Location: Prytaneiou and Epicharmou Plaka, Athens
Tel. 210 322 8193
Subway: Monastiraki
Trolley: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18
Open: 8am- 12pm, 5- 8pm daily
Agios Nikolaos Ragavas or simply the Church of Saint Nicholas is
a medieval Byzantine church that was built in the 11th century by
Paul Hiropotamino, grandson of Emperor Michael I Rangabe. Most of
the marble stones of Agios Nikolaos Ragavas or the Church of Saint
Nicholas, as well as the columns used in its construction, were
obtained from more ancient pagan temples. The first Church of St.
Nicholas was rebuilt in the 18th century. This church was the first
in the city to receive its bells after the 1821 War of Independence
against the Ottoman Turkish Empire. When German fascist troops
invaded the country, the church bells fell silent. Only after the
enemies were expelled from Greece did the bells ring again on
October 12, 1944. These bells are still used to mark Orthodox
holidays and every year on the National Day of Greece.
The
last time the Church of Saint Nicholas was reconstructed was in the
1970s. The church is built in the medieval Byzantine style of the XI
century. Like many churches of Athens, in its outer walls there are
marble columns and other remains of ancient pagan buildings.
History of the temple
Church of Agios Nikolaos Ragavas dates back
to the 11th century AD. century, as it has similar architectural and
decorative features with other churches of this period, such as the
Holy Apostles and the church of Soteiras Likodeimos. It was built by
the great Byzantine Ragava family and originally functioned as a
private temple. However, there is also an opinion that it refers to
the 9th century AD. and that he was built on the ruins of an ancient
temple by the son of Emperor Michael I Ragava, Theophylact.
In 1687 AD, during the siege of Athens by the troops of Francesco
Morozina, in connection with the Sixth Venetian-Turkish War, a shell
damaged the Holy Altar of the temple.
In 1833, renovation and
expansion works were carried out in the temple, which greatly
changed its appearance. He largely restored his original appearance
in 1979-80 after the work of the Archaeological Service.
Description of the temple
The Church of Agios Nikolaos Ragavas in
its original form was about two times smaller than today.
It
was built in a cruciform architectural style with an inscribed dome
and had a vaulted roof with a cruciform porch with a spire, which
were demolished. Ancient materials were also used in the
construction of the temple (for example, capitals), and a brick type
was used in its construction.
During the renovation and
expansion works in 1833, a vestibule, a bell tower, the northern
chapel of St. Paraskeva and the women's monastery of the current
church were added. The masonry was covered with plaster, and the
dome - with lead sheets. Then the current wooden iconostasis was
built, west of the original one, as a result of which the two
eastern columns of the temple were inside the altar, and the other
two columns were placed next to the previous ones. During work in
the late 1970s, an evocative inscription was found embossed on the
colonnade of the dome: Κ(ΥΡΙ)Ε ΒΩΗΘΗ ΤΟΥ ΔΟΥΛ(ΟΥ) ΛΕΩ)(Ν)Τ(ΟΣ)
ΡΑΝΚΑΒΑ.
The original hagiographies of the church have not
been preserved. The existing ones were made during the reign of Otto
and executed in western style.