The Primary School of Kato Ambelokipi Messinia was founded by royal decree in 1921 and its construction dates back to 1932 up until 1934. Its design is based on a standard architectural design of a rural single-classroom school of the 1920s. The school was inaugurated in September 1935 and in October 1941, amidst the German occupation, due to the geographical location of the settlement, it was used as the headquarters of the National Resistance in Southern Messinia, following the decision of the provincial committee of EAM Pylia. Hence, for the period 1941-44 it has been the theatre of many battles and the house of the councils of the National Resistance Administrative Services, thus performing a historical work in the fight for freedom.

In the post-war era, the school will once again become a lighthouse of knowledge for dozens of students, but in June 1970 the school bell will ring for the last time, as a major structural crack imposed the discontinuation of its operation as an educational institution.

Today, as part of the effort of rescueing the emblematic building, the Service of Modern Monuments and Technical Works of the Peloponnese and the South Ionian has started the procedures required to classify the building as a "Preserved New Monument". At the same time, private organizations carry out a program titled "Recording and Promotion of Primary Schools in Southern Messinia", where all the findings are recorded in a database aiming to present themselves in a permanent exhibition in the historic building, after the planned restoration by the State and its operation as "Museum of School Culture”

dkculture@hotmail.com