Tatoi (Greek: Τατόι, pronounced [ta.ˈto.i]) was the summer palace and 42 km2 (10,000 acres) estate of the former Greek royal family. The area is a densely wooded southeast-facing slope of Mount Parnitha, and its ancient and current official name is Dekeleia. It is located 27 km (17 mi) from the city centre of Athens.
King George I of the Hellenes obtained the estate during the 1880s, purchasing it with private funds he had brought from Denmark. In 1916, during the First World War, the house was burned down.
During the Republican regime in the 1920s, most of the estate was confiscated from its owners. Around 1929-1930 the government allowed Dimitrios Gaziadis to film the movie The Apaches of Athens (1930) at the lavish estate.[1] In 1936, it was returned to King George II of the Hellenes following the monarchy's restoration.
During the Second World War, when the King was in exile and Greeks suffered considerable hardships under German occupation, the woods at Tatoi were chopped down for fuel and corpses were buried in shallow graves.[2]
King George II regained possession of the estate in 1946. It passed down as private property to King Constantine II until 1994, when the royal estates were confiscated by the government of Andreas Papandreou.[3] Constantine took the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, who ruled in his favour in 2003. They were not able to force the return of the estates, but they were able to legally force the government to pay him €12m in compensation; this amounted to only one percent of its real worth. In an attempt to embarrass the ex-King, the government paid the compensation from the Greek Natural Disasters Fund, thereby claiming that by paying out money to him he was harming Greek people in need. Constantine used the funds to set up the "Anna Maria Foundation" (named after his wife Queen Anne-Marie) to provide grants to needy Greeks in time of hardship caused by natural disasters.
When in 1973 the property was abandoned completely. Lack of funding resulted in the cows and horses dying of starvation in the stables.[citation needed] The buildings were subject to vandalism and looting, resulting in significant losses. A former cowshed was filled with objects from Rododafni Castle, the mansion at Psychico, Mon Repos palace, and other royal residences. With permission of the Government, in 1993, the ex-King was able to remove nine cargo crates of objects: some of this appeared at auction at Christies in 2007. There remained 17,000 objects, including antiquities, old masters, and a life-size portrait of Queen Anne-Marie that are now in storage at the Ministry of Culture.[4]
In June 2007, the Government of Greece said it intended to turn the former palace and grounds into a museum.[5] However, it was reported in September 2012 that the government now intended to sell the palace and its estate in the face of mounting financial pressure.[6] Founded in 2012, the "Friends of Tatoi Association" has set itself the goal to restore the former royal estate and convert it to a museum and public venue, while facing political indifference and lack of money.[7]
In 2015 ten cars which were kept in the former royal estate of Tatoi, were designated as cultural monuments by the Central Council for Modern Monuments (ΚΣΝΜ). However, the cars, as well as the carriages (which were not included in the decision) remained in the ruins, with parts of the roof falling on the cars in 2016.[8] However, as of 2020, the cars and carriages have now been removed and restored as part of greater restoration efforts by the Greek government.[9][10]
For several years, the Greek government had no planned efforts for preservation of the Tatoi Palace, neighbouring buildings and the natural area around the Tatoi, and the estate suffered from extensive age and weather damage. The Greek state had renamed the area as metropolitan area.[clarification needed] A political idea to convert the former royal estate to a private winery or a resort with restaurants and barbecue was met with criticism by private persons and organisations, who feared it could erase the historical elements of the property, and who preferred to open Tatoi as a museum for the public.[11][12][13] The former royal estate of Polydendri is also completely abandoned, and the buildings are in a state of decay.[14]
In late 2019, the Greek culture ministry moved ahead with plans to finally restore the palace.[15] After approximately a year of conservation work had been undertaken, the Greek government announced that the estate would become a mixed-use development after the completion of restoration. Plans are centered on the conversion of the main house into a museum of the royal family, as well as the construction of a new luxury hotel and spa.[16] The 2021 forest fires were catastrophic for the estate: 16,997 hectares (42,000 acres) were burnt, with a fire breaking out in the Palace itself. While it was saved, two adjoining storage containers containing objects were destroyed. The area of the Royal Cemetery burned, but the Mausoleum and the Church of the Resurrection were saved. A number of estate buildings, including the Directorate building (which was being used to store furniture), the caretaker's house, the Telegraph Office and Sturm House, were lost.[17] Following the death and funeral of Constantine II, it was announced by Lina Mendoni, the Minister of Culture and Sports, that the government intended to have Tatoi transformed into a museum by 2025. Points of interest are renovating the exterior and tidying up the royal gardens. The project comes following clean-up crews' efforts to tidy up Tatoi Palace and its surroundings for the burial of Constantine II.[18]
Tatoi Royal Cemetery is a private cemetery located on the south end of the estate in a large wooded area.
Buried in the Tatoi Royal Cemetery are:
A mausoleum was built to house the bodies of Constantine I, Sophia and Alexander, seen in the image above. The remaining members are buried in tombs with crosses near the Royal Chapel.
Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Queen of Yugoslavia (1921–1993) was buried here from 1993 until 2013, when her remains were exhumed and returned to Serbia, where they were reburied at Oplenac in 2013.
Tatoi has a mediterranean climate (Csa) with hot summers and cool winters.
| Climate data for Tatoi, 235 m asl (1958-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.7 (58.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
29.9 (85.8) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.8 (89.2) |
28.0 (82.4) |
22.5 (72.5) |
17.4 (63.3) |
13.2 (55.8) |
21.5 (70.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
4.9 (40.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
11.9 (53.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.3 (66.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
11.8 (53.2) |
7.9 (46.2) |
4.9 (40.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 69.2 (2.72) |
48.6 (1.91) |
51.1 (2.01) |
26.2 (1.03) |
20.4 (0.80) |
9.8 (0.39) |
10.0 (0.39) |
6.0 (0.24) |
17.6 (0.69) |
47.6 (1.87) |
60.2 (2.37) |
83.9 (3.30) |
450.6 (17.72) |
| Source: Hellenic National Meteorological Service[19] | |||||||||||||
Tatoi along with Elefsina currently hold the record for the highest ever recorded temperature in Europe according to WMO, with 48.0 °C, based on measurements made by the use of minimum/maximum thermometers.[20]
