...masterpieces of classical art...
Acropolis Museum is located in the historic Makryianni district, situated 300 meters southeast of the Acropolis. The Museum’s main entrance is located at the beginning of Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, a pedestrian walkway that forms the central axis within the unified network of the city’s archaeological sites.
A stunning piece of architecture, the new facility is 226,000 square feet of glass, stainless steel and concrete designed by New York-based architect Bernard Tschumi with Michael Photiadis.
Replacing the old Acropolis Museum, a small 1874 building tucked into the rock of the Acropolis, the new museum was the brainchild of late Greek President Constantinos Karamanlis and world-renowned Greek actress, activist and Culture Minister Melina Merkouri.
Following almost 40 years of controversial tenders and legal battles, construction began in November 2004. The museum opened on June 21, 2009 to display the Parthenon sculptures and other finds from the Acropolis hill, but also to provide a suitable home for the original Parthenon frieze sculptures – now displayed in the British Museum in London - and other exiled masterpieces of classical art looted from the Acropolis in the 19th century.
The museum has three floors that provide space for 4,000 artifacts. The first gallery of the Museum houses finds from the slopes of the Acropolis. Its glass floor affords a view to the archaeological excavation, while the rise in the floor alludes to the ascent to the Acropolis. On the first floor are free-standing statues of the pre-Parthenon period - principally from the sixth century BC. The sculptures from the Parthenon itself are housed in the top-floor gallery, a cool glass box with a spectacular view that mirrors the dimensions and orientation of the temple itself.
The Caryatids, five larger-than-life-size female statues that supported a porch on the Erechtheum temple on the Acropolis, stand on an internal balcony over the museum’s lobby. An empty space has been reserved for the sixth, which is in London. The other collections of the Acropolis Museum include the Sanctuary of Artemis Vravronia, the votives of the Classical and Hellenistic Periods and the votives of the Roman Period. The Museum provides a Cafe on the ground floor level, overlooking the archaeological excavation, and a Restaurant on the second floor, with panoramic views of the Acropolis and a 700 square meter public terrace commanding a breathtaking view of the historic hills of Athens.