Ermoupoli

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Ermoupolis is the largest settlement and capital of Syros, located on the east side of the island and is known for its shipyard and its important port. It used to be an industrial, shipping and cultural center of Greece, while now it is a picturesque resort. Εrmoupolis has an excellent tourist infrastructure and offers a wide variety of facilities for accommodation, dining, entertainment and relaxation with a breadth of accommodation options, cafes, restaurants and bars as well as plenty of sports facilities and cultural venues. The Syros Culture festival constitutes one of the island’s main cultural institutions and a benchmark for its guests. It is a festival held each year during the summer giving an even more impressive cultural extension to the island.

The neoclassical buildings of Ermoypoli are the monuments that make it special. The center is Miaoulis Square, where is the City Hall, designed by Ernst Ziller, inspired by the palaces of Troy. The theater Apollon, miniature of Scala in Milan, the Archaeological Museum of Syros, Syros Industrial Museum, Library, the mansions in the upscale Vaporia and many others, that must be visited.

Vaporia district is located in the northern part of the port of Syros, east of Ermoupolis. The mansions of the captain's houses are built on the edge of the rocks by the sea. The way they were built makes them look like ships, which led to the name Vaporia. This district was created by wealthy refugees from Chios, Psara, Kasos and Crete, who came to Syros after the destruction of their homeland during the Revolution of 1821. During the 19th century it was the most aristocratic district of the city where the richest people of Ermoupolis lived, shipowners and industrialists. The houses of the area belong to three generations, while from the first generation that reaches until about 1840, very few survive to this day. The mansions of Vaporia have high ceilings, decorated with frescoes, marble balconies, wooden floors and wood-carved doors. At the entrance of the district is the church of Agios Nikolaos, their patron saint, with two bell towers and a blue dome. In the district, however, there are some of the most expensive and luxurious hotels on the island. Between the rocky shores of the Vaporia district, small beaches are formed for swimming in the urban environment of the island. One such beach is Asteria, which has a diving platform and there is still a ladder in the water for swimmers.

A separate position on the sightseeing of Ermoypolis has the churches, Orthodox and Catholic. The Church of the Resurrection on the hilltop, Agios Georgios and the Cathedral, just some of them.

Today the city is the administrative nucleus of all the Cyclades and the South Aegean Region, bringing together all the public services, the courts, the Department of Design Engineering University of the Aegean and the Shipyard. Also is the main port of the island connected daily with the ports of Piraeus, Rafina, the Cyclades and the North Aegean Sea. The island’s airport is situated at a distance of 3 kilometers and offers direct flights to Athens.

History

Ermoypoli was created during the Greek Revolution of 1821. After the destruction of Chios, Samo , Psaron, Kasos and various cities of Asia Minor, the persecuted refugees found safe haven in the natural harbor of neutral and then under French protection of Syros. At this point there was nothing, and the main settlement was the hill of Ano Syros. The refugees then settle there, dealing with the business of the port and begin to build the new city. From their first creations is the Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration, in the courtyard of which in 1823, after a form of popular assembly was decided to name the new city: dedicated to the ancient god of commerce, Mercury and was named Ermoypoli.

Since then the growth is continuous: the port is the commercial center of New Greek State, and were made the first industries. Furthermore, in Syros shipyards had been built the most beautiful ships of the era, with unstoppable rhythm. In Ermoypoli, has been inaugurated the first branch of the National Bank in the mid of 19th century. The population was multiplied and in 1856 Ermoypolis was referred as the second city after Athens in population. In the first high school of the city, teaches the teacher of the Nation Neophytos NKJV, and later had graduated from here Eleftherios Venizelos. The heyday is maintained till the 20th century, as the change of economic balances with the transfer of the center in Athens but also changes Ermoypoli. The great famine of 1941-42 leaves behind thousands of dead and the city struggles to regroup after the war ended.