The Benaki Museum is set in a neoclassical building which was completed in 1895 by the architecture Metaxas. It was known as Harokopos mansion until it was bought by the Benaki family in 1910. New wings were added to the original building which eventually in 1930 was transformed into a museum. The Benaki Museum holds several permanent collections. It also organizes interesting exhibitions usually of contemporary art.
The building at 138 Pireos street
The new Benaki Museum building is located at 138 Pireos Street, one of the central development axes of Athens.
The existing building, which is organised around a central courtyard, is already being refurbished, thanks to co-funding by the Ministry of Culture and the European Union.
The new building covers a total area of 8,200 m2 with underground areas of 2,800 m2 and an internal courtyard of 850 m2. The exhibition halls span 3,000 m2. There is an amphitheatre capable of seating 300, as well as areas to house the Museum services.
The National Historic Museum is located in the old Parliament building of Athens since 1960. The museum has assembled various artifacts from the Post-Byzantine years (form 1453) until the Greek –Italian war of the 1940-41.
The museum was founded in 1918 by the poet Georgios Drosinis and a group of Athenian Intellectuals. During that time Greek artists came to appreciate the folk art for the first time and thought that it could be an inspiration to modern art. Initially, the museum was situated in the Tzistarakis Mosque (now it contains a pottery collection). Today it is situated in a building in Plaka, the old town of Athens.
The Jewish Museum was founded in 1977. Its goal is to collect and exhibit artifacts related to the presence of Jewish in Greece. As the museum expanded, a neoclassical building of the 19th century was bought in order to house it. The building was renovated and the new museum was inaugurated in 1998.
The museum has a permanent collection, some space for periodic exhibitions, a projection room, a library, a photographic archive and a gift shop.
