HISTORICAL ARCHIVES MUSEUM OF HYDRA (HAMH)

The Historical Archives Museum of Hydra (HAMH) in Hydra island, Greece, was founded in 1918 (Gov. April 1918, N. 1289) and housed in a building built at the expense of Hydra’s owner and benefactor Mr. Gika N. Kouloura. In 1972, for construction reasons, the old building was demolished and in its place was built a new sizeable building, which was officially inaugurated in July 1996 and has since operated on a daily basis (not excluding weekends) for researchers and the public audiences of Greek and foreign visitors.
 
HAMH exhibits important 19th century paintings and numerous artefacts and relics from Greece’s Independence War of 1821, the era of Hydra costumes, maps, navigation instruments, cannons, carved wooden figureheads and parts of ships, construction models, lithographs of ships, etc. HAMH also exhibits representative samples of historical documents of the 18th-19th century (some 18,000 archives and 122 hand-scripts). Community codes and ledgers are covering the time period from the early 18th to the mid 19th century.
 
Notable painters of the era, such as Hydriot Kriezis Andreas (1813-1880) and Gerasimos Vokos (1861-1902), and Austrian Pitze Francis (1822-1862), responding to the requirements of small Hydraiki society, explored the artistic talent of the island and painted, following instructions, representations of major historical events, forms warfighters or portraits of relatives of many families of Hydra. In particular, the Gallery includes works in three thematic sections: a) portraits (mostly oils) of historical figures, b) portraits of ships and c) a significant collection of nautical charts. A fabulous unknown painter has painted the Hydra Battle, with Emmanuel Tompazi, leaning against the railing of the ship, probably in the Tombazos schooner, the "Terpsichore".
 
Wonderful is also the painting of Gerasimos Vokos representing Hydra lady Helen Rep. Kriezi with clothing of the era. The portrait of doctor John Hydriote Tetzi, work of the Austrian painter Francis Pitze, is another of the important works exhibited in IAMY. Decisive in the vestibule area is the Great Charter of Rigas, crafted by the great Greek visionary and printed in Vienna in 1793. The collections of the Historical Archives Hydra also included individual folders of fighters and personalities as Theodoros Kolokotronis, Ioannis Makrigiannis, Andreas Miaoulis, Ioannis Kapodistrias, sigillium Patriarch Gregory V and many Philellinon letters.
 

Responsible

Director: Ms. Konstantina Adamopoulou
 

Address

YAMY, Port of Hydra , Hydra GR-18040