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 Come and visit
Ermoupolis,
home of Dimitrios Vikelas, President of the 1st Olympic Committee (1896)
Ermoupolis, a major Aegean port
and commercial centre, as well as the administrative capital of Cyclades
prefecture since 1833, is located on the east coast of beautiful Syros
island, the richest and most populous of the Cyclades. The town was founded
in 1821 at the outbreak of the War of Greek Independence by Greek refugees
from Psara and Chios, seeking refuge from Ottoman persecution.
The seat of both a Greek
Orthodox and a Roman Catholic archbishopric, Ermoupolis is perched on two
giant hills overlooking the port, which conveniently serve as distinct
neighborhoods, a catholic hill, and an orthodox hill, each crowned by a
majestic church, a very striking image. On the south hill, the old Catholic
quarter of Ano Siros was founded in the 13th century by Venetians, on the
site of the classical town. Crowned by the church of Aghios Georgios, it
retains a strong medieval flavour with city walls, narrow cobbled streets
and arcades, still inhabited by descendants of the 13th century Venetian and
Genoan settlers, who remained under the Turks with protection from the kings
of France. On the north hill is the Greek Orthodox quarter, Vrontado,
crowned by the magnificent church of Anastassis.
 A period of great wealth and
elegance in the 17th and 18th centuries bequeathed Ermoupolis with
neo-classic style buildings some of whom decorated with the works of great
Italian and Greek painters, spacious public squares and impressive churches.
The city's classical-revival architecture reflects its former importance as
a trading centre. The central square with the massive Town Hall building is
lined by cafes and provides a good starting point for a stroll from the
church to the museum, to the market to the waterfront and beyond, with each
turn on a corner revealing a pleasant surprise. The Apollo Municipal
Theatre, a miniature version of Milan's fabled La Scala, the Town Hall,
designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller, the Statue of Admiral
Miaoulis, the museum devoted to the popular music composer Markos Vamvakaris
(Ano Syros) and the Municipal Library are of great interest. The
Archaeological Museum of Syros, founded in 1835, is one of the oldest in
Greece. In 1899, the Municipality of Ermoupolis offered part of the Town
Hall for the exhibition of antiquities, and since then, the museum has been
housed there. It includes prehistoric finds from a fortified settlement
found at Kastri, as well as finds from the cemetery at Halandriani dating
back to the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). The church of Christ's
Transfiguration (Metamorphosis) and the church of His Resurrection (Anastasis)
on the north hill, as well as the Assumption of the Virgin (Koimisis
Theotokou) with its icon of the Virgin painted by El Greco, are all well
worth a visit.
 Still the most active port in
the Cyclades, a hub for sea traffic between the islands, Ermoupolis has
dry-dock facilities and a vast roadstead that provides for safe and deep
anchorage. The majority of its 15,000 population are employed at ironworks,
cotton mills, tanning industries, commerce, merchant marine and tourism.
Boasting an excellent tourist infrastructure and a cosmopolitan ambience
with its abundance of fine restaurants, night clubs, lively discos,
picturesque tavernas, bars, cinemas and a casino, Ermoupolis is the popular
destination for thousands of visitors each year. Ermopouleia, the cultural
events organised there during the summer (July-August), are known for the
great variety and quality that they offer and they attract many visitors
each year, both from Greece and abroad. |
