German Archaeological Institute celebrates 150 years in Athens

idiou is a tiny street running off Academias in downtown Athens and for most it is associated with the city center's entertainment scene, as a popular meze restaurant there tends to draw a fun crowd in the evenings.

Across the street from this restaurant, though, is a building that serves as a reminder of all the architectural gems tucked away in the Greek capital's nooks and crannies. It dates to 1887 and is home to the German Archaeological Institute, built to the design of Ernst Ziller and bankrolled by Heinrich Schliemann.

Elegant, well-kept and with a lovely rooftop terrace, the three-story townhouse is perhaps one of the least known of the Greek capital's historical landmarks. On May 15, however, it too drew a crowd, as the heads of the 11 committees and branches of the Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut (DAI) gathered from different parts of the world to...