Church of Agios Konstantinos and Eleni in Athens

The Church of Agios Konstantinos & Eleni is located at the area of Omonoia, close to Metaxourgio neighborhood. The imposing temple is regarded as one of the most impressive ecclesiastical edifices of Athens and was originally dedicated to Prince Konstantinos, son of King George and Olga, as a celebration for his birth in 1868.

The reconstruction process began in 1870 and was completed in 1905. The architect in charge was the renowned Lyssandros Kaftatzoglou, who had also undertaken the restoration of the church of Agia Irini. The gifted architect designed a magnificent, more than 1000 m2, a three-aisled basilica with an elegant, voluminous dome decorated with aristocratic blue cooper leaves and two octagonal belfries. What is most characteristic about the temple is the architectural and the decorative elements that Kaftatzoglou used; there are evident eclectic neoclassical and renaissance references, while the elaborate frescoes are works of the renowned hagiographers Anastasios Loukidis and Fotis Kontoglou.

The church was extensively damaged during the destructive earthquakes of 1981 and 1991, while the restoration operations lasted more than 15 years. Now, after the careful diligence of the experts, the impressive temple echoes the days of its former glory and constitutes an inextricable part of the modern history of Athens.