The “Gardens of the Pasha”, an example of imaginative architecture in Thessaloniki in the time of eclecticism

The “Gardens of the Pasha” are located outside the eastern walls of Thessaloniki, behind the hospital “Agios Demetrios”. Of what has been preserved until today from this inventive garden there remains a spring in the middle of the gardens and around it a tunnel, a cistern, a low gate giving access to an underground area and to a raised seating area. The whole group dates back to 1904 and serves as an example of creative architecture closely resembling Antoni Gaudi’s Güell park (1900- -1914). Such inventive architecture shows creativity and original thought and lacks any historical or social characteristics. It makes a change from traditional architecture as well as from the eclecticism of its time because it does not belong either to known architectural codes or any commonly accepted forms.