1523

Agora. The Middle Stoa, East Stoa and South Stoa II closing off the south side of the Agora also date from this period, as does the Metroon, the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods, and the Stoa of Eumenes of Pergamon on the southern, slope of the Acropolis.

The ruins that survive are scarcely sufficient to give even an approximate idea of the ancient city nor does Pausanias' Periegesis (itinerary) provide a full picture. The pre-Roman endeavours of the Athenians to fortify their city proved futile: they were unable to protect it from invaders.

Under Roman rule Athens at first enjoyed many privileges. However, in the ist century BC the situation changed when in 87 BC the sophist Athenion took power with the aid of Archelaos, the commander under King Mithradates IV of Pontos, and rose up against the Roman general Sulla who besieged and occupied Athens in 86 BC. He gave his soldiers leave to plunder the city and had a section of the city walls pulled down. Athens remained unfortified for the next three hundred years.

At around 15 BC a concert hall, the Odeion of Agrippa, was built in the middle of the Agora. The earlier Odeion of Pericles, which had been destroyed by Sulla, was also reconstructed. The temple of Rome and Augustus was erected east of the Erechtheion and the Roman Agora east of the Agora of classical times. Next to it stood the Horologion of Andronikos, commonly known as the Tower of the Winds after the reliefs on each of its eight sides.

It was probably in the 1st century AD that the temple of Ares, originally built on an unknown site in the 5th century BC, was moved to the classical Agora. The first monumental stairway leading up to the Acropolis dates from about the same time. South-east of the Tower of the Winds stood the colonnaded building dedicated to Athena Archegetis and Augustus.

The philhellene emperor Hadrian visited Athens in the 2nd century AD. This was to become a period of rebirth for Athens. New buildings sprang up, the city acquired an aqueduct named after Hadrian, and a whole new and prosperous'suburb stretching eastwards, dotted with fine new villas. It became known as Hadrianopolis, the city of Hadrian. Hadrian's arch separated the old city from the new. Hadrian also built the Pantheon, the library that bears his name and a basilica situated east of the Roman Agora .which was, perhaps, the temple of Hera and Zeus Panhellenios.

Another benefactor of the city in the 2nd century BC was Herodes Atdcus whose generosity is still visible in buildings like the Odeion on the south slope of the Acropolis.

On the ridge of Ardettos, Herodes Atdcus built a temple to Tyche above the Panathenaic Stadium for which he provided marble seating arrangements, and in front of the Stadium he had an arched bridge built over the Ilissos.

In the mid-3rd century AD the emperor Valerian attempted to prepare Athens for attacks from the Goths by rebuilding the old Themistoclean city wall with an

eastward extension around Hadrianopolis. A supply of fresh water for the Acropolis was assured by making the Klepsydra spring accessible solely via a tunnel from the Agrippa Monument terrace which was now fortified by walls and a gate known as the Beuld Gate.

The walls did not stop the Heruli from sacking Athens in 267 AD. The city was burnt down and numerous buildings completely destroyed. The Acropolis, however, was not taken by the barbarians. Soon after the departure of the barbarians, the Athenians retracted their line of defence and withdrew behind a new city wall, the Post-Herulian Wall, which enclosed only the Acropolis slopes, perhaps only the north slope. In order to build this wall fast, the Athenians tore down and re-used the material of their public buildings, temples, sculpture and inscriptions.

Few significant edifices were built in the later part of antiquity. One was a large gymnasium completed around 425 AD occupying the site of the classical Agora and re-using the Tritons and Giants from the Odeion of Agrippa, the Gymnasium of the Giants. South of the y- Stoa of Attalos a water mill was built c. 450 AD. A large gymnasium was built in the Academy area. The north room of the Metroon was, possibly, a synagogue at that time. From the 3rd century onward renowned Christian philosophers also came to teach in Athens, but their schools were outside Athens at places like Hymettos, where hermitages and monasteries were built later on.

