The Archaeological Museum of Serres () is located in the old centre of Serres, a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is housed in the city's Ottoman-era ''

bedesten A bedesten (variants: bezistan, bezisten, bedestan) is a type of covered market or market hall which was historically found in the cities of the Ottoman Empire. It was typically the central building of the commercial district of an Ottoman town or ...

'' (Μπεζεστένι) a fifteenth-century building in Eleftherias Square.

Building

The ''bedesten'' is an enclosed and covered market. The Serres ''bedesten'' was built by

Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha the Younger Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha (1429–1499), called the Younger, was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier from 1498 to 1499.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, pp. 537–538. (Turkish) ...

around 1493/94. According to the historian of Ottoman art

Semavi Eyice Mustafa Semavi Eyice (9 December 1922 in Istanbul, Turkey – 28 May 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey) was a Turkish art historian and archaeologist, who specialised in the study of Byzantine and Ottoman art in Istanbul. Professor Eyice is widely re ...

, the Serres ''bedesten'' is among the most remarkable specimens of the building type for its excellent construction technique and its striking exterior. It is a rectangular single-storey structure with dimensions , divided into six sections by arches, each section topped by a dome, covered by tiles instead of lead.

Exhibits

The building now functions as an archaeological museum. More specifically, there are prehistoric exhibits from the excavations at

Promachonas Promachonas ( el, Προμαχώνας, bg, Драготин, ) is a village and a former community in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is a municipal un ...

and Kryoneri,

Archaic Archaic is a period of time preceding a designated classical period, or something from an older period of time that is also not found or used currently: *List of archaeological periods **Archaic Sumerian language, spoken between 31st - 26th cent ...

, Classical,

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and Roman exhibits (mainly ceramics, statues, and inscriptions) from

Argilos Argilos ( el, Άργιλος) is a municipal department of the city of Kozani in northern Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Ba ...

, Vergi,

Terpni Terpni ( el, Τερπνή) is a small town in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit of the municipality of Visaltia, whose the seat is in Nigrita. It has a population of 2,169 inhabitants ...

, Neos Skopos, Gazoros, ancient

Tragilos Tragilos ( el, Τράγιλος, ) is a village and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern ...

, and Serres. Particularly important are the Early Christian and Byzantine exhibits from the town of Serres, most notably a marble icon of Christ and a twelfth-century mosaic of

St Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

, both from the Old Cathedral.

File:Macedonian_Museums-22-Arx_Serrvn-107.jpg, Andrew the Apostle File:Macedonian_Museums-22-Arx_Serrvn-108.jpg, Exhibits from

Bisaltia Bisaltia ( el, Βισαλτία) or Bisaltica was an ancient country which was bordered by Sintice on the north, Crestonia on the west, Mygdonia on the south and was separated by Odomantis on the north-east and Edonis on the south-east by river ...

region File:Macedonian_Museums-22-Arx_Serrvn-109.jpg, Marble icon of Christ File:Macedonian_Museums-22-Arx_Serrvn-110.jpg, Statue of a woman

References

{{coord, 41.0906, 23.5496, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Serres Museums in Serres