War museum

With the arrival of Kapodistrias in Nafplion, one of his most important concerns was to set up a regular army. That is why he set up a council of war by assuming his own presidency to regulate the problems of the army and the fleet.

He appointed Bavarian Colonel Eddkek as the director of regular troops and instructed him to organize a "Foundation for the Military and Scientific Training of New Good Families, who would one day be appointed to the Army as Officers".

Kapodistrias was the one who set out the basic objectives of the education of the Leftists (who at all times determine the pursuit of the infrastructure of the new army officers of the country). These objectives are: military and social education, military and scientific training and religious education.

In July 1828, the Hellenic Cadet School in Nafplion operated under the direction of Italian Lieutenant P. Strattelli and the supervision of Eddkek and on 29 December 1828 the first resolution on the Hellenes was published in the General Gazette of Greece.

Initially and for a few months Evelpidon School is housed in an old Turkish barracks in today's "Trion Navarxon" Square, but it was demolished and the school moved to a home. In the summer of 1828, Ref. 227 "National House", during the general census of 18292, is aware of an unexpected treatment, which has given it the monumental character that has since accompanied it: its premises (basement, upper and two floors) are imputed by John Kapodistrias in order to The First Flight School was installed there.

At this point, it would be useful to mention the viewpoint of the hereafter. X. Fotopoulos, who studied the Archives of the 2nd historical data on the building of the first permanent army barracks of the Euphilds in Nafplion, concluded that in the past, on the plot, which today occupies the building of the First Faculty of Evelpidon, there were two successive and different buildings. According to this view, the lodge of the Evilpides (which is not present today) was before the Greek Revolution in the possession of Ottoman Karolanis or Karailanis.

After the city's liberation at the beginning of December 1822, the building was owned by the Greek State as "National House". It is not known the exact date of its construction.

The original house was an old stone three-story house of Ottoman (Oriental) architecture, which was covered with tiles and consisted of a basement, an upper floor and two more floors of about 180 m2 each. The building was almost glued on the inner side of the "seashore" walls of the fortress of the city. It was built on a large "National" plot of approximately 300 m2 in the shape of a rectangular triangle, whose large vertical side coincided exactly with the base of the inner side of the wall.

Kapodistrias, following the establishment of the Central Hellenic School, invited all the most prominent leaders of the struggle, politicians and soldiers, to send their children to the school. Few responded, however, and so the first Adversaries were 43 and the diversity of age and educational level considered them inappropriate for the school.

Captain Stradelli was deemed inappropriate for the administration of the school and so the governor assigned her to the French artillery captain, Poseidon, who was a graduate of the Polytechnic School in Paris. Generally speaking, the French army, which had all the fortresses of the Peloponnese in their possession, is responsible for scientific research and work, especially the first topographical maps.

On 28 December 1828 Captain Posei submitted a detailed plan for a new organization of the military school, which was also approved by the Governor. At the same time, the first teachers and staff of the school were appointed.

Kapodistrias gave Poseidon enough money to repair the original building, as well as the other three, the Evelpidon Therapist, the Director's home and the accommodation of the officers, all of whom were called "Places". Despite his repairs the building was unable to serve the needs of the School.

Initially, attendance at the faculty was three years and the curriculum was influenced by the equivalent of the French Polytechnic School. The trainees were taught elementary mathematics, and physiognomy, elements of martial arts, artillery, topography, building design of civil and military buildings (forts, fortifications, etc.) and machine design. Later, the school attendance was eight years. From the Military School of Evelpidon, all the first engineers who studied in Greece came.

The school functioned in this building for about six years, when it was transferred on 30 April 1834 to Aegina, as it was judged to be inappropriate to meet the demands of the invading forces. Thus it was decided to transfer the Hellenic Cadet School to Aegina in the premises of the Orphanage and at the premises of the School in Nafplion to transfer about one hundred orphanage workers and thirty-seven employees of the institution.

