The restoration of the Holy Monastery of Agios Stefanos in Meteora is the work that Mr. Tzimas stands out
He spent a lifetime in churches, monasteries and mosques, carefully placing one stone on top of the other and mixing materials from the past in order to restore with full respect and without intervention more than 100 religious monuments across the country: in Meteora, Mount Athos, Crete, Northern Greece, Epirus, Thessaly and Central Greece.
The architect and conservator of monuments Sotiris Tzimasoriginating from Trikala, for 40 years it has restored dozens of religious monuments. It is characteristic that twelve of them in Agrafa, Pindos and Olympus, in which he worked with the aim of being able to be “reborn”, were blown up by the Germans during the Second World War.
“The architect must read the monuments and the preserved buildings, understand how they were built, the way they were built, try to simulate. Do not pick up the pencil to draw new things. The monument itself teaches, speaks and if you know how to read it you do it right … “he said in an interview with the Athenian / Macedonian News Agency ( – ).
During this time, the 70-year-old Mr. Tzimas works on the restoration of the west wing of the old monastery of Agios Dionysios on Olympus. In this west wing was the belfry and the abbot, which, however, were destroyed by the explosives placed by the Germans in 1943 in the area, blowing it up. “It’s an extremely difficult task because of its complexity. It has many arches, many domes and has no access to transport materials. “Everything must be carried by hand and at a distance of more than 50 meters”, he states characteristically.
He adds that “Because the ancients had enlightened knowledge for centuries, the task of restoration was easy. Today there is no trained staff and it is more difficult. I was lucky as in the first years of my career I found the latest generation of people who knew how to make domes, make cruciforms, make any kind of dome. And so, I train the staff and we manage to make the series of forms that are necessary to set up the architectural framework “.
The favorite, the most difficult task and the peculiarity of a mosque
The restoration of the Holy Monastery of Agios Stefanos in Meteora is the work that Mr. Tzimas singles out and explains the reasons: “There was a complete restoration. It started from scratch with full respect, without interventions and interventions. “It was a purely scientific work and it is admired most of all.”
However, he had to put his “hand” to repair damage and damage to monuments with an even greater history in the long run. One of them in the Vytouma Monastery of Trikala, which dealt with a propylon of 1054 AD, but also in the restoration of the Holy Temple of Porta Panagia of 1283, located in the Gate of Trikala and is the birthplace of the architect.
As for the restoration of mosques, he states that the only difference from the churches is their size, which is clearly larger since “the technique is otherwise the same”.
On the other hand, the most difficult task he was called upon to perform was the reconstruction of the bell tower in the Holy Monastery of Megalo Meteoro, where he suffered a heart attack until he finished his agony. “I went to Meteora for a week and stayed 30 years”he adds, mentioning several more projects he did in the same area.
“We try to build in all the religious monuments and the preserved ones in the way that the ancestors built, that is, lime, sand, Thera earth or crushed tile. The only addition that is made is a minimal amount of white cement. Their endurance, their behaviors are similar. After all, chemical analysis is preceded by a university center and they give us the compositions of the materials. They take samples, analyze and then suggest us for the cement injections, the joints and the constructions “, adds Mr. Tzimas.
Hieromonk Siluanos: Our duty to restore the old Monastery of Ag. Dionysius in Olympus
While the architect from Trikala, together with his crew, is working on the old monastery on Mount Olympus, the monks of the Holy Monastery of Agios Dionysios on Mount Olympus are monitoring the progress of the work in the west wing. “Only the ruins were left after the destruction by the Germans and from 1990 we started the restoration of the Monastery. First the katholikon, ie the central church of the monastery, was restored, then some fixing works were done on all the wings. “Then the south wing was restored and now we are working on the west wing”, he added to APE-MPE the monk Siluanos.
In fact, he described it as very important to complete the work as soon as possible, as for the monks the restoration of the monastery is a duty, “which was not destroyed by the wear of time but by violent destruction and on the other hand is a need to be in the place where Saint Dionysios. The monastery has been alive for about 500 years. “He was never left without monks.”
Check out the news feed and stay up to date with the latest news.
