The cultural treasure of the city

Municipal Library of Patra

Adress: 110 Maizonos Str., Patras
Tel. of Reading Room +30 2610 224813

mail: [email protected]

https://patraslibrary.weebly.com

Share it!

Municipal Library of Patra

The origins of the Municipal Library of Patras lie in the donation of the library of the “Patra Craft Company” to the Municipality of Patras in 1903.

Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αναγνωστήριο / Municipal Library of Patras – Reading Room

In 1908, after petitions through the local Press, the Municipal Library of Patras was founded, and the first Supervisory Committee was elected. The Library was housed in the school on the corner of Gounari and Karaiskaki Streets. Two years later, in 1910, the official opening ceremony took place.

The Library closed in 1926, abandoned, and its contents were stored in the basement of the Municipality until 1944, when a group of book lovers transported them to the house of former mayor Ioannis Vlachos and subsequently to the Karamandani Mansion, on 42 Maizonos Street.

Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αρχιτεκτονικό σχέδιο / Municipal Library of Patra – Floorplan

In 1947 the postwar Municipal Library was inaugurated, with 18,200 books, mostly donated by the public. In 1948, by royal decree, the Library became a legal entity governed by public law. In 1955 the new building was inaugurated, and the books transported there.

Since 2011, the Library is part of a newly founded legal entity governed by public law, under the name “Municipal Library-Cultural Organization of the Municipality of Patras”. It comprises the Central Library (110 Maizonos Street) and the Annex (Eleftheria Square, 26 Fokaias Street). The ground floor houses the Children’s Department and the Municipal Gallery. Visitors can use the reading room, borrow books, access the Internet, use the computers for research purposes, and there are workstations for people with disabilities.

Head of the Library is the librarion Ms. Aikaterini Kourou

Future plans

The Municipal Library of Patras falls under the category of public libraries. Within this framework, its plans include the restoration of the buildings and the upgrading of services and functions, in order to develop into a large central public library that will support the right to self-education and public education, providing access to every resident of the city. Furthermore, it may also become the centre of a network of municipal/public libraries in the neighbouring municipalities and regions.

Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα / Municipal Library of Patra − Educational programme

For the moment, a study for the creation of a modern section for children/teenagers, a department for digital technologies and an exhibition of rare books and documents is underway.

Moreover, funding is being sought for the installation of digital services through the use of radio-frequency identification technology (RFID).

ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ

The “Kokovikos House” is being transformed into a cultural space for screening Greek cinema films.

August 26, 2025|

The Ministry of Culture, as part of its policy to create cultural hubs in the center of Athens, is proceeding with the restoration of the building at 32 Tripodon Street, the well-known "Kokovikos House" in Plaka, and its conversion into a cultural space. The building, currently in a ruined state, has been designated as a historic preserved monument along with its surrounding area because it is an exceptional example of an Athenian house, and its preservation contributes to the history of Greek architecture. The restoration studies for the building and its surrounding area were carried out ...More

Historical Archives Museum of Hydra| Exhibition by artist Vasso Triga – “Writings and Maps” | September 6-October 30, 2025

August 25, 2025|

This summer, the GSA/Historical Archive – Museum of Hydra presents an exhibition by artist Vasso Triga entitled "Writings and Maps." In a historically charged space, the artist invites us on a visual journey that combines painting and ceramics, light and silence, memory and place. Triga, with consistency and an authentic presence in the contemporary art scene, reinterprets tradition through her personal idiom. Her works, deeply poetic and imbued with the color blue—of the sky, the sea, prayer, and memory—open paths between painting and sculpture. Her canvases are transformed into endless, hybrid maps, while her ceramic forms, ...More

Archaeological Museum of Heraklion | The Roots of the Orange Tree | August 30-31, 2025

August 25, 2025|

As part of the 2025 program of the Ministry of Culture's institution "All Greece One Culture," the music performance "The Roots of the Orange Tree" rekindles, as an artistic ritual, the female experience as a bearer of memory, endurance, and creation. Through a combination of traditional and electronic music, live performance, audiovisual media, and shadow theater, a living audiovisual fabric of women's stories—the survivors—is reconstructed, turning silence into voice and personal narrative into collective memory. The female figure functions not only as a symbol but as an active subject that reinvents tradition. Inspired by the work ...More

Scientists and Researchers from 15 Countries to Participate in an International Conference at AUTH on Major Social and Political Issues

August 25, 2025|

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) will host a two-day International Conference on August 24–25, 2025, at its KEDEA building, where researchers will present the findings of two key research programs, DATIS and EUPopLink. During the Conference researchers and experts in political science, social research methodology, European studies, and public communication will gather to present cutting-edge research and innovative methods addressing inclusion, populism, Euroscepticism, and political attitudes across Europe. DATIS Maps Social Cohesion in Greece The DATIS project (Data for Inclusive Societies) aims to study the factors that strengthen or hinder inclusion in modern society. The ...More

2024-05-29T09:51:13+00:00May 29, 2024|Categories: Libraries, Uncategorized|Tags: |0 Comments

Leave A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Go to Top