The old railway station, simply known as ‘the station’ by the locals, is one of the most beautiful sites in the city and is on the boundary of the old city of Nauplion with the new.
Until the beginning of the 18th century this area, which was outside the city walls, was flooded by the sea. Around 1720, during the 2nd Turkish occupation of Nauplion, the Turks reclaimed the land building banks which they landscaped with flower gardens and ‘golden pavilions’, designed for the Turkish agas.
In 1884, the site was chosen for the building of the city’s railway station. The following year the buildings were completed and in 1886 the first regular service to Athens began.
The service ran until 1963. 30 years later, in 1993, the line came back into service, but Nauplion station had been moved to the port. Today the site of the old station operates as a recreation area, with flowerbeds, old trains and a refreshment stand.
The old station building now houses the municipal Odeon, ‘Konstantinos Nonis’, which makes an important contribution to the artistic life of the city.
In the other building, which was the old station warehouse, the Peloponnesian Folk Art Foundation has created a museum space dedicated to children called ‘The Stathmos’.
The exhibition that is located here deals with objects exclusively connected to children: their birth, baptism, school, and their games as both objects and activities. There are also figures from puppet shows and the famous Karagiozi shadow puppets. At the same time, ‘The Stathmos’ operates as a location for pioneering educational programmes.
In the entrance to the museum there is an original toy-sculpture called ‘the Plagona’, or doll; the work of Maria Loizidou. The work is based on both ancient and medieval prototypes. The female form symbolises the mother god and has a large eye which watches and protects.
The exact location of the O.S.E. Park can be found below.
Geographical Coordinates
O.S.E. Park – Municipal Conservatory, Nafplio
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