The last outstanding pagan philosopher of the 5th century AD was Proklos who taught in a school on the south slope of the Acropolis.

In 529 AD Justinian closed the schools of pagan philosophy including Plato's Academy. Fearing barbarian invasions, he strengthened the defences of his empire, including the walls of Athens.

Numerous temples and monuments of ancient times were converted into Christian churches, perhaps starting in the 6th century, for example, the Parthenon, the

Erechthdon, the Hephaistcion; the Tower of the Winds was used as a baptistry and several buildings in the Asklepieion were used for a basilica.

From the 7th to the 9th century, referred to as the Dark Ages, Athens declined, but recovered again in the loth to 12th centuries, known in Byzantine art as the Athenian period. A new wave of building activity occurred and a complete Byzantine suburb has been unearthed. Surviving monuments of this period include churches such as Kapnikarea, the Panagia Gorgoepekoos (the Little Metropolis), Haghioi Theodoroi, Soteira Lykode-mou (Russian Church), Haghioi Apostoloi and several monasteries outside of Athens. Two schools functioned on Hymettos; they were later turned into monasteries.

In 1040 Attica was devastated by the Normans and in 1154 – 82 by the Saracens. The city is described by various medieval travellers, such as the Arab geographer Idrisi, Benjamin of Tudela, and the metropolitans Michael

Akominatos and Michael Psellos. After the capture of Constantinople in 1204, the whole Byzantine empire disintegrated into small states, most of which came under the control of the crusaders.

The medieval wall around the Acropolis slopes was named the Rizokastron, but nowadays the name serves to designate only the quarter lying north of the Acropolis. The old Acropolis circuit wall and the Post – Herulian Wall were still in use.

The Frankish occupation which began in 1205 was the cause of general decline. The new rulers treated the Greek population with ruthlessness or indifference. French was introduced as the official language and the Athenians were excluded from all public office.

Building on the Acropolis caused great damage to ancient monuments especially to the Propylaia which the reigning dukes turned into their residence; two churches were built, one in the southern wing of the Propylaia, the other in the centre of the building. The Parthenon became a Catholic church. The socalled Frankish Tower was built in the south-western wing of the Propylaia and the Belvedere at the east wall. It is thought that the inhabited area of the city amounted to about 400,000 square metres and did not extend beyond the PostHerulian Wall; a traveller who visited Athens in 1395 asserts that there were only about 100 dwellings.

Decline and depopulation continued throughout the Frankish occupation, but a radical change came in 1456 with the advent of the Turks. The privileges granted by the Sultan allowed the city to flourish again. Despite the frequent famines, epidemics and other vicissitudes, the population preserved its vitality and began to grow, partly through immigration of Turks and Albanians. The Albanians settled mainly in the Plaka district until the middle of the 16th century.

In the course of time four distinct social classes came into being: the wealthy lords (archons), the well-to-do fanners, the merchants and the simple peasants. In 1464, during the Turkish-Venetian War (1463 – 1475) the Venetian Vittorio Capello led a raid against Athens. Although he did not succeed in capturing the Acropolis, he methodically devastated and plundered the city.

The Acropolis became the residence of high-ranking Turkish officials and the quarters of the garrison. The area between the buildings gradually filled up with small houses belonging to Turkish families and members of the garrison. No Greek was allowed to enter the area surrounded by the Rizokastron. The northern section of the wall formed the boundary between the fortified hill and the lower city north of the Acropolis. The southern section was at that time known as the Serpentze. In 1506 new water pipes were installed.

The Greek temples inside the prohibited area fell into ruins. The Propylaia and the Parthenon were severely damaged by explosions in 1645 and 1687. As the Venetian Morosini prepared for the siege of the Acropolis, the Turks

demolished the temple of Athena Nike in order to construct the so-called Turkish rampart. The architecture and sculpture from the temple of Nike was recovered and the temple was reconstructed in 1835 – 6.

