Mon Repos Palace in Corfu

Mon Repos Palace in Corfu: Mon Repos Palace is situated on top of Analipsis hill, near Kanoni area, in the middle of a beautiful setting full of greenery. It was built in 1826 by the British Commissioner Frederic Adams as a gift to his Corfiot wife, Nina Palatianou. It is a small but very beautiful palace with colonial architectural elements.

Later on, the palace became the summer residence of all British governors of Corfu and when the Ionian Islands were united to Greece, in 1864, it was given as a gift to King George I of Greece. This is also the house where Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elisabeth II, was born into on June, 10th, 1921. During the Italian occupation of Corfu, in the Second World War, this palace became the residence of Parini, the Italian governor of the Ionian Islands.

Along the decades, the ownership of the palace was argued between the Greek government and the former Greek royal family. The former King Constantine of Greece thought Mon Repos was his property because it used to be his summer residence during his reign. However, the Greek government would not accept this claim and was considering this residence a Greek state's ownership.

Finally, in 2002, the European Court of Human Rights at Strasburg awarded to the former king compensation of 7 million for the three properties he lost when the monarchy was abolished in Greece, in 1975. Nowadays this house is used by the Municipality of Corfu as a tourist attraction and is visited by hundreds of tourists every year. The palace has today been restored and reflects its original and classical imposing features.

It hosts a museum that includes many Ionian treasures. The palace itself is placed in a very nice environment and is surrounded by a large park. The remains of the ancient town of Corfu, which have been found the opposite to the palace, make archaeologists believe that Mon Repos was built right on the site where the ancient city of Corfu used to be.