied in the design and

intervention and the establishment of a special office – which

monitors the development of the area till today – were

considered groundbreaking for the time and constituted a

model for later interventions.

Today we see that one of the major problems faced by the

implementation of integrated protection schemes in Greece and

the greater Mediterranean area in general, is to secure the

functional balance of historic cities and to contain their

residents, especially when there is excessive tourist

development. In these cases, the main objectives are to create

growth perspectives together with tourism development while

ensuring the residents’ quality of life.