The Turks lived on the Acropolis and both inside and outside the PostHerulian Wall. The Parthenon was transformed into a mosque with the Byzantine bell – tower at the south-western corner serving as a minaret. Four mosques were built in the lower city. As the population increased, more and more houses went up near the Post-Herulian wall.

In the city itself 40 Christian churches, a Cistercian abbey and a Capuchin monastery were erected. In 1671 there were 2,053 houses in Athens which was divided into eight districts; the population was a mixture of Greeks, Turks, Greek – Albanians and some foreigners, amounting to 12,500 in all. In the 17th century the area of the town amounted to 460,000 sq.m.

Athens' last city wall was constructed during the rule of Ali Haseki (17751798) as a protection against Albanian raids. It was built partly along the line of the Themistoc-lean Wall but it was much lower and not as thick. Many fragments of ancient monuments went into it. The Haseki Wall, completed in 1778, was 4,300 metres long and enclosed an area of 1,104,000 sq.m. During the last phase of Turkish rule, the situation of the Greek population improved considerably. At the end of the 18th century Athens had a special atmosphere of its own. Numerous fountains decorated the squares and streets, and ancient monuments stood side by side with public buildings and mosques.

At the beginning of the 19th century the Turkish Sublime Porte granted Lord Elgin permission to remove antiquities from the Acropolis. The Parthenon sculpture and other rich material he acquired later became part of the famous collection of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum.

The Acropolis also suffered a great deal during the Greek War of Independence when it was besieged on two occasions (1821 – 2 and 1826 – 7). The second time, when the Greeks were the defenders, the besiegers bombarded the Acropolis without any consideration for the heavy damage caused to the ancient monuments.

Greece was proclaimed a free and independent state and Athens a definitively Greek city by the Protocol of London on February 3, 1830. The Turkish garrison, nevertheless, did not leave the Acropolis until March 31, 1833. By virtue of a resolution passed on September 18; 1834. Athens became the capital of Greece. In 1835 the population of the city amounted to about 4,000. The War of Independence had left the majority of the houses in ruins and most roads were still; unfit for traffic. From the architectural remains of the Turkish rule only one house and two mosques survive today. At the beginning of the Greek War of Independence there were 129 Christian churches in Athens. Of these only 24 survive in their original form. The mosque built inside the Parthenon in 1690, following the explosion of 1687, was pulled down in 1852. The Haseki Wall

was demolished in 1875 and the Mendreses, the Theological Academy north of the Tower of the Winds, in 1914.

After Greece had regained her independence, a member of the Bavarian royal house took the throne. In 1834 he commissioned Ludwig Ross to restore the monuments on the Acropolis. Important excavations were carried out between 1885 and 1891.

When Athens was chosen as capital, it was proposed that the ancient monuments on the Acropolis should be pulled down and that the royal palace should be built there, incorporating the Parthenon as a reception hall in a palace courtyard. King Ludwig of Bavaria rejected this plan. His son Otho, the king of Greece, endeavoured to introduce the fashionable Neoclassical style into the new capital. While town plans were being prepared, the roads of present-day Athens were laid out. The Palace was built by von Gartner in 1836; von Weiler was responsible for the Military Hospital (today the Barracks of the Gendarmerie at Makryiannis) in 1837; Christian Hansen built the University in 1839. Greek architects who participated in building up Athens were Stamatios Kleanthes, Lysandros Kaphtandzoglou and Panayotis Kalkos. Some of the outstanding buildings from this period are: the Neoclassical Triad, the marble buildings of the University, the Academy and the National Library on Panepistimiou St., the National Archaeological Museum, the Polytechnic, the Palace on Irodu Attikou St., the Old Palace, today the Parliament, the Old Parliament (Historical Museum), the Schliemann House (Iliou Mclathron), the Roman – Catholic church, the Eye Hospital.'the'Anglican church of St Paul.

