In a small alley of Kekropos Street in Plaka, an incredible crowd gathered on Tuesday evening. And literally not a single pin fell in the funeral home of the Athens Association. It is logical and expected, because it was a holiday that had been waiting for 85 years. The “Athenian Museum” has finally opened its doors, “small in size but huge in value and relics,” said the institution’s president and driving force, journalist and historian Eleftherios Skiadas. This historic building in the heart of old Athens, where Friendliness Campaigner and Mayor of Athens Nikolaos Zaharitsas lived, was chosen as the headquarters and renovated to house the Association after World War II by its two presidents, Dimitris Skouse and Dimitris Gerontas. This historical institution was one of the oldest in our country, founded in 1895 with the aim of collecting relics of native Athenians (who, as they say, were counted on the fingers) in the “ark”.

First step

In 1937, the Association organized the first exhibition of such objects, since its charter from the very beginning provided for the creation of a museum. So, the hall was opened the day before yesterday, which indicates that the efforts have paid off and suggests that the families that formed the core of the institution still support it. Because thanks to their donations, both old and many recent ones made over the past two years, the newly founded museum has been endowed with incredible things, from paintings by famous artists to objects, furniture, documents, maps that we had the opportunity to see at the opening.

Particularly touching was the message recorded on tape by the oldest and most valuable member of the Association: 99-year-old businessman and outstanding physicist Konstantinos Petridis made a decisive contribution to the creation of a new organization. As a descendant of the Skuses, he donated all movable relics, and the museum received the correct name: “Athenian Museum. Skous – Petridis Permanent Collection. Nearby and using treasures from other sources: the will of Lisa Skous, Lena Patronikolas Georgantis, the Suyutzoglou family, the Gerontas family, the Kallithronas family, the Adonidos Kirou family, the Skiadas family, the Serpieris family, etc. The mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, who celebrated the opening with Eleftherios Skiadas and Alexandra Stasinopoulou (whose family also supported this undertaking), did not hide his joy. He thanked all donors and sponsors who honor their Athenian roots and traditions of euphoria from generation to generation. “The city, no matter how historical it may be, its character is not its monuments, but its people,” he concluded. Let’s wish the new museum of law!