Holy Church of Saint Dimitrios Loumbardiaris

In a unique wooded area, at the foothills of the hill of Philopappos, is the church of Saint Dimitrios. It is a single-aisle vaulted church and dates from the period of the Ottoman occupation. According to the tradition, in 1658, on the eve of the saint’s celebration, when Yusuf, the Turkish commander of the Acropolis, wanted to bomb the church and the congregation with a loumbarda (meaning large cannon in Greek) from the Propylaea. However, his plans were cancelled when a lightning struck and blew up the powder house on the Acropolis, resulting in his death. Due to this attempt with the loumbarda, the church was called Loumbardiaris. To the church leads a beautiful paved path which has been constructed by the well –known architect Dimitrios Pikionis (1887-1968). Pikionis was also responsible for the restoration works of the church which were carried out in 1955. On the exterior he added marble and ceramic decorative themes to the monument. In addition, he removed the newer wall paintings and as a result the older ones from the 18th century were revealed. The built screen mentions the kontakion (type of hymn) for the inauguration of churches. Thanks to its beautiful location, a lot of young couples choose Saint Dimitrios Loumbardiaris for their wedding.