THE 'Hydra An island with a rich maritime tradition and cosmopolitan character, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece. And it's worth it, because the the city of Hydra is the most well-preserved living settlement in the country, model of architecture and aesthetics. Here are our first impressions from the short vacation in Hydra. Built amphitheatrically around its closed natural harbor and following the natural relief, it consists of the imposing mansions of the families of the Revolution of 1821, the traditional houses, the flower-decorated courtyards with the bougainvilleas and the wisteria, the high walls and the picturesque walls. Dozens of small churches, which create a unique residential complex, reminiscent of the glorious past of the island's capital.
There are many features of the island that make it unique. First and foremost, the mansions of the historical families Lazaros Koundouriotis (now Museum), Pavlos Kountouriotis, Miaouli, Boudouri, Voulgari, Tsamadou (today School of Merchant Mariners), Kriezi, Tombazi (now School of Fine Technicians etc. . Three- and four-storey imposing buildings were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries - an era of economic prosperity for the island thanks to trade and shipping, when with their wheat stalls the captains crossed the Mediterranean and made huge profits. They offered their fleet to the Revolution - they stand today with their solid beauty and reflect their historical importance.
Hydra is a magical place. The light of the island is special as it is reflected in the wild rocks and creates photoshoots that captured a number of painters and artists who settled on the island. THE absence of wheeled vehicles on the island creates an environment of calm and serenity, as on the beautiful cobbled streets cargo animals (mules, horses, donkeys) and the legendary cats of Hydra. The oversized cannons lined up along the coast remind visitors of the Hydra sacrifice during the Revolution of '21, while in the harbor, local fishing boats, sailboats, yachts, water taxis and yachts congregate to find their living space.
For the record, Hydra went through a great crisis after the war, which was due in part to the decline of sponge gas. Then, thanks to the School of Fine Arts that is located in the Tombazi mansion and its first director painter Pericles Byzantios, but also to his successor Pavlos Pantelakis, they ensure the correct architectural restoration of the buildings, since they seriously and meticulously control the constructions defending it. architectural heritage of the island.
The movies "The Girl in Black" (1956) by Michalis Kakogiannis with Elli Lampeti, "The Child with the Dolphin" with Sophia Loren (1957), and "Phaedra" (1962) with Melina Mercouri and Anthony Perkins contribute so that the island gains an international reputation. Foreigners discover it enchanted and the few Greeks who come here know how to appreciate it. Painters, artists, writers, musicians, bohemian types and the unpretentious love the island and make it their hangout.
In Hydra one can do hiking to Mandraki, to Kamini and Vlychos but also to the hinterland. Inside the city it is worth seeing the museums, galleries, visiting the gift shops, spending the night in beautiful traditional hostels and having lunch in nice taverns and special restaurants.
Macaroons Tsagaris
Hydra, a rock in the middle of the sea, produces almost nothing from a nutritional point of view… May the Peloponnese be well with vegetables, the Myrtos Sea with fish, the Strait of Hydra with squid, the butcher Gounaris with his flock of lambs of and of course the Tsagaris family with the famous macaroons of Hydra.
The Bratsera hotel - "Bracera" is the sponge boat - it is de loin the most beautiful place to stay in the settlement of Hydra.
Bratsera Hotel
The old sponge factory, which was founded in 1860 and until 1986 supplied to Russian submarine natural sponges - for natural consumption the natural sponges from the 1960s had been replaced by artificial ones - was converted by the architect Dimitris Papachar and rightly conquered it EUROPA NOSTRA Award in 1996 for the renovation of the space. Gardens, common areas, restaurant and bedrooms, have been designed with aesthetic details that fascinate you but also the historicity of the space make you feel privileged to enjoy it.
Four Seasons Hydra
Outside the settlement, the Four Seasons at Slabs, a picturesque beach with pebbles and crystal clear waters, 200 meters from Vlychos, an old mansion turned into a tasteful hotel with high level equipment, excellent cuisine and a place where you meet an extremely sweet and friendly atmosphere. Personal beach, personal table on the beach two steps from your room can make you relax there - despite the frequent communication by sea taxis to Hydra - to do nothing else on the island!
Leaving behind the accommodation and hotels of the island, let us proceed to its sights.
