Places to visit historical Monuments and Museums
Miaoulis Square is the central square of Hermoupolis, which architecturally composes a fairy-tale setting of the 19th century, with buildings that testify to the existence of a great civilization.
The statue of the admiral of the 1821 Revolution, Andreas Miaoulis, dominates the square, while an impressive music platform with relief representations of Apollo and the Muses has transformed the area into the ultimate meeting point of the island.
The Town Hall of Hermoupolis, which adorns Miaoulis Square, is one of the largest and most impressive town halls in Greece and was built in 1876 on the plans of Ernst Ziller. It is a very special building with impressive details, protrusions, towers and generally a distinctive architecture inspired by 3 different styles. Other notable figures of the Town Hall are the hanging staircase at the entrance, the statue of D. Vafiadakis and the meeting hall of the Municipal Council.
The Municipal Apollon Theatre is a work of art that bears witness to the cultural development of Hermoupolis. Built in 1864 by the Italian architect Pietro Sampo, it has architectural influences from the Italian and the French culture and is often simulated with a miniature of La Scala.
The Junior High School of Syros is a historical school, as it was the first high school of the Greek Nation. The vision of a better education was born in 1829, which was realised with the help of Neophytos Vamvas. Famous representatives of literature, art and science, such as Eleftherios Venizelos, Andreas Syngros, Manos Eleftheriou, Giannoulis Chalepas, Kostas Beis and Konstantinos Volanakis, have passed from this school. Today, it houses the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering of the University of the Aegean.
The Cultural Centre of Hermoupolis was built in 1863 under the supervision of the Italian architect Pietro Sampo. Its monumental appearance is distinguished by its marble parapet, the balcony, the walls, the Tuscan columns, the spliced stonework and the cornices. Until 1970, the Hellas Club was housed in its premises, but since then the Club has granted the building to host the Cultural Centre of Hermoupolis, which was organizing various events until 1998, when it was renovated and began to house the Conference Centre.
The Town Hall of Hermoupolis, which adorns Miaoulis Square, is one of the largest and most impressive town halls in Greece and was built in 1876 on the plans of Ernst Ziller
The Municipal Library is housed on the ground floor of the Cultural Centre and, since 1926, it has been hosting the first collection of books with 2,000 volumes from the library of the Junior High School, I. Rota’s library and the Bishop of the Cyclades Anthimos Komninos’s library, as well as thousands of books donated by the poet, lyricist and novelist Manos Eleftheriou.
The district of Vaporia is known as the most prestigious district. In that area, by the sea, the refugees built unique high-ceilinged mansions with impressive frescoes, wood-carved doors, marble balconies and wooden floors, thus creating their own “steamers” (vaporia) that seemed to hover over the rocks.
The Mausoleum of St. George is the first organized cemetery of Syros since 1824 and reflects the history and magnificent culture of the island on its ornate mausoleums and beautifully decorated tombstones. The marble grave monuments, the shrines, the sculpted angels, the crosses, the chapels, the ciboria, the tombstones and the funerary inscriptions, are all distinguished elements of the Mausoleum.
The Tsiropinas Mansion, in Posidonia, is a stone-built historic building, a sample of bourgeois summer residence that reflects the glamour of a bygone era. It was built in 1916 and is a work of art, with reception rooms, living rooms, dining rooms, fireplaces, bedrooms, storerooms, kitchen and unique frescoes. The mansion is surrounded by a verdant garden, as well as ancillary buildings that were created to house the wagons of that time. Today, the Tsiropinas Mansion is a cultural venue that hosts exhibitions and other cultural events.
The Industrial Museum of Hermoupolis houses a collection of tools, equipment and machinery of the golden industrial era, from loukoumi-producing laboratories, textile, tanning, printing, mechanical engineering and glassmaking industries, as well as digital image and audio archives. Among the exhibits, one can see the legendary Enfield 8000, the first electric car manufactured in Greece and findings from the wreck of the steamship Patris.
The Historical Archives of the Cyclades, at Miaoulis Square, include extensive administrative, technical and financial archives of the Cyclades Prefecture, dating from 1821.
The Archaeological Museum of Syros, one of the oldest museums in Greece, has collections that include Early Cycladic and Byzantine exhibits, sculptures and inscriptions. In the museum, there is an exhibition of the archaeologist Christos Tsountas.
The Museum of Cycladic Art Copies was founded in 1993 by Giannis and Eleni Vatis and hosts copies of Goulandris Museum in Athens. It organizes educational art projects, play and creativity projects, as well as guided tours to the Cycladic Civilization of the 3rd millennium BC.
The Museum of Markos Vamvakaris is housed in a renovated, yet old, house in the heart of Ano Syros and presents the life of the beloved artist of rebetiko through photographs, personal objects, manuscripts and lyrics, but also through a half-hour documentary in his honour, which is displayed throughout the period when the museum is open.
The Exhibition of Traditional Professions in Ano Syros includes objects used by the inhabitants of Ano Syros in their everyday life. From the barber’s scissors, the fisherman’s bench and the carpenter’s tools, to the farmer’s equipment and the beekeeper’s smoker, as well as various household items.
The Museum of Fishing Boats, Aquatic organisms and shellfish in Kini, is one of the most popular attractions for children and adults, as it allows visitors to become acquainted with the magical marine world of the Aegean Sea and study the marine flora and fauna in detail.
