Editing Corfu (section)

==Architecture==
[[File:Corfu Harbor 1890.jpg|thumb|The harbour of Corfu in 1890]]

===Venetian influence===
[[File:Corfu city by the sea.jpg|thumb|Old Corfu town as seen from the sea]]
Corfu's urban architecture influence derives from Venice, reflecting the fact that from 1386 to 1797 the island was ruled by the Venetians. The architecture of the Old Town of Corfu along with its narrow streets, the {{Transliteration|grc|kantounia}}, has clear Venetian influence and is amongst the [[List of World Heritage Sites in Greece|World Heritage Sites in Greece]]. Other notable Venetian-era buildings include the [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]], the first Greek opera house, and ''Liston'', a multi-level commercial and residential building, with an arched colonnade at ground level, lined with cafes and restaurants on its east side, and restaurants and other stores on its west side. Liston's main thoroughfare is often the site of parades and other mass gatherings. Liston is on the edge of the ''[[Spianada]]'' (Esplanade), the vast main plaza and park which incorporates a [[cricket]] field, a pavilion, and Maitland's monument. Also notable are the Old and New forts, the recently restored Palace of Sts. Michael and George, formerly the residence of the British colonial governor and the seat of the [[Ionian Senate]], and the summer Palace of ''[[Mon Repos, Corfu|Mon Repos]]'', formerly the property of the Greek royal family and birthplace of the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. The Park of Mon Repos is built on part of the Palaiopolis of Kerkyra, where excavations were conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service in collaboration with academics and universities internationally. Examples of the finds can be found in the Museum of the Palace of Mon Repos and at the [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]].<ref name="Artifacts">R. Winkes (editor), Kerkyra. Artifacts from the Palaiopolis, Providence 2004.</ref>

===The Achilleion===
{{Main|Achilleion (Corfu)}}
[[File:Closeup of Achilles thniskon in Corfu Achilleion autocorrected.JPG|thumb|left|Statue of ''Achilleús Thnēskōn'' (''[[Achilles]] Dying'') in the gardens of the Achilleion]]

In 1889, [[Elisabeth of Bavaria|Empress Elisabeth of Austria]] built a summer palace in the region of [[Gastouri]] (Γαστούρι) to the south of the city, naming it [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achílleion]] (Αχίλλειον) after the [[Homer]]ic hero Achilles. The structure is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting scenes of the [[Trojan War]]. The palace, with the [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] Greek statues that surround it, is a monument to [[Platonism|platonic]] [[romanticism]] as well as [[escapism]]. It served as a refuge for the grieving Empress following the tragic death of her only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Crown Prince, Rudolf]].

[[File:Achilles in Corfu.jpg|thumb|upright|Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion. He gazes northward, toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles. It was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II.]]

The Imperial gardens on the hill look over the surrounding green hills and valleys and the [[Ionian Sea]]. The centrepiece of the gardens is a marble statue on a high pedestal, of the mortally wounded Achilles ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Αχιλλεύς Θνήσκων, ''Achilleús Thnēskōn'', Achilles Dying) without [[hubris]] and wearing only a simple cloth and an ancient Greek [[hoplite]] helmet. This statue was carved by German sculptor [[Ernst Gustav Herter]].

The hero is presented devoid of rank or status, and seems notably human, though heroic, as he is forever trying to pull [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]]'s arrow from his heel. His classically depicted face is full of pain. He gazes skyward, as if to seek help from [[Twelve Olympians|Olympus]]. According to [[Greek mythology]], his mother [[Thetis]] was a goddess.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In contrast, at the great staircase in the main hall is a giant painting of the triumphant Achilles full of [[hubris|pride]]. Dressed in full royal military regalia and erect on his racing chariot, he pulls the lifeless body of [[Hector of Troy]] in front of the stunned crowd watching helplessly from inside the walls of the Trojan citadel.

In 1898, Empress Sissi was assassinated at the age of 60 by an Italian anarchist, [[Luigi Lucheni]], in [[Geneva]], Switzerland. After her death, the palace was sold to the [[German Empire|German]] [[Kaiser]] [[William II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]. Following the Kaiser's purchase of the Achilleion, he invited archaeologist [[Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz]], a friend and advisor, to come to Corfu to advise him where to position the huge statue of Achilles which he commissioned. The famous salute to Achilles from the Kaiser, which had been inscribed at the statue's base, was also created by Kekulé. The inscription read:<ref name="Röhl1998">{{cite book |author=John C. G. Röhl |title=Young Wilhelm: The Kaiser's Early Life, 1859–1888 |url=https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl |url-access=registration |access-date=4 May 2013 |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-49752-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl/page/297 297] |quote=After the purchase of the 'Achilleion', Kekule was invited by the Kaiser to go to Corfu to provide advice on the positioning of the ... 94 Without a doubt, Wilhelm's lifelong obsession with the statue of the Gorgon unearthed in Corfu stems from the ...}}</ref> {{blockquote|To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German}} The inscription was subsequently removed after World War II.<ref name="MarkerBowman2010">{{cite book |author1=Sherry Marker |author2=John S. Bowman |author3=Peter Kerasiotis |title=Frommer's Greek Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOw1hbQ78H0C&pg=PA476 |access-date=4 May 2013 |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-52664-4 |page=476 |quote=Achilles that the Kaiser had inscribed, to the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German, a sentiment removed after World War II.}}</ref>

The Achilleion was eventually acquired by the Greek state and has now been converted into a museum.

===Kaiser's Bridge===
[[File:Kaiser's Bridge in Corfu.jpg|thumb|Remains of the Kaiser's bridge]]

German [[Wilhelm II of Germany|Kaiser Wilhelm II]] was also fond of taking holidays in Corfu. Having purchased the Achilleion in 1907 after Sissi's death, he appointed [[Carl Ludwig Sprenger]] as the botanical architect of the Palace, and also built a bridge later named by the locals after him—the "Kaiser's bridge" (Greek: η γέφυρα του Κάιζερ transliterated as: i gefyra tou Kaizer)—to access the beach without traversing the road forming the island's main artery to the south. The bridge, arching over the road, spanned the distance between the lower gardens of Achilleion and the nearby beach; its remains are an important landmark on the highway. The bridge's central section was demolished by the [[Wehrmacht]] in 1944, during the German occupation of World War II, to allow for the passage of an enormous cannon, forming part of the Nazi defences in the southeastern coast of Corfu.<ref name="GilesFlamburiari1994">{{cite book |author1=Frank Giles |author2=Spiro Flamburiari |author3=Fritz Von der Schulenburg |title=Corfu: the garden isle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Evs-AQAAIAAJ&q=Kaiser%27s+Bridge+Corfu |access-date=4 May 2013 |date=1 September 1994 |page=109 |publisher=J. Murray in association with the Hellenic Group of Companies Ltd. |isbn=978-1-55859-845-4 |quote=Although subsequently demolished in 1944 to allow the passage of a huge German coastal gun beneath, the locality still bears the name "Kaiser's Bridge".}}</ref><ref name="Corfu map">[http://www.corfu-map.net/news/latest/municipality-of-achilleon.html Corfu map] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012142137/http://www.corfu-map.net/news/latest/municipality-of-achilleon.html |date=12 October 2007 }}: The bridge was destroyed during a German attack in World War II. The remains can still be seen today.</ref>