Eptalofos Estate (the Queen’s Tower)

The estate was built at a distance of 6-9 kilometres from the historical centre of Athens, in the "Terpni and Hariessa" area of Kato Liosia. The huge estate covered an area of 2,500 acres. In the centre, the famous Tower of Amalia or Queen's Tower, as it remained in historical memory, was built, designed by Florimont Boulanger. A large garden of 40 acres with hundreds of fruit trees was created near the Queen's Tower. A large tank was also built to collect water from an aqueduct located one kilometre from the centre of the estate. The vineyards covered an area of 180 acres. The number of trees grown in its nurseries (olive trees, mulberry trees, pistachio trees, almond trees, etc.) reached 15 thousand. The ornamental plants around and on the seven hills amounted to 80 thousand. The estate functioned as an agricultural and livestock school for the young farmers of the wider area. Animal husbandry was developed in an exemplary manner, while pigeon farms and purebred Arabian horses were even bred. The production of the royal estate was rich and of excellent quality. Its contribution to the introduction and development of modern agricultural tools and mechanized farming systems was also important. The Serpieri family was forced to cede most of the estate to the Greek state, retaining only 250 acres where the Queen's Tower now stands, due to the mid-war legislation that banned large estates. The majority of the estate is now the Antonis Tritsis Environmental Awareness Park. Today the Queen's Tower belongs to the Agricultural Commercial Company of Ilion SA. The estate's vineyard also covers 40 acres, roughly where the Queen's original vineyard was, and has already begun to expand by a further 20 acres. Queen Amalia hired experienced winegrowers from Megara to plant the first vineyard of 180 acres. Today, the vineyard is organically farmed and the grape varieties grown are winemaking, Greek and foreign (European), white and red. Among the historic labels of the estate are the wines "Tour la Reine" and "Chateau la Reine", which have been awarded at major exhibitions in Greece and abroad, while they are widely consumed in restaurants, hotels and entertainment centres. The Queen's Tower and Estate can only be visited on a scheduled tour by appointment. The tour of the Queen's Tower is a unique experience. It lasts 2.5 hours and starts with a reception in the covered areas of the Estate and continues with a tour of the Tower (inside and out). The tour of the second floor of the Tower is always without shoes to protect the exceptional parquet flooring. The tour also includes the organic vineyard, the stables, the estate gardens and a visit to the winery. The tour ends with a tasting of the estate's excellent wines, accompanied by vegetable pies and cheeses.