Achilleion (Corfu)
Αχίλλειο / Αχίλλειον | |
Location | Αχιλλειοι 49084, Greece |
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Achilleion (
Achilleion is located at
The architectural style was designed to suggest an ancient palace of mythical
The property currently operates as a museum under the management of Hellenic Tourism Development Company,[6] within the Greek National Tourism Organization.
History
Creation by Empress Elizabeth
The Achilleion property was originally owned by Corfiote philosopher and diplomat
"I want a palace with pillared colonnades and hanging gardens, protected from prying glances - a palace worthy of Achilles, who despised all mortals and did not fear even the gods." |
Elisabeth of Austria[4] |
The palace was designed by Italian architect Raffaele Caritto and built on an area of 200,000 m2. Elisabeth's husband, Emperor
The architectural design was intended to represent an ancient
Paintings and statues of Achilles are abundant, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting contrasting heroic and tragic scenes of the
The gardens on top of the hill provide a scenic view of the surrounding green hills and valleys, with the
Elisabeth frequently visited Achilleion until spring 1896. She lost interest in her palace though and even considered selling it. Much of the interior was moved back to Vienna.[14] In September 1898 Elisabeth was assassinated by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in Geneva.
The Kaiser
Achilleion was inherited by Elisabeth's daughter,
Wilhelm, expanding on the main theme of the grounds, commissioned his own Achilles statue from the sculptor Johannes Götz who created an imposing bronze sculpture that stands as guardian of the gardens, facing north toward the city.
Archaeologist Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz, who was also the Kaiser's advisor, was invited by the Kaiser to come to Corfu for advice as to where to position the huge statue. This tribute to Achilles from the Kaiser was inscribed at the statue's base, also by Kekulé:[4][18][19][20][21]
To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German
The inscription was subsequently removed after World War II.[22]
The Kaiser's statue represents Achilles in full
The Kaiser, while vacationing at Achilleion and while Europe was preparing for war, had been involved in excavations at the site of the ancient
The World Wars
During World War I, the Achilleion was used as a military hospital by French and Serbian troops. After World War I, it became the property of the Greek state according to the treaty of Versailles and the war reparations that followed in 1919.[1]
From about 1921 to 1924, the palace housed an orphanage, which accommodated Armenian orphans from Constantinople.[25] In the remaining years between the two world wars, the Achilleion property was used for various government functions and a number of artifacts were auctioned off.[1]
During
Later
In 1962, the Achilleion was leased to a private company that converted the upper level to a casino and the lower grounds to a museum. In 1983 the lease was terminated and the palace management was returned to the HTO.[1]
Conference
In September 1979, twelve historians from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, assembled to discuss Kaiser Wilhelm's character and the historical role he played in German politics and society. The conference was held in what had once been the Kaiser's bed-chamber and the proceedings were published in the book Kaiser Wilhelm II New Interpretations: The Corfu Papers.[16]
European role
Briefly reclaiming the status of centre for European diplomacy that it possessed during the Kaiser years, the Achilleion has been used in recent times for the
Achilleion in film
The casino scene of the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) was filmed at the Achilleion.[27]
Achilleion is also featured Tony Harrison's film-poem The Gaze of the Gorgon when a chorus of tourists says in rhyming verse:[28]
Soon, in 1994,
in this palace Greece starts to restore,
in this the Kaiser's old retreat
Europe's heads of state will meet...
Gallery
-
Statues in the terrace
-
Ceiling painting by Vincenzo Galloppi at the main entrance
-
The chapel
-
The main staircase
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Kaiser's Bridge ca. 1918, before its destruction by the Wehrmacht, at the foot of the Achilleion
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greek National Tourist Organisation information notice at the Achilleion Grounds
- ^ George Kritikos; Nikos Poulis; Carolyn Simpson; T. (M. Toubis) Spiropoulos, John Palogiannidis (1996). Achilleion Corfu: A Guided Tour in the Majestic Palace of "Sissi". Seven Islands Pub. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ^ Mima Nixon (1916). Royal palaces & gardens. A. & C. Black, ltd. pp. 158–166. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
Sunset, The Achilleion, Corfu The sunsets are wonderful in Corfu, and from the Achilleion one looks at the sinking sun across the whole width of the island, which is about six or eight miles at this, its southern end. I think it was on the ...
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85771-828-0.
- ^ Murad, Anatol (1968). Franz Joseph I of Austria and His Empire. Ardent Media. pp. 116–. GGKEY:DQ4K12079NF.
g. ... to gratify her admiration for Greece, Greek culture, and the Greek language, which she cultivated assiduously.