The orphanage remained in the same "National" building of Nafplion for ten years until 1844, when it was finally closed. The State proceeded with the sale of the so-called "National House" and its land and the first buyer was the merchant Antonios Koufados. As evidenced by relevant documents, the buyer after demolishing the ruin until then, as is apparent from a letter from the Ministry of the Interior, applied to the Mayor of Nafplion for the building plot of the plot to be determined according to the city plan in force at that time.

The owner made this move obviously because he knew that a strip of 6 to 8 m wide strip on the northern side of his plot would be obligatory as a road, according to the Law "On Fortresses" that prevented buildings near its walls, but the existence Free road along its inner side. At the same time, the landlord had to get the land aligned on the ground, that is to say according to the then City Plan, on the original triangular plot an analogous rectangular or rectangular building with the surrounding streets.

After about five years, in 1861, it seems that Antonios Koufados sold the building together with the plot to the merchant Panagiotis Kazakopoulos. After the completion of these procedures, the owner proceeded with the erection of the new building.

The three-storey imposing building, now housed in the War Museum - Nafplion Attachment and the Nafplion Army Office, is located at the intersection of Amalias Avenue and Angelos Terzakis Street, probably built during the second half of the 18th century. It has an area of ​​182 m2 on each floor, while the plot is limited to 196 m2. It is built on the edge of the old city, along the route of the Venetian seaside fortress that surrounded it.

It is one of the most characteristic examples of the architecture of its time, built by stone artists, the famous "gems" and founded, like the first houses of the city, on oak trusses, so that it is based on the best possible Way of building. As well as other, well-known and not-known buildings of its period, it distinguishes for its large dimensions, its special construction material (small irregular stones with bricks, tightly tied together with large porches on the corners), and the arched doors at the entrances .

Another feature of the building is that its four outer walls, which bear the main weight of the building, have been trying to become as light as possible, so its thickness decreases as the building is tall.
The building was used for decades as a private home (the two floors) but also as a shop floor (the ground floor). The poor state of progress gradually led to abandonment by the families that lived there, while the shops remained for several decades and many of its rooms were converted into warehouses.

In 1964, due to the historical interest shown by the building, the procedures began to be acquired by the State. The last owner of this particular building was Aikaterini's husband Konstantinou Kostourou, who inherited it from her second buyer and grandfather (from mother) Kazakopoulos. The same in her petition and request in 1973 to the competent ministers of the Government to revoke the act of forced expropriation of the building, she pointed out:

"... In the place where the present house is situated, there was another building different in shape (completely triangular) in which the school may have lived. The building has disappeared at least for more than a century, and nowadays an existing house, completely different in shape (it is rectangular and has a different position, because it is located on the 1834 street lines that were established) is another and has no relationship with the deceased And non-existent house of the Military School of Evelpidon ".

He also presented to the National Defense Fund a copy of an old contract showing that the property had come to his grandfather by Georgios Athanasakos and that the house was built by the seller "at his own expense".
Obviously, due to lack of more data, she was unable to support her true claim, and finally, in 1974, she was expropriated by Aikaterini Kostourou for the building for the Single Defense Fund (TEDA). At the same time, the Engineering Education Center (KEMX) was commissioned to carry out the relevant studies required to rescue and promote the building. In 1978, after the building had been completely evacuated, the work of external restoration and interior rehabilitation began.

Despite the difficulties encountered during its execution due to the historicity and the age of the area, the work was successfully completed in 1981 and the building was handed over to the Army Office (ground floor) and the War Museum after turning the two floors into exhibition spaces And ensured modern museum specifications for the promotion, protection and preservation of its heirlooms, as well as the conditions for the proper and safe traffic of visitors, put it into operation as a War Museum - NNEX Nafplion.

The building of the First Evelpidon School, which has been officially designated by the State Historical Monument, is a pride not only for the military services housed in it, but also for the whole city of Nafplion.

Address:
Leofοros Vasilisis Amalias 22

Tel: +30.2752 025591

Museum opening hours:
Tuesday - Sunday : 09:00-14:00 (Monday: Closed)

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