Kotzia Square () is a square in central

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The square retains several characteristics of 19th-century local

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

, such as the City Hall of the

Municipality of Athens A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and the National Bank of Greece Cultural Center. It is named after Konstantinos Kotzias, former

Mayor of Athens The mayor of Athens is the head of Athens#municipality of Athens, Athens. The current mayor is Haris Doukas who assumed office on 1 January 2024. Kingdom of Greece (1832–1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) Kingdom of Greece (1935 ...

Location

The square is surrounded by the following streets: Efpolidos Street to the north, Athinas Street to the west, Kratinou to the south, and Aiolou Street from the east. The square itself is south of Omonia Square and north of Monastiraki square. Kotzia square lies in front of the City Hall of the

, (designed by

Panagis Kalkos Panagis Kalkos (, 1818–1875) was one of the first Greeks, Greek architects of the modern Greek state. Educated in Munich, he is a representative of a strict neoclassic style in architecture. He built some of the most characteristic neoclassic bu ...

) and is decorated with busts of famous Athenians such as

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

and

Solon Solon (; ; BC) was an Archaic Greece#Athens, archaic History of Athens, Athenian statesman, lawmaker, political philosopher, and poet. He is one of the Seven Sages of Greece and credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy. ...

. File:PeriklisKotzia.JPG, A statue of

History

Built in 1874, the square was formerly known as ''Loudovikou square''. During the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, it served as the start and finish venue of the Athens historic centre circuit for the men's and women's road race events, as well as for various artistic events.

Excavations

In the middle of Kotzia square classical antiquities have been uncovered that include a large part of an ancient road, tombs and a small building. The square is situated just outside the ancient Acharnian Gate of

Classical Athens The city of Athens (, ''Athênai'' ; Modern Greek: Αθήναι, ''Athine'' ) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) was the major urban centre of the notable '' polis'' ( city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, ...

. It was called Acharnian because through it passed the road to the Acharnai. There are remains of the city wall as well as extended parts of the front

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

and the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

References

External links

* Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic cycling venues Squares in Athens {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub