Historical Museum
The historical-archives museum of Hydra was founded in
1918. It is housed in a building donated to a township of Hydra by the
Hydrian Ship-owner and public benefactor Ghikas N Koulouras.
Antonios D Lignos, physician and mayor of Hydra for 40
consecutive years undertook the task of classifying and copying the archives
of the township of Hydra from 1708 to 1865. These he had discovered
himself in cells in the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Hydra. His work
set the foundation for the establishment of the island's museum and
library.
In 1952 Ghikas Koulouras donated the building to the Greek
state. Since 1952 the museum has functioned as a department of the
Ministry of Education supervised by the general archives of the state. In
1972 the original building was demolished. In its place the present
building houses the re-organized archives, the museum and the library.
In June 1996 the new building was opened to the public.
Since then it has remained open on a daily basis for historical
researchers and the general public.
Archive Section
The purpose of the archive section of the museum is the
location, classification and filing of information about Hydra its history
and culture.
Archive material from the public services of the island as
well as from private archives is accepted in the historical research
centre after thorough examination and careful selection. This material is
an important research source about Hydra and its leading role during the
18th and 19th centuries. A great part of its material concerns the period
of 1708 – 1865. Approximately 18,000 original documents, manuscripts and
notes describe Greek history before, during and after the Greek Revolution
of 1821.
Other archive information includes educational,
administrative, clerical and civil material up to recent years.
Museum Section
The Museum occupies 2 floors with exhibits from the Balkan
wars and 1st and 2nd world wars displayed on the ground floor. The first
floor anti-room various types of Hydrian costumes are exhibited as well as
the figure heads from the ships of the revolution of 1821.
In the main hall of the first floor historically important
paintings in oil and watercolors by Greek and foreign artists are
displayed. The paintings depict the ships of the revolution of 1821. Small
items of art from the 18th & 19th Century, Hydrian side-arms,
engravings and nautical maps are displayed throughout the museum.
Library
The Library on the ground floor contains 4000 volumes most
of which are valuable editions going back as far as the beginning of the
18th century. New publications of historical and literary books as well as
periodicals are constantly added to the collection.
