Galery

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The history of the National Bank of Greece spans three centuries from 1841 until today. Almost parallel with the modern Greek state, the first financial credit institution of Greece begins its story several years after the liberation of the country from Turkish rule and is closely related both to the overcoming of the economic crisis in the country and to the struggles of the people.

Refugee loans, support for agriculture, trade and industry, the institutionalization of state competitions, as well as many key moments in the history of the National Bank of Greece, but also of the Greek state are shown in the exhibition "170 years of the National Bank: 1841-2011," which was opened on Wednesday, 30th November, at 8 pm in the Benaki Museum on "Piraeus" street, by the President of the Republic Carlos Papoulias.

The collections and archival materials that are shown at the exhibition come from the cultural heritage, saved by the Bank and stored in its historical records and in its art collection.

Banknotes and coins from different issues ​​of particular historic and artistic interest, original institutional texts, bonds for loans and pieces of technical research, credit registers from the 19^th century, shares and other securities related to loans or the Bank's participation in equity, as well as tables and charts tell the story of the National Bank.

Finally, in separate sections a substantial part of the Bank's contribution in the field of culture, science and art is shown. Objects of the Bank's technical equipment, shown in the exhibition, present the technical progress from the 19^th to the 21^st century.

In a diachronic aspect the Bank takes great care of the construction and maintenance of its buildings, and as a result they mark important stages of the architectural development in the country. The exhibition features architectural plans and photographs of buildings of the National Bank, which promoted architectural research.

The exhibition will be open to visitors from Thursday, 1st December 2011, Thursday until Sunday, January 22^nd, 2012.