 Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons , not because it was a large city . At the time , it was a town consisting of only 400 houses on the foot of the Acropolis . A modern city plan was laid out and public buildings erected . The finest legacy of this period are the buildings of the University of Athens ( 1837 , under the name Othonian University ) , the Athens Polytechnic University ( 1837 , under the name Royal School of Arts ) , the National Gardens of Athens ( 1840 ) , the National Library of Greece ( 1842 ) , the Old Royal Palace ( now the Greek Parliament Building , 1843 ) , and the Old Parliament Building ( 1858 ) . Schools and hospitals were established all over the ( still small ) Greek dominion ; but the negative feelings of the people were rather neglecting this side of his reign . 