- ^ "The History of Achilleion Palace". www.achillion-corfu.gr. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-55859-845-4. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
The property was owned by a Corfiot philosopher, politician and diplomat named Petros Vrailas Armenis and went by the name of "Villa Vraila". As soon as Elisabeth inspected the place in the autumn of 1888 she decided it was the perfect site...
- ISBN 978-3-8053-3324-5.
Auf der Insel beim Dorf Gastoüri wird Elisabeth später, nach Abriss der Villa des Petras Vrailas-Armenis, die neue Residenz auf einem 200 000 Quadratmeter großen Gelände - Franz Josef I. von Österreich hatte umliegende Grundstücke...
- ISBN 978-3-89995-040-3.
Kaiserin Elisabeth, Sisi genannt, hatte Korfu bereits 1861 kennen und recht bald diese schöne Insel des Mittelmeeres lieben ... Bereits im Dezember 1888 hatte sie die Villa Vrailas Armenis sowie die umliegenden Grundstücke erworben und...
- ^ Biblos. Vol. 55–56. Gesellschaft der Freunde der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek. 2006. p. 623. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
Den „touristischen" Weg nach Korfu hatte viel früher Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich geöffnet, als sie 1861 zum ersten Mal dorthin reiste. 1889 kaufte Kaiser Franz Josef Grund und Villa des griechischen Diplomaten Petros Vrailas-Armenis in ...
- ^ Achilleion website Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-84212-098-9.
- ISBN 978-0-87011-154-9.
- ^ ISSN 1653-5219.
- ISBN 978-1-55859-845-4. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
Back in Corfu town the King suggested that I purchase the Achilleion as a retreat where the Empress and I could relax after the rigours of the harsh Berlin winter. He added that he personally, together with his country and government, would be ...
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-01990-3. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
On the fragrant wooded hills of Corfu, overlooking the sea to Albania and mainland Greece, stands the Achilleion.
- ISSN 1653-5219.
- ^ Peter Sheldon (1968). Peloponnese & Greek Islands. Collins. p. 39. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-942986-54-9. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
The Kaiser summered on Corfu where he put up a statue of Achilles with the inscription, To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German. The marble bathroom in his villa had provisions for warm mud baths and warm seawater baths.
- ^ Peter Sheldon (1966). Greece. Batsford. p. 60. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
another colossal statue of Achilles was put up with the modest dedication ' to the greatest Greek from the greatest German'.
- ISBN 978-0-521-49752-7. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
After the purchase of the 'Achilleion', Kekule was invited by the Kaiser to go to Corfu to provide advice on the positioning of the ... 94 Without a doubt, Wilhelm's lifelong obsession with the statue of the Gorgon unearthed in Corfu stems from the ...
- ISBN 978-0-470-52664-4. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
Achilles that the Kaiser had inscribed, to the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German, a sentiment removed after World War II.
- ^ Municipality of Corfu Official Website. (2008) History of the municipal theatre Archived June 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Accessed July 8, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-08521-2. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ^ "Narrator's Name: Mr. Zaven Avedis Kish" (PDF). Armenian Oral History Project. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05.
- ^ JISC. "The Ionian Conference II 1999 Integrating the New Europe". JISC.
The upper floors of the Achilleion Palace, refurbished for the EU Corfu Summit of June 1994, have been designated as the seat of the Academy.
- ^ For Your Eyes Only website
- ISBN 978-1-85224-238-1. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
Bibliography
- Kardamitsi-Adami, Maro (2009). Palaces in Greece. Melissa Books. ISBN 978-960-204-289-2.
- Haderer, Stefan (2022). Under the Spell of a Myth: Empress Sisi in Greece. KDP Publishing. ISBN 979-884-421-950-4.
- Haderer, Stefan (2018). "A Fairytale Palace on Corfu. I: The Achilleion and Empress Elisabeth of Austria". Royalty Digest Quarterly. ISSN 1653-5219.
- Haderer, Stefan (2019). "A Fairytale Palace on Corfu. II: The Achilleion and German Emperor Wilhelm II". Royalty Digest Quarterly. ISSN 1653-5219.
Sources
- Greek National Tourist Organisation information window at the Achilleion Grounds
External links
39°33′45″N 19°54′15″E / 39.56250°N 19.90417°E
- "Welcome to Achilleion Palace". www.achillion-corfu.gr. Archived from the original on 2020-04-02. Retrieved 2017-05-18. — Official museum website