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It is difficult to ascertain what exactly happened to the books that Nikolopoulos had been preparing for shipment and ultimately never managed to do so. It is likewise exceptionally difficult to determine the precise number of volumes or their nature, given the fact that the inventory list had disappeared. Nevertheless, in 1840, 47 wooden crates with books were in fact delivered according to the wishes of Nikolopoulos to his nephew Haralambos Christopoulos, later Minister of Education and to the Mayor of Andritsaina Zafiropoulos. The crates journeyed by ship to Nafplion where they were loaded onto horses and mules, heading for mountainous Olympia. But here another Odyssey was to begin. For thirty-five years the 3696 donated titles would remain locked up in the Church of St. Barbara, as there was no place to store them, let alone put them on exhibit. In the meantime, other adventures lay in store for the donation and last wish of Nikolopoulos. The collection was mortgaged in Nafplion and was at risk of being confiscated, as a considerable debt was outstanding, which according to a story printed on 15th November 1845 in the newspaper “Athena” was finally settled to the tune of “three thousand drachmas” by the then Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and State Education. In 1875, the construction of the school buildings commenced, with plans made by Miltiades Kanellopoulos, an Engineer and Instructor at the Army Cadet School. The edifice was in the shape of the Greek letter ‘Pi’, with the northeastern side open. The monies came from a nation-wide fund-raising drive and a donation by Angelos Giounnikesis, consulate of Greece in Trieste. The inauguration of the building took place in 1879 and the library was housed in the west wing of the first floor. In 1932 the northeastern side was added on and the building took on its resent square shape, where the library was to be housed until 1989. Due to repairs to the building, the books were placed in carton boxes and taken to a building belonging to the Municipality of Andritsaina, where they remained until 1998, until the new edifice was finally finished. PUBLIC HISTORICAL LIBRARY OF ANDRITSAINA
The Odyssey of a donation...