In 1830 Stamatios Kleanthes and Eduard Schaubert prepared the first map of Athens' important monuments of antiquity, the Middle Ages and modern times. In 1832 the same architects were commissioned by the Greek government to draw up a development plan for the capital. The Kleanthes-Schaubert plan, which envisaged the development of wider streets, squares and other public areas to allow for excavations, was later modified by Klenze in the spirit of the first Monument Preservation Act, passed in 1834. The new capital centred around the Acropolis and developed north and east into the Anaphiotika, Plaka and Aerides (Tower of the Winds) quarters.

Many an important event in the modern history of Greece took place in the new capital. On September 3, 1843, General Kallergis led the "constitutionalists" in a revolt which resulted in Greece's first constitution.

In 1852 the city was devastated by an earthquake.

Greece joined the Crimean War on the side of the Russians in 1854, in order to liberate the territories still occupied by the Turks. Upon Turkey's request, French troops landed in Piraeus, where they remained until March 1857; the occupation ended with the outbreak of an epidemic of cholera which wiped out half of the population of Athens and Piraeus. On October 10, 1862, a national revolt caused the expulsion of King Otho.

Between 1831 and 1853 the population of Athens and Piraeus rose from 4,000 to 816,000.

The town development plan of the Stavridis Committee was tabled in 1860. It formed the basis for the development of the present centre and the broad thoroughfares crossing the city which were built at that time.

Athens was hard hit by the war of 1897 and by the revolt of 1909 which brought Eleutherios Venizelos to power. Venizelos regained possession of Crete and prepared the country for the 1912 – 3 Balkan War. In 1908 the government commissioned the town planner and architect Ludwig Hoffmann to prepare a general development plan for Athens. The German architect suggested the building of boulevards instead of the earlier radial roads. In 1911 the British architect Thomas Mawson put forward modifications to the plan, mainly concerning the development of the city centre. In 1920 a committee headed by Petros Kalligas recommended further modifications which, however, failed to take into account the complex problems of town planning and urbanization, among them the problem presented by the rapid growth of the population.

Greece took part in the First World War. The Asia Minor campaign (1921 – 2) ended with a crushing defeat for the Greek troops and the flight of the Greeks from the peninsula. After a series of coups the kingdom was re-established in Greece by a plebiscite in 1923.

In 1922, after the failure of the Asia Minor campaign, the population of the capital increased to 460,000. The random growth of new districts in the capital soon caused serious difficulties. The authorities endeavoured to control building operations with National Building Regulations and the restriction on building heights introduced in 1934.

In 1936, during the rule of King George II, general loannis Metaxas became dictator. On October 28, 1940, the Italians declared war on Greece. The City Council declared the capital an "open city" to save the ancient and Byzantine monuments from destruction. The Greek people successfully resisted the Italian advance until April 6, 1941, when Hitler's Germany joined the Italian side and Athens was occupied by German troops.

When the Italians pulled out of the war in September 1943 and the anti-fascist resistance movement, begun in 1941, grew stronger, the Germans responded with even more brutal reprisals. On October 12, 1944, the Nazi troops withdrew from Athens and soon after a new Greek government was set up in the capital. The country became independent. Athens grew more important both in the life of the country and in international relations. These circumstances were reflected by the rapid development of the city both in area and architecture, and this again made the excavation of its monuments a desideratum of high priority.

After several attempts, the Ministry of Construction completed the general architectural plan of the whole plain of Athens in 1947. In 1954 the Housing Board set up by the Ministry drew up its general plan; in 1962, with the co-

operation of the American expert W. Smith, the same Board examined the city's traffic problems and in 1965 it produced a new general plan.

