The local authorities of the Municipality of Chania in co-operation with the 28th Revenue of Byzantine Antiquities are proceeding to new modifications on the restoration study of the surrounding area of the municipal market.
In an interview to In-On magazine the Mayor of Chania Mr. Kyriakos Virvidakis, clarified that «the modifications on the restoration study will concern the southern part of the surrounding area of the municipal market aiming to reveal the main Bastion of the fortification of Chania».
Along with the restoration of the Market –he underlined– we have already completed the «Study on organizing the circulation and parking space along with the study on the implementation of the urban planned complex of Chania-Souda» so as to enhance the traffic conditions in the city of Chania.
It has to be noted –he said– that the contract regarding the restoration of the surrounding area of the municipal market was signed on the 12-2-1998. The pre-study was approved on 15-7-2003 by the Ministry of Culture and the final study went through the authorities in charge of the Ministry on 25-9-2006 and in 2007 it was approved by the Local council of Chania.
According to the files of the principal of the Historic Files of Crete Mrs. Zacharenia Simandiraki –the Mayor mentions – the 4.000sq.m building of the municipal market of Chania has a surrounding area of 17.200sq.m.
The building is original and constitutes not only the center of business but also a live picture of the notion of the Market in Ancient Greece.
The contribution of the market as the Mayor points out commenced on 4th December 1913 during the official inauguration. According to the files that Mrs. Simandiraki has, the historical events are the following «on 13/6/1908 the issue of constructing a municipal market was discussed in the Local Council. The Local Council votes the proposition, which was in direct accordance with other reformation works to improve the city. On 8/8/1908 the committee in charge of the Market announces the final project of the building to the council, the suggestions for the relevant works (demolition of the fort, banking up of the moat, compensation of the owners, construction of penthouses etc.) as well as the expenses budget of the work (320.000 drachmas). In February 1909, engineer K. Drandakis perfects the designs of the Market and therefore the relevant file is completed in which in the past engineer Mr. Mich. Savakis had worked on. On 7/12/1910 the Bank of Crete approves a mortgage loan of 300.000 drachmas mortgaging the building itself along with the future rents of the stores and on 23/12/1910 there was an auction for the construction of the work.
The foundation was unofficially realized by Mayor Emm. Mountakis on 14/8/1911 and the project immediately started. During the second half of 1913 the main part of the work is completed and the market unofficially starts its function on 1/11/1913. The official inauguration was realized by Eleftherios Venizelos, the Prime Minister of Greece of that time on the 4th December 1913, which means three days after the official ceremony of the Union of Crete to Greece. The regulations of the market were constituted along with the Association «New Market of Chania» by the shop owners. The external space was expropriated, differently formulated and more relevant works were realized. Mainly, in the east and in the west section the butcher’s shops are lodged, at the edge of the west arcade there are the fish shops and in the north and south section there are the fruit and vegetable shops. Only a few days before the Battle of Crete on May 1941, the air-aid shelter in the south-east side of the market was completed. During the occupation, despite the dynamic reaction of the Mayor of that time N. Skoulas, the Germans occupied the whole transverse arcade, isolated it and used it for the purposes of the occupation troops. In 1980, the municipal market of Chania was characterized by the Ministry of Culture as a scheduled monument».
According to the relative studies, the works to restore the building are the following: «the internal separating walls of the stores will be demolished because they are unsafe to support the roofs and also to facilitate the reinforcement of the founding and the construction of concrete slabs required under the floors of the shops.
The new separating walls to be constructed will be equally thick to the present ones so as having the proper structure they will receive the loads of the side roofs safely as well as the suggested lofts.
The existing coats will entirely be ripped off so as to reinforce the wall-building of the joints and the coats.
The roofs are entirely ripped off and reconstructed with new materials (apart from the trusses) ensuring statics sufficiency and thorough water-tightness.
It is planned to have the glass roofing changed with panes of the triplex type which consist of two crystals, each being five (5) millimeters thick with an intermediary plastic panel and a pasting-up of a thermo reflective membrane on the external surface. The internal crystal will be sand-blasted. There will be maintenance and restoration of the sculpted decoration and the stone architectural elements. Inside the shops which are located on the axis of North-South due to their height, open lofts will be constructed in order to store merchandise, a small office etc.
