The Story of "Hellenic Cosmos"

Spring 1940: The old BIOSOL factory is relocated to Piraeus Street, in the industrial zone of Athens. A modern building is constructed to house it.


October 28, 1940: A few minutes before the declaration of war, the last slab of the building falls. The building is ready, but for ten years the factory will not operate there.

October 30, 1940: From the Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting: “Due to the state of war... the operation of the factory was limited to a minimum.” The war has broken out. Raw materials are taken by the army, and production falls behind. The Piraeus building is first occupied by the Allies and then by the enemies. It becomes a war fortress.

1950: With the new decade, the factory is equipped with new machinery and resumes operation.

1997: The Foundation of the Hellenic World purchases the BIOSOL factory. The old factory is converted into a space for history and culture to house the «Hellenic Cosmos» Cultural Centre.

1998: The renovation of Building 1 and 2 is completed. The industrial complex becomes a multifunctional cultural space where visitors experience Greek history through advanced technological applications.

March 21, 1998: Inauguration of the «Hellenic Cosmos». The Foundation of the Hellenic World chooses this specific spring day for the inauguration of its Cultural Centre, aiming to contribute to the “spring” of the cultural landscape.

October 2003: The Cultural Centre expands. With the ratification of the expropriation act, FHW, with its own investment, acquires forty additional acres to create an innovative cultural park in a degraded and ecologically burdened environment. In this way, it contributes to the redevelopment of the entire area.

February 2004: Inauguration of Building 7. An abandoned industrial building is converted into an architecturally and aesthetically original space.

December 4, 2006: Start of operation of the Tholos, a hemispherical 132-seat theater that adds new dimensions to Virtual Reality. It hosts the digital collections of the Foundation and presents tours with interactive possibilities between the viewer and the virtual environment.

March 21, 2007: Inauguration of the Tholos building, which has housed the digital collections of FHW since November 2006.

July 2007: Building 7, which has functioned as a cultural multipurpose space since February 2004, is demolished as part of the construction of new projects in the «Hellenic Cosmos».

March 21, 2008: The Theatron is inaugurated, the new cultural infrastructure of the «Hellenic Cosmos», designed as a multipurpose space with maximum flexibility. It features state-of-the-art technological equipment and hosts various artistic events and conferences.

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