Owned by the Athenian Kariki family since the Middle Ages, Agios Georgios Karytsis was nearly destroyed during the Revolution of 1821.
Following the upheaval, parishioners recruited renowned architect Lysander Kaftantzoglou to restore the church. Their only demand was that he maintain the original Byzantine appearance, and limit the number of western influences. Kaftantzoglou worked wonders on the domed basilica, creating a central gate with a marble pillar, which contrasted vividly with the white belfry.
In 1849, a section of the church’s dome collapsed, requiring the addition of special struts to support the walls.
More Churches & Monasteries
Saint Paul’s Anglican Church
AthensLocated at the end of Filellinon Street, this neo-Gothic Anglican church was built in the early 1840s of Hymettus marble and limestone brought in from the Corinth Canal....
Pantanassa
AthensLocated on Monastiraki Square, the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, or Pantanassa, was once called the Great Monastery, and today is known commonly as Monastiraki....
Asteriou Monastery
AthensAbove the Kessariani Monastery is another convent, the Monastery of the Taxiarchs, popularly known as the Asteriou Monastery....
Religious Museum of Hydra – Cathedral
HydraKnown simply as ‘the monastery’ by locals, the Cathedral of Hydra is located near the centre of the city’s promena...
Saints Asomatoi Church
AthensA short distance from the temple of Hephaestus in Thission, the church of Saints Asomatoi is a simple, cross-in-square church with a narthex and Athenian-style dome, supported by four columns....