MUSEUMS OF SYROS
The history of Syros begins from ancient times and it reaches its peak in the last two centuries, marking the establishment of the independent Greek state, since it has been one of the most important naval, industrial and cultural centers of that time.
Syros is often referred as a living museum thanks to the hundreds of mansions, private and public buildings and squares. The historical heritage of Syros is a living heritage that you have the opportunity to meet and know every time you visit the island, regardless of the season you choose to come.
The archeological museum of Syros is housed in the impressive and imposing building of the Town Hall of Hermoupolis. There, among Early Cycladic and Byzantine exhibits, sculptures and inscriptions you can see objects of everyday use of the Cycladic civilization that the island inhabitant used three thousand years ago. Right next to the Town Hall, at the Cultural Center of the Municipality, there is the Museum of Cycladic Art hosting faithful copies of Goulandris’ Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens. Of course, this meeting with history is not to be missed!
The Industrial Museum of Hermoupolis is a unique case all over the Aegean. A place for pleasant wanderings and interesting quests and discoveries, within a complex of 4 industrial buildings of the 19th century, the Kornilakis Tannery, the Anerousis Pellet Factory, the Velissaropoulos Textile factory and the Katsimantis Paint Factory. Here you will find a unique collection of tools, equipment and machinery of the Golden Industrial Age, as well as the legendary Enfield 8000, the first electric car ever manufactured in Greece.
You should also visit the Historical Folklore Museum of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women in the district of Vaporia, the Center for Historical Studies of the Catholic Diocese of Syros in Apano Meria, the Historical Archive of the Cyclades housed in the Ladopoulos marble mansion next to the Town Hall at Miaoulis Square.
In Ano Syros from the beginning of June to the end of September during the Traditional Professions Exhibition, you have the opportunity to travel back in time through objects and tools of the daily life of Syros inhabitants. Here, in the heart of Ano Syros and in the renovated old house of Markos Vamvakaris your soul and feelings travel and meet the rebete “Frangosyriani”.
You are now feeling as friends, companions and participants in the unique history of an island in the heart of the Aegean. The Ecclesiastical Museum of Hermoupolis in the Temple of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Metamorphosis), the Cycladic Art Gallery and Saint George’s Cemetery are places which introduce you in a continuous intense conversation with the living history of Syros, redefining your existence in space and time.
Syros is the living history of the Cyclades, the living history of the Aegean. Here you see, you touch and you interact with history. You understand the meaning and purpose of your being, you feel that the mark you leave is more significant and meaningful, and you become a part of the island’s history.