Regarding the shops that are located on the axis of East-West, the construction of a small closed loft for storing purposes is suggested. Also, the construction of two small toilet complexes corresponding to equal non-used stores of the municipal market is planned aiming to serve people with insufficient mobility.
The construction of traditional metal shelters on the façade of the stores is scheduled so as to organize the area of the pavements and guarantee the uniformity on the façade of the stores. The plates of the stores will be simple and uniform according to traditional standards showing the number of the shop according to clear specifications. There will be a unified telephone center and a few central electricity supplies with intermediary meters as well as an office for the management, the maintenance and the shared maintenance expenses.
It is also scheduled to install lighting equipment not only to ensure the best standards in this section but also to elevate the interior and the exterior qualities of the building.»
CURRICULUM VITAE
Kyriakos Virvidakis is the Mayor of the city of Chania while at the same time he is: Assistant Professor of the School of Medicine in the University of Athens.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Union of the municipalities and communities of Greece.
Ex member of the Parliament representing Chania.
Ex Secretary General in Athletics.
Member of the executive committee of ΚΕΔΚΕ.
He was born in Chania in 1948 where he finished his High school studies in 1965. In 1971 he graduated from the School of Medicine of the University of Athens with honors. In 1977 he specialized in Pathology, in 1978 he was awarded Doctor in the School of Medicine of the University of Athens with honors and in 1980 he specialized in Nephrology. Since 1993 he has been Assistant Professor in Nephrology in the University of Athens, in «Sotiria» Hospital.
He has been a well-known runner and long-jumper as an athlete of Talos and Kydonas in Chania and also a member of the National Track Teams for 7 years (1966-1973). As an athletic factor he has been vice-chairman of Kydonas of Chania, member of the Board of Directors of the Nautical Club of Chania (as a representative of the Municipality of Chania) and he is a member of many other Associations. As a member of the Mountaineering Club of Chania, he has been a leader in many mountaineering missions. As a representative of Kydonas in Chania, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Greek Association of Weight Lifting (Ε.Ο.Α.Β.) from 1977 until 1988. As a representative of Weight Lifting and Boxing, he was a member of the Olympic Games Committee (Ε.Ο.Α.) from 1981 until 1984 while he was a steward in the Panathenaean Stadium (1981-1983), member of the Olympic Preparation Committee (1981-1983) and he was also responsible for the function of the ergo metric Center of Athletic Research (Ε.Κ.Α.Ε.) from 1981 since 1983.
Since 1980 he has been a member and since 1997 the secretary of the Medical Committee of the International Association of Weight Lifting. Since 1987 he has been a member and since 1999 the Chairman of the Medical Committee of the European Association of Weight Lifting. He has also been the Chairman of the Medical Committee of the European Association of Weight Lifting from 1991 until 1993. He represented the International Association of Weight Lifting in «Athens 2004» on medical issues and was medically responsible for weight lifting in the Olympic Games in Athens 2004. As a representative of the International Association of Weight Lifting, Kyriakos Virvidakis participated in all Olympic Games after 1980. (in 1984 in Los Angeles, in 1988 in Seoul, in 1992 in Barcelona, in 1996 in Atlanta, in 2000 in Sydney and in 2004 in Athens). Additionally, he represents the International Association of Weight Lifting to the International Olympic Committee for medical issues.
In 1999 he became a member of the Administrative Council of the Local Union of the municipalities and communities (Τ.Ε.Δ.Κ.) of Chania and the Administrative Council of the Central Union of the municipalities and communities of Greece (Κ.Ε.Δ.Κ.Ε.). Moreover, he is a member of the Committee «Human Dynamic Development – New Applications and New Technology in the function of Ο.Τ.Α. (1999-2003) and a member of the Committee of International Relations of Κ.Ε.Δ.Κ.Ε. from 1999 until 2007, while he represents Κ.Ε.Δ.Κ.Ε. to the Permanent Committee for Euro-Mediterranean Co-operation (COPPEM). Since July 2007, he has been a vice-chairman in the Committee of Κ.Ε.Δ.Κ.Ε. regarding island and cohesion policies. The Artificial Kidney Unit in the General Hospital of Chania which was run by Kyriakos Virvidakis, received the prize of the Greek Kidney Association as the best efficient provincial unit from 1984 until 1986.
Kyriakos Virvidakis has internationally been honored with the President’s Diploma of Honour and the Gold and Bronze Order of IWF.