The unknown zero point of Greece that everyone believes is somewhere else

Most Greeks, and especially drivers, have a wrong impression of exactly where our country’s point is. When we talk about point zero, we refer to the point of reference, from which all mileage distances in Greece are calculated. CORVERSE Do you know where Greece’s “Hiliometer 0” is located? No, it’s not in Constitution Square or Omonia, as many might think. The official zero point of Greece is located in the courtyard of the National Observatory of Athens. CORVERSE Discover the special story of our country’s zero point through the Up Stories team footage that almost everyone thinks is somewhere else. The history of the National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens is a research centre and observatory, is a Legal Person of Public Law and is supervised by the Ministry of Development and the General Secretariat of Research and Innovation. It was founded on June 28, 1842. His inspiration was Macedonian astronomer and professor of astronomy at the University of Athens, George Vouris. George Vouris persuaded George Sina to finance the construction of the Athens Observatory. On the day of the opening and eclipse of the sun described by the Danish historian and geographer A. L. Koppen. The original building of this first Greek research institution was oriented to the four points of the horizon and built on the plans of the Danish architect Theophilus Hansen on the Nymphs Hill, one of the seven hills that dominate the city of Athens. It was donated by the North-Epire banker Baron George Sina and its construction was completed in 1846 at a total cost of $500,000. First Director was his inspirer, Professor George Vouris, from 1846 to 1855. During the term of G. Vouris the Observatory was equipped with instruments from Austria and the first astronomical studies, most of which remain unpublished, were prepared. The definition of the geographical coordinates of the Observatory of Athens, at that time, is still the basis of the mapping of Greece. In 1890 the Observatory became a state Research Centre, renamed the National Observatory of Athens and the existing Astronomical Department was supplemented with two others, Meteorological and Seismological. One of the first telescopes of the Athens Observatory, known as the Doride Telescope, celebrated in 2002 its centimetres. He settled in the building of Thessius, where he operates even today, and took the name of his great donor. It is a two-sided telescope with a 40 cm lens and a focal distance of 5 meters. The Geoastrophysics Museum was created at the premises of the National Observatory and includes some of the rarest instruments that either determined time, or carried out astronomical, geodestic, meteorological and seismic measurements. In addition to the great telescopes of the 19th century, smaller such as the “Borda Circle” was also exhibited, which was used by the French Cartographic Society for mapping the Aegean in 1810, and instruments actually left in history, such as weather, autographical and seismic instruments of the 19th century. One of the first ozone measuring devices in Athens, built 1880, and of course the great map of the Moon of Schmidt. The National Observatory of Athens manages the oldest weather station in Greece and one of the oldest in Southern Europe. The station is located in the center of Athens, in Theseo (Nymphon Hill). The first-class weather station has been located in exactly the same spot since 11 September 1890, while it began operating in 1858 at a different location in Thessium.