According to the decree of the Regency of 18th-30th September 1834, it was declared that 'our capital shall be moved from 1st December 1834 from Nauplion to Athens (...) the city of Athens shall be called from that day onwards the Royal Capital'. Athens was a small city of around 10,000 residents. Most of the houses had been ruined by the war which lasted many years, the streets were narrow and dirty and, most importantly, the city had no port nearby as a capital should - Piraeus at the time was almost uninhabited. Moreover, the city was vulnerable from a military point of view, especially in the area close to the northern borders of the state. As a result, the reasons which informed its choice were not practical. Besides, politicians and military officers were in favour of other solutions and, driven frequently by stimuli of local origin, suggested that cities such as Argos, Syros, Tripolis, Corinth, Megara, even Piraeus should be reconstructed from scratch. Finally, whichever of the cities within the Greek kingdom was to be chosen as the capital, to the people's way of thinking this choice could only be perceived as temporary. For the Greek populations both inside and outside the Greek state, the only true capital of the country was Constantinople, which they hoped would soon come under Greek rule and constitute the Vassilevousa (reigning city) of the great Greek Empire.

The fact that Athens was chosen was mainly the result of the persistence of Ludwig A of Bavaria, Otto's father and an enthusiastic supporter of classical antiquity. Therefore, the ancient glory of the city and the attractive prospect of its renaissance prevailed and Athens soon became the administrative, economic, political and cultural centre of the Greek state. In only a few years, the city's appearance had changed. The population multiplied as people rushed to the capital, while in a short period of time, wide streets, majestic state buildings and big private residences were constructed. Piraeus was soon built up too, destined to become the capital's harbour. The construction plan of Athens caused a problem. At first, this was assigned to the architects Stamatis Kleanthis, Edward Schaubert and then Ludwig Klenze, and finally, in 1836, to Friedrich Gärtner. These continuous changes resulted in a series of irregular and frequently arbitrary reconstructions, mostly in the area around the Acropolis. Besides, this monument (as well as several Byzantine churches) was saved thanks to the intervention of Ludwig A who prevented the erection of a palace on the Sacred Rock.