This splendid building was designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen and completed in 1864. Although the university has expanded massively around the city (enrolment is more than 100,000 students), Hansen's building still serves as the university's administrative headquarters and ceremonial hall.
Adjacent to the south is the more ornate Athens Academy, modelled on Plato's Academy and still Greece's most prestigious research institution. Admire the two school buildings' neoclassical facades from the street; neither is open to the public.