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
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
Announcement Regarding the Scholarship Competition in Memory of Hatzivassiliou and Beza
The process for awarding two (2) opera singing scholarships for the 2026–2027 academic year, in memory of Elisabeth Hatzivassiliou and Frantzeska Beza, following the publication of the relevant announcement, was unsuccessful, as none of the candidates submitted a complete application package in accordance with the terms of the announcement. Accordingly, the call for applications is being reopened with a new deadline for submission set for May 29, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
Sound Waves: AI and Interactive Music for Children | May 23 and 24 at the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall
On the weekend of May 23 and 24, the European project "Sound Waves" is coming straight from Berlin to the Music Library’s MusiXLab to offer a sound-based experience for children, aiming to foster an experiential appreciation of music in the most entertaining way possible! The Sound Waves combine interactive music with artificial intelligence applications and lighting, set against specially designed sets and costumes. In a live installation that awakens the senses, participants enter together into a world crafted from live sound and rich in play. Children aged 10 months to 12 years, divided into three age ...More
GSA/ Historical Archives Museum of Hydra | A Glimpse of the World: The Photographs of Joan Leigh Fermore | May 9–July 26, 2026
Joan Leigh Fermor, along with her husband Patrick Leigh Fermor, traveled for decades throughout Asia and Europe, but found their “home” in Greece, a country they came to love. Not just the monuments, but also the people, the light, the landscape, and the soul of the country. Leigh Fermor’s first striking photographs were taken in bombed-out London during World War II. In the years that followed, she never abandoned her passion. On her travels, she always carried her camera and saw every place through its lens. Photographing in the 1940s and 1950s, she obviously did not ...More
Epilekto Epirus Ensemble and Vasilis Kostas at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus| 09 June 2026
The tribute “Epirus” unfolds as a musical encounter of memory and continuity, dedicated to the deep-rooted tradition of Epirote music and its unbroken passage through time. At the heart of the performance lies the glorious legacy of the late Petroloukas Chalkias, a towering presence for the way in which the music of Epirus is transmitted, transformed, and renewed across generations. Under the artistic direction of the laouto player, lecturer at Hellenic College Holy Cross in the United States, and Grammy-nominated musician Vasilis Kostas – whose decade-long apprenticeship and close collaboration with Petroloukas Chalkias shaped a rare ...More
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