Known simply as the Polytechnic, the ‘Metsoveion’ Technical University of Athens was established in 1836, and is Greece’s oldest technical educational institution.

In 1873, the institution was housed on Patission Street, and was named after the village of Metsovo, home of its benefactors Stournaris, Tositsas and Averof. The University’s first buildings, designed by Lysander Kaftantzoglou, were constructed between 1862 and 1876, and housed the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Rector’s offices and the Faculty of Architecture. In the 1930s, the Ginis Building was constructed from plans by Kostas Kitsikis.

In the 1950s, the buildings housing the faculties of chemical and mechanical engineering were built, based on designs by Emmanuel Kriezis. The Polytechnic building complex has been directly connected to many crucial moments in Greek History, including the civil unrest of December of 1944 and post-war demonstrations for education.

The incident most associated with popular resistance in contemporary Greece came in November 1973, when students and other citizens staged what became known as the Polytechnic Uprising.