Three departments within the Monument Preservation Board (which functions under the Ministry of Culture and Sciences) are in legal control of preserving finds excavated during construction work in the city: the First Ephorate of Ancient Monuments, the Ephorate of the Acropolis and the Third Ephorate of Ancient Monuments. The Archaeological Act of 1932 is still in force. It amplified an earlier act of 1834 and extended its powers to protect historic monuments to Byzantine material. Since the 1932 Act it has been compulsory to notify the authorities of all finds unearthed during construction work. An Act of 1966 extended these obligations to Neoclassical buildings and also covers certain aspects of environmental protection.

Unfortunately the lack of an effective master plan for the development of Athens hinders the progress of archaeological research and the adaptation of the city to modern requirements. The situation has become particularly critical in the centre.

Berlin

This book deals with the capitals of the European countries of today and so this chapter confines itself to a description of Berlin, the Capital of the German Democratic Republic. Berlin lies along the ancient glacial spillway of the River Spree, and after Magdeburg is the second largest inland port. Its average altitude is 36 metres, and its geographical position is latitude 520 18' north and longitude 13° 15' east. The city his an area of 403 sq.km., and had 3,289,500 inhabitants at the end of 2003 – 6.5% of the German Democratic Republic.

There is evidence of settlement in the area as early as the Bronze Age. Slavic tribes founded villages here in the 7th century. The history of the twin cities of Berlin and Kölln begins in the early 13th century. Various assumptions have been made about their foundation. The first documentary evidence of the existence of Kölln dates from 1237, while Berlin is first mentioned in a document of 1244. Near the ford over the River Spree, where the Mühldammbrücke now stands, trading centres developed on both sides of the river, and important trade routes met in the two cities. The favourable position of Kölln and Berlin led to rapid development, and by the end of the 13th century they were already larger than other cities in the Mark of Brandenburg. The walls of Berlin enclosed 42 ha and of Kölln 23 ha. Leagues of the cities in the Mark were formed on several occasions under the leadership of Berlin, where their meetings were held. In the last quarter of the 13th century the two cities already had as many as five churches. The oldest in Berlin were the Nikolaikirche (St Nicholas's) and Marienkirche (St Mary's) followed by Klosterkirche (Abbey Church) and Heiliggeistkapelle (Chapel of the Holy Spirit). The main church in Kölln was Petrikirche (St Peter's).

In 1307 the cities of Berlin and Kölln merged and built a joint city hall by the Lange Brücke. Originally the alliance was to serve defence purposes, bet it increased Berlin's political influence, and brought economic and cultural development. Its powers included the right to mint coins and decide over life and death. Even the fires of 1376 and 1380 failed to undermine its power, although they all but reduced the building ashes. Berlin was reconstructed using new methods of timber framing, and the first houses of baked brick also appeared among the new building.

For centuries Berlin occupied an area which can be well seen today from the top of the Television Tower on Alexanderplatz. The built-up area extended to

the present-day Littenstra e in the north, Alexanderplatz in the east, and Kupfergraben in the south and west, but did not include the marshy area where later the Schloß and Lustgarten - now Marx-Engels-Platz - were built.

The sister cities preserved their independence from the Land's princes until the 15th century. However, when four of the guilds rose against the Council in 1442, the Prince-Elector had to use arms to force ain entry through the city gates. He then split the twin cties up and gave the guilds seats on the Council. From that time onward, the Prince reserved the right to confirm the appointment of magistrates. In 1443 he built a castle on the site of the Hohes Haus in Klosterstraße, in front of the city walls of Kölln, with direct access to the city. The uprising of the citizens of Berlin in 1448, which interrupted the building of the castle, was suppressed by a feudal court.

Around 1450 the city had about 6,000 inhabitants. Berlin's population growth was accelerated when the Prince-Elector transferred his seat here, and further areas of the city and its suburbs were built upon. The court nobility had certain building privileges. A large number of new dwelling houses were built in the 15th century after yet another fire had caused considerable damage in 1483. Unbaked brick and timber framing were almost entirely superseded by stone as a building material.

