Rural Home Economics School of Florina (1929)

The foundation of the House School of Florina was made by the Athenian “Association for the Dissemination of Greek Letters”.
In 1929, the construction of the building began on a plot of land granted by the Municipality of Florina. The Rural Home Economics School of Florina started its operation in 1931.
In 1940, the building was requisitioned by the Greek army, where the military hospital operated.
From April 1941, when the German troops invaded, the Greek military hospital was closed, and the building became a recreation centre for the German army.
After liberation, in early 1945 the building housed a unit of the British Army.
After the war, the Rural Home Economics School began operating again in 1952-53, as the Agia Olga Rural Home Economics School.
In 1980, the Home Economics School was closed and the ‘St Olga’ Children’s School was established, which operated in the same building and with the same staff.
In 1998, the Children’s Home “Agia Olga” was merged with the National Social Care Organisation (NSCO).
In February 2003, it left its imposing building, which belonged to the “Association for the Dissemination of Greek Letters”, and was housed in one of the buildings of the Florina Boys’ Childcare Centre (formerly the National Boarding School).
In 2010, “Agia Olga” was granted by the “Association for the Promotion of Greek Letters” to the University of Western Macedonia to house the Department of Visual and Applied Arts. However, it took ten years of intensive actions by all the administrations of the University as well as the Region of Western Macedonia and the Regional Unit of Florina to reach the current decision that allows its academic use.

TEXT: Dimitris Mekasis
TEXT SOURCE: florinapast.mysch.gr/7832/ 10-9-2015
SOURCES PHOTOS: Christos Tegos