Since 2019, the Ministry of Culture has prioritized the transformation of the old Elefsina Olive Olive Oil into a state -of -the -art timeless museum, which can accommodate the particularly large number of findings that have come to light, both from the excavations of the Sanctuary of Dimitra and Dimitra and Dimitra uninterrupted in the city. This is the complex of the old industrial installations “Botry-Oil”, south of the organized archaeological site.

The same installations previously operated the Harilaou soaps, the first factory founded in Elefsina in 1875, and operated until 1960.

The property had been owned by the National Bank, from which the Ministry of Culture acquired it in 2022, for a price of 5,000,000 euros, with the aim of establishing the new museum.

Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said: “With the completion and opinion- after the opinion of the Central Archaeological Council- of the architectural study, a visionary work on the city of Eleusis is in the track of definitive planning and implementation. The building complex of the old olive mill refers and encompasses the industrial, economic and cultural history of Eleusis. Since 1995, the old olive mill has been hosting the unique cultural festival of the city, Aeschylia, while in 2023, it has hosted many events in the context of the European Capital of Culture ” Eleusis 2023 ”. Eleusis is entitled to a timeless museum worthy of history and its enormous archaeological wealth. The creation of the timeless museum, combined with the large -scale archaeological works performed by the Ministry of Culture, budget, over 8,000,000 euros, in the archaeological site of Eleusis, compose a cultural ensemble that runs through the history of the city, from antiquity to the present day. The archaeological site is unified with the new museum and the coastal front of the city. Eleusis acquires yet another decisive for the physiognomy of museum and cultural infrastructure and at the same time a development resource, which in combination with the infrastructure created for the cultural capital, create goodwill with enormous potential. I would like to thank the Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulou Foundation and the President of Nelo Kanellopoulos for the brave sponsorship of all the necessary studies. “

The “Olive Oil” planting plant, located between the coast and the hill of the archaeological site, produced various types of oil and Marseille soap. In 1892, due to the change of management of the unit, the plant was renamed “Charilaos – Kanellopoulos SA” And it became known as “OLIVE SPECIAL”, which interrupted its operation around the end of the decade 1960.

The new museum is located south of the “Botry” plant and on the coastal front. The establishment of the Museum for the promotion of the long history of the city of Elefsina was deemed necessary as early as 1989. In 2020 the approved plan of the Botry – Olive Olive Oil was amended and the new uses were defined. In 2023, the Ministry of Culture was temporarily granted the use of the section of the old olive mill at the Municipal Society “2023 Eleusis”, with the aim of organizing events in the framework of the Cultural Capital 2023. In 2024, the preparation of a study of the building of the building was approved by the building of the building. Pavlou and Alexandra Kanellopoulou as a donation to the Ministry of Culture.

The complex of “Olive Oil” is maintained almost intact in its area and building units, in the form it had, when it was interrupted in 1960. Its mechanical equipment was removed or destroyed at an unknown time. It has an area of ​​26 acres. Within the complex, 23 building units of the plant are rescued with a total building area of ​​11,700 sq.m. about. Others are kept in full form and others, mainly in the central zone, are ruined. The buildings of the Old Olive Olive Olive tree have a diversity in terms of materials and how to build and date back to the various phases of the operation of the factory, dating from the late 19th century, while the bulk of the facilities dates back to the 1950s and 1950s.

The complex is ordered in a double “C” form. The southeast wings, ground floor sheds, served as storage spaces, while the northwest, two -storey and three -storey, housed the production process. Next to the central entrance to the beach, there is the administration building, located in the Aeschylian sector. It is a three -storey building with a basement and two floors. The mechanical equipment does not save any information except for the array of 28 cylindrical tanks in the midfield with the “Votries” plant. The area of ​​winemaking – alcohol is architecturally a single whole with its neighboring “Olive Oil”. The “Votries” factory, with a total area of ​​17.5 acres, was founded in 1898 as “Harilaos and Sia’s winemaking and alcoholic company”. The company has evolved into one of the largest in the industry. In 1974, the factory came to the Bodosakis Group and interrupted its operation. Inside, 23 building units of the factory are preserved with a construction surface of 12,800 sq.m. about. In 2008, two buildings from the Botrice complex, the electrician and the alcoholics with the related mechanical equipment, as well as two chimneys, declared industrial heritage monuments.

For the preparation of the preliminary study architecture, the typology of the old industrial complexes, with the distinct volumes and numerous additions, b) the intention of creating an external gathering-gathering space, utilized for cultural events, which will be surrounded by cultural events, will be taken into account. Buildings that creates spacious internal environments and allows natural light to enter their interior; (d) the intention to preserve/highlight the style of the walls that can enhance the visitor’s experiential experience, e) the operation of the new museum as a hub of cultural activity, f) the intention of connecting the museum.

The study provides for pure area of ​​3,800 sq.m. and incorporates the terms set by the Ministry of Culture in the building. There are four entry access to the museum complex: the two from the coastal road of Kanellopoulou, one from Peisistratou Street and one from the direction of the archaeological site. As for the building’s section, the demolition of buildings, the construction of two new ones, the restoration/reconstruction of eight existing buildings and the maintenance of facades/rehabilitation of shells in three buildings are foreseen. The addition of the two new buildings concerns the entrance building and the building of the warehouse of antiquities. Museum facilities are intended to house exhibitions on the history of the city from antiquity to 1830 and are a single whole, separate from that of modern and modern history.