Klonaridis Park - Fix | Restoration work at Villa Klonaridis
The Municipality of Athens has launched the procedures for the preparation of studies for the complete restoration of this emblematic mansion, the work of the Bavarian architect Ernst Ziller, known by the Greek name Ernestos Ziller. In the video, it can be seen that the support and restoration work of the "Klonaridis Villa", the symbol building that has stood for more than 120 years in Fix Park, in Patisia, has been completed.
The red two-storey villa (in some places the color can still be seen today, although faded, as well as some cornice on the roof), a residence that the family of Errikos Klonaridis used not only as a country house but also as a main house, with the brewery and ice factory Klonaridis to be located a few meters away. The villa had a rich interior and exterior painting decoration, crafted by notable artists of the time (now after the fire in 2020 it has suffered total destruction). Due to its significant historical and architectural value, it has been classified as a historical monument.
His story
Villa Klonaridis was built between 1900-1902 and is located in the heart of the park of the same name, with its name due to the brewery and ice factory of the brothers Errikos and Miltiadis Klonaridis that was built at the same time. With experience in brewing and business activities in France and Egypt, the Klonaridis brothers, with roots in Asia Minor, decided to invest in Greece as well.
The imposing factory began operating in 1903 and thousands of Athenians, from politicians, priests, mayors and ordinary citizens, attended the opening on December 26 of the same year. The Klonaridis brothers' official invitations alone exceeded a thousand.
The serious problems appear only a few years after the grand opening of the factory. The government had decided to increase the duty on malt, while a huge competition had broken out with the other big brewery of the time, that of Karolos Fix.
A series of financial scandals followed, with the company appearing to have failed to pay the legal duties for the import of barley, while it was also accused of smuggling roasted malt. In 1911 Errikos Klonaridis was arrested and the factory was sealed. Within just seven years, Klonaridis beer was "embraced" by all Greeks, but the mistakes of the brothers, the relentless competition led to its closure. It is interesting to note that Athens has three toponyms related to beer. Fix, Mets, Klonaridis.
In the following years the difficulties escalated and in 1920 Klonaridis transferred the business to his great competitor, the sons of Karolos Fix, however keeping the villa in his name, where he lived until 1999. The factory was demolished in 2000 during the mayorship of Dimitris Avramopoulos. , in a move that sparked many protests. Earlier, in 1980, the factory had passed to the jurisdiction of the National Bank and a little later to the Municipality of Athens, after financial problems of the Fix company.
In 1993, the Villa was granted to the Municipality of Athens by the Ministry of Culture, while in 1994, the Ministry declared Villa Klonaridis a historical monument, as it is a typical example of a suburban mansion of the beginning of the last century. The mansion was inhabited until the end of the 90s by the descendants of the Klonaridis family. In May 2020, a fire broke out, which caused enormous damage to the mansion.
The Klonaridis family lived there until 1977, while later only one of his two daughters, Julia and her two dogs, remained in the house. According to official documents, the electricity was cut off in 1987, but residents of the neighborhood say that Julia lived there until 1999. When the water was cut off in 1999, she had little choice but to abandon her family home to the fate of time and of what followed...
"The goal is for this emblematic building in the "heart" of Athens, which has been identified with the history of the city from the beginning of the 20th century until today, to revive, together with other equally important historical buildings, the cultural past of the capital and to contribute to the cultural and aesthetic upgrading of the neighborhood of Patisia"
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