Misplaced Pages

The Church of Panagia Kapnikarea (Greek: Εκκλησία της Παναγίας Καπνικαρέας) or just Kapnikarea (Greek: Καπνικαρέα) is a Greek Orthodox church and one of the oldest churches in Athens.

History

It is estimated that the church was built some time in the 11th century, perhaps around 1050. As it was common with the early Christian churches, this was built over an ancient Greek temple dedicated to the worship of a goddess, possibly Athena or Demeter. When King Otto I, King of the Kingdom of Greece, brought the Bavarian architect Leo von Klenze to draw the new city plan of Athens, the church was considered for demolition and it was the King of Bavaria, Ludwig I who objected the decision and saved the church.

Architecture

It appears that the Kapnikarea church may have originally been the katholikon of a monastery. Presently, the building is formed by a complex of three different units attached together; these units were built in succession: a) the largest south church dedicated to the Presentation of Mary to the Temple, b) the chapel of St Barbara on the northern side; and c) the exonarthex with the propylon to the west.

The larger of the two churches, the south one, is a domed complex, cross-in-square, has been dated (on the basis of morphological criteria) to just after the middle of the 11th century.

Location

The church is located in the center of the modern city of Athens, right in the middle of the high-traffic shopping area of Ermou street, at the edge of the Plaka district.

See also

• Omorfoklissia

References

1. The church of Kapnikarea in Athens: Remarks on its history, typology and form by Nikolaos Gkioles Archived 2011-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
2. The church of Kapnikarea in Athens: Remarks on its history, typology and form by Nikolaos Gkioles Archived 2011-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

• "Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, description". Retrieved 2008-03-07.
• "KAPNIKAREA". Archived from the original on 2001-02-23. Retrieved 2007-04-06.

v t e Churches and monasteries in Greece
Aegean Islands	Hagios Spyridon Holy Trinity Panagia Episkopi Panagia tou Kastrou Saint Ignatius Saint Irene Nea Moni of Chios Our Lady of Tinos Panagia Gremniotissa Panagia Kanala Saint Francis of Assisi Saint George Saint John the Baptist Therapon Three Bells of Fira
Central Greece	Daphnion Hagia Triada Holy Apostles Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Hosios Loukas Little Metropolis Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens Omorfoklissia Panagia Kapnikarea Panagia Pantobasilissa Pantanassa church Saint Dionysius the Areopagite Saint Gregory the Illuminator Saint Irene Saint Panteleimon
Crete	Agia Triada Agios Minas Arkadi Assumption Cathedral Panagia Kera Presentation of Virgin Mary Saint Mark Saint Nicholas Saint Titus
Epirus	Panagia Molybdoskepastos Panagia Paregoretissa Red Church Saint Paraskevi
Ionian Islands	Saints James and Christopher Saint Mark Saint Spyridon
Macedonia	Baptistery of John the Baptist Acheiropoietos Hagia Sophia, Drama Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki Hagios Demetrios Holy Apostles Hosios David Immaculate Conception Old Metropolis, Veria Pammegistoi Taxiarches Panagia Chalkeon Prophet Elijah Protaton Saint Gregory Palamas Saint Catherine Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas Orphanos Saint Panteleimon Saint Paraskeva Savior church Vlatades
Peloponnese	Brontochion Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia Makelaria Panagia Trypiti Pantanassa Pantocrator Patapios Peribleptos Saint Andrew
Thessaly	Holy Trinity Makrinitissa Panagia Olympiotissa Porta Panagia
Thrace	Theotokos Kosmosoteira
Greece portal Churches in Greece Christianity in Greece Churches by country

37°58′35″N 23°43′43″E / 37.9763°N 23.7286°E / 37.9763; 23.7286

• Byzantine church buildings in Athens
• 11th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings
• Church buildings with domes
• 11th-century churches in Greece
• 11th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire
• Ludwig I of Bavaria
• Otto of Greece