A project to restore the gardens of the former royal estate in Tatoy is underway following a positive report from the Central Board of Modern Monuments.
The project, which is part of a wider project to restore and reactivate the former royal estate, has a budget of €3 million and will be covered by the Restoration and Regeneration Fund.
Plane trees, in combination with low-growing shrubs, roses, cherry trees and aromatic plants, will be planted in particular in the gardens in front of and around the palace, which have been abandoned for many years, and existing orchards will be reconstructed.
The choice of trees around the palace was made to create a fire protection zone. At the same time, large shrubs will create a light fence that will separate the garden areas from the wooded part of the estate.
According to the project, the main axis of the gardens and the central alley will be planted with plane trees (Platanus orientalis), which will be surrounded by medium-sized shrubs (myrtles) and/or tall wild rose bushes, emphasizing the clarity of the axis and gradually revealing individual spaces.
Roses will be planted along the central alley and directly near the palace in various combinations and textures. Damask rose, located near the palace, is combined with old historical varieties of roses with sage, and those located closer to the gardens will be perfectly combined with rose hips.
A cypress grove will be planted to the east of the tennis court and in the spiral maze area, along with a small orchard in the northeast portion of the park, which is being redeveloped. In the area of the small greenhouse, it is proposed to create an alley of smaller fruit trees, for example, cherries, as well as a garden with aromatic plants.
The marble staircase, characterized by a curved shape and consisting of steps and parapets, will be restored using local restoration. It leads to a fountain into which water fell from the mouth of a marble lion’s head located inside an artificial grotto. Access to the grotto is via stairs located on both sides of it. On the eastern side of the gardens there is a stone fence wall, which is also included in the restoration project, with a total length of 401 meters.
“In April, a preliminary study for the improvement of gardens, paths and plantings was approved. And now, having received a positive opinion from the Central Council for Contemporary Monuments on the final study, prepared with the support of Aigeas AMKE and determining the directions for planting and improvement of paths, we are moving towards the implementation of the project. Our goal is to revive the gardens as an important part of the spatial composition and life of the ecosystem of the former royal estate, as well as the experience of a modern visitor“, said Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni.
In 1872, the then king of the country George Iat the insistence Ernest Ziller, acquired a 20,000-acre property in Tatoy. The legendary architect insisted on this site because he envisioned a huge palace complex similar to Versailles. But he was soon disappointed, as the king rejected his plans, intending simply to expand the leisure of the royal family.
George I wanted to create a huge landscaped park. He even created two artificial lakes, and also brought and released noble European deer from Hungary, wanting to organize a “royal hunt.” So without hesitation, Ziller designed a simple two-story house in the “Greek-Swiss style,” which was completed in 1874. This building became the first royal family cottage on this territory.
Ten years later, construction began on the new main palace by architect Savvas Bukis. At the behest of Queen Olga, he went to Russia, where he chose as an example an English-style building in the Peterhof palace complex that belonged to her uncle, Tsar Alexander II.
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 Prototype Tatoya Peterhof |
Tatoi 1916
Castle. November 2014.
The royal family moved into the new palace in 1889. Since then they visited it every year from the end of May until the onset of winter. At the end of the century, the palace was already surrounded by dozens of buildings, including residential buildings for staff, a winery, an animal farm, warehouses, workshops and a shelter for guards.
In 1917, during First World Warthe Entente army burst into the estate, captured it and forcibly expelled King Constantine.
As already mentioned, the “life” of the estate runs through modern Greek history and, of course, many important moments unfold there. Obviously not all of them can be covered, but the most important ones will be briefly mentioned so that everyone can understand the weight of the story they “carry.”
During the Second Hellenic Republic (1924 – 1935), part of the palaces was turned into a museum dedicated to the royal dynasty. At the same time, it was the summer residence of the then President of the Republic. In the winter of 1941, at the height of Second World Warthe palace hosted important meetings under the leadership of George II regarding the German attack and those that preceded the escape of the royal family to Egypt, South Africa and London after the collapse of the front in April of that year.
At Easter 1944, when the country was plunged into the maelstrom of war, partisans of the Greek Liberation Army arrived at the estate. At first they maintained friendly relations with all the residents. Until the fall, all property was now working on the orders of the managers E.A.M.. This chapter civil war ended in dramatic fashion when the partisans, leaving Tatoi, executed three employees and set fire to part of the estate.
It is reported that in 1966, two secret meetings between Georgios Papandreou and Panagiotis Kanellopoulos took place in the palace with the aim of overthrowing the “renegade” government.
In 1967, after a military coup took place in Greece and power was seized junta, The Royal Family, after a failed attempt to counteract the “black colonels,” she left the palaces on December 13 and fled to Rome. This was the last time in history that the royal estates in Tatoy were inhabited. On June 1, 1973, the junta abolished the kingdom and the estate became the property of the Greek state for the first time.
The fire of 2021 almost completely destroyed Tatay.
Let’s hope that this project will not become another feeding trough for the authorities, like the ill-fated “Big Walk”and Tatoi will again turn into the pearl of Athens.
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