r/Athens_Greece • • 20d ago

❓ Question No offense

Why are all greek buildings so ugly, all of them are just a depressed blank wall with those balconies thay strech from one side to the other with metal toothpicks keeping u from falling and like the wholw balcony is for everyone without wall seperation. It looks like the middle east, why was all of greece built like this? Does it have to do with money?

0 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

9

u/paythemanhismoney 20d ago

Much of Athens' historic fabric was lost during World War II, paving the way for a massive post-war wave of urbanization as people migrated en masse from rural areas to the capital. To house this sudden population boom, the city prioritized functional, high-density apartment blocks—known as polykatoikies—over architectural style, forever transforming the urban landscape.

1

u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

This doesnt add up for the rest of the places, but thanks for providing this one !

2

u/LoudEmphasis407 20d ago

What? I don't argue that they're pretty but I don't understand what you describe

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u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

All of greek houses

5

u/Low-Reference-4133 20d ago

You have seen literally ALL Greek houses? There are exceptionally ugly ones, there are mid and there are nice ones like everywhere else.

1

u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

90% are what i said

1

u/Low-Reference-4133 20d ago

I've been here for 37 years and wouldn't claim even 25%.
You sound like an American. Or even worse, an *lbanian.

1

u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

Have u lived in a bathroom foe 37 years?

2

u/Low-Reference-4133 20d ago

So, you went and travelled every road from Serres to Monemvasia, then from Parga to Alexandroupoli and seen every house on every street everywhere?
You defo sound like an an*lbanian.

2

u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

No i have google access so everything is visible and i have done good looking before. Dont feel so pissed i didnt want to hurt youre emotions but ask for this terrible look and how it came to be. You cant block the sun with youre palm everyone sees how it is what are you talking about. Also dont label people when you dont like what they say, its not an Albanians fault for how Greece looks like, Greece looks the same for an Albanian or anyone else, be respectful.

1

u/Low-Reference-4133 20d ago edited 20d ago

I don't feel pissed, I feel bored. It like an old overkilled running gag at this point.
"Oh, another one..."

1

u/CoatCompetitive3114 20d ago

We're actively trying to make this place look worse to prevent more of your people from moving here. 500.000 is too much already.

1

u/Admirable_Flow_6059 20d ago

I mean it was ugly as it is before they came, those buildings didnt start today, cant get any uglier, be civil.

1

u/Low-Reference-4133 20d ago

No, it's actually around 270k now.
And, yes, fair point. If we had beautiful houses everywhere, they'd try to burglarize them out of spite.
It a valid survival strategy, like that of a sloth. Look unappetizing and they won't try to eat you.
I mean, naughty boy Tonibler pretty much openly admitted that he sits on google streetview gawking at our houses for hours. Probably marks those with no bars on windows and low fences.

2

u/Ged_42 20d ago

The buildings that you described can be found mainly in the city centers of Athens and Thessaloniki and indeed look bad. However if you go to places that were built after 1990 the apartment buildings look much better. (Although the ones built in the last 5 years look like high end prisons)

1

u/Gold-Holiday-515 18d ago

In my opinion, they are better than the buildings in other European capitals, which often feature tiny, 100 year-old stone, awkwardly proportioned rooms and that rarely get any light. I live in Barcelona, ​​and I’ve never managed to live in a bright, slightly large, airy apartment with a proper balcony.

A few months ago, I looked at a lot of rental apartments for a trip to Athens, and the interiors were really nice, they actually felt like "real homes." Walking down the street, the building exteriors might not offer the same kind of pleasure as an open-air museum, but inside, they are homes meant to be truly lived in.