Prosperity in the 16th century was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War. From 1618 to 1648 the population of Berlin decreased from 12,000 to 6,000. Nevertheless, Berlin became the scene of new life: from the 15th century to the end of the 18th century it was the seat first of the Prince-Electors of Brandenburg and later of the Kings of Prussia. The stately Schloß which in its design showed Saxon influence, was built in 1535 – 71, under the direction of the architect Kaspar Theiss. Later several other groups of buildings rose around it, among them the Apothekenflügel (Pharmacy Wing). During the Second World War the Schloß was badly damaged and in 1950 – 51 it was demolished.

The mercantile economic and political system designed to serve the purposes of absolutism led to a new phase of development in the life of Berlin-Kölln. Since there were not enough local architects, many were invited from Holland.

The first building regulations were issued on November 30, 1641, and continued at least formally in force until 1853. When they were drafted they constituted a most up – to – date set of statutory provisions. The streets were gradually paved and in 1682 street lighting was introduced. To protect the capital of the province from attack, Berlin and Kölln were fortified in 1658, to plans executed under the control of Johann Gregor Memhardt, an engineer of Austrian birth educated in the Netherlands. From him originates the oldest surviving map of the two cities (1650), showing their centres. Most of the fortifications were pulled down again ten years after their completion.

Between the mid – 17th century and the end of the 18th century the Age of Absolutism saw a rapid improvement of the city's appearance. The Prince

systematically added new settlements: Friedrichswerder (1662), Dorotheenstadt (1674) and Friedrichstadt (1688). The uniform town houses of Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichstadt, the conversion of the Schloß according to Schlüter's designs into a huge Baroque palace (1698) and the building of the Zeughaus (Arsenal) and the mansions along the Wilhelmstraße, turned Berlin into a European metropolis.

Changes in the methods of town-house building came in the mid-17th century. Detached houses gave way to uniform terraces with the roofs forming a continuous line and transforming the look of the streets.

Following the example of other European courts, the Kings of Prussia – as the Prince – Electors of Brandenburg styled themselves after 1701 – endeavoured to raise grandiose buildings.

Prince Frederick III (King Frederick I) played an important role in the development of Berlin's architecture and town planning. In 1709 the King united the newly formed towns of Friedrichwerder, Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichstadt with Kölln and Berlin into a capital and royal seat which he invested with new urban rights. The population of the united city amounted to 56,000, of which 6,000 were French immigrants, 500 Swiss and 500 originally from the Palatinate. The suburbs on the northern, eastern and southern sides of Berlin were later incorporated into the capital as well.

Berlin architecture from the end of the i7th through the 18th-century showed Italian and French influences. Andreas Schlüter, a man of many talents who was appointed court sculptor in 1664, the Dutch court architect Smid, his successor Arnold Nering, and the Swedish-born court architect (from 1699) Johann Eosander von Göthe all played an important part in the creation of architectural monuments of outstanding historic value. Through the taste and authority of its architects, the court directly influenced private building in the city.

In addition to the extension of the Berlin Schloß and the building of Schloß Monbijou, other castles were built near Berlin. Charlottenburg was started by Nering in 1695 and extended by Eosander von Göthe after 1702; the same architects were responsible for the Castle at Niederschönhausen. Other outstanding buildings of the period are the Marstall (former court stable; 166570, M. Smid), the Zeughaus (1695 – 1706, Nering, Grünberg, Schluter and de Bodt), the Opera (1741 – 3, Knobelsdorf), Prince Henry's palace, which after 1810 was converted into a university (1748 – 53, Knobelsdorf and Boumann), the Königliche Bibliothek (1774-80, Fischer von Erlach and G. Ch. Unger), the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate; 1788 – 1794, Langhaus and Schadow). The churches include the Dorotheenstadt Church, Parochialkirche, Sophienjarche, Hedwigkirche, Deutsche Kirche and Französische Kirche. Among the more important palaces built by the government for the nobility were the Palais Podewils and the Schwerinsches Palais, both designed by Jean de Bodt.