The mansion of Lazaros Koundouriotis, an 18th century building stands out from the rest of the mansions of the historical families of Hydra by the bright color of ocher that characterizes it, but also by the fact that it is the only one that can be visited as in 1999 it was turned into a museum - the study of its restoration The building was built by the architect Alekos Kalligas - and houses historical relics of the Koundouriotis family and the Boudouris family, paintings by Pericles and Constantine Byzantium and a collection of rare traditional costumes of the National Historical Museum.
It is located a few meters above the house of the painter, academic and teacher of the School of Fine Arts Panagiotis Tetsis (Hydra, 1925 - Athens, 2016) who in 2007 donated it to the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, in order to create after his death a museum that will house the studio and his works. This house is a typical hydraulic house of the 19th century - early 20th, and was also used for the professional activities of the family, housing on the ground floor a candle factory and a grocery store - tavern. THE Tetsi house It can be visited by anyone who requests it (in collaboration with the staff of the Historical House of Lazaros Koundouriotis) and it is very moving for the visitor to see his studio with his paints and brushes, ready for the artist to use.
House of Panagiotis Tetsis
Right behind the mansion of Lazaros Koundouriotis and next to the house of Panagiotis Tetsis is the historic church of Ypapantis, where the Koundouriotides are buried and which was the parish of Tetsis on the island, thus creating a small cultural nucleus in a relatively remote neighborhood of the city, with particularly remarkable buildings that illuminate various and different aspects of the history of Hydra. And of course the classic colors of the island -when there is no asbestos stone masonry- ocher and coarse red.
You will meet the same colors, ocher and coarse red in the old mansion on the port of Kaminio. The same colors will be used - in oil paint - by fishermen in bolder combinations to bring out their art by painting them. boats their.
An attraction of the city of Hydra is the pharmacy of Evangelos Rafalias which closes 130 years of life. This pharmacy is a monument of cultural and architectural tradition, since no interventions have been made in the building - its exterior neoclassical appearance is flawless -, the furniture remains the original and is rightly considered the most beautiful in Greece and one of the most interesting in Europe.
Rafalia Pharmacy
Another monument in the port of Hydra - mobile this time - is the boat Agios Nikolaos of the Koukoudaki family. Over a century old, this rare cherniki has a unique example of a naval tradition of the Aegean, which tirelessly travels daily to the fertile plains of Argolida to supply the market of Hydra with vegetables and other foods.
The sights of Hydra they have no end, but the main thing is Historical Archive Museum of Hydra. The new building, which was officially inaugurated in July 1996 and has been operating on a daily basis since then, exhibits great 19th century paintings and a number of objects - relics from the 1821 Struggle, hydraulic costumes of the time, maps, navigation instruments, cannons, wood carvings ships, construction models and lithographs of ships of the Struggle, while its library includes representative samples of historical documents of the 18th-19th century.
Ο Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, the Diocese of Hydra, is located in the center of the port and is a three-aisled vaulted basilica with a dome and its aisles are separated by colonnades. The iconostasis is made entirely of genuine white marble with rich and intense embossed decoration (sculptures, crosses, Ionic columns, etc.). In the iconostasis are also the remarkable icons of the Temple with richly decorated coverings that were gifts to the Temple from rich Hydraeans.
The general decoration of the Temple is amazing: The image of Faneromeni is located in the old shrine of the Temple, while the chandeliers and candles add glamor to the view of the Temple. There are four chandeliers, the main work of Kousourelis is silver and indescribable art. The most valuable and legendary is six-light located near the beautiful gate and arrived in Hydra from France or Spain. It should be emphasized that all the chandeliers of the Temple and the lamps do not work with electricity but with candles or oil.
Returning to gastronomic interests we start from the oldest tavern of the island "Dry Olive", which dates from the previous century. In a square where there are four streets and under the thickest shade of Hydra that is formed by a huge wisteria, a pine and two mulberries, the traditional tavern of Duskos is famous for its food but also for its aquatic feasts.
Xeri Elia Tavern - Douskos
The tavern of Kalamaras, on the road to Kala Pigadia is an old family tavern that is famous for its cuisine and for its friendly atmosphere.
Lulus Tavern (Kalamara Bros)
The heavy artillery of gastronomy in Hydra is located at Sunset restaurant, in Kanonia, a few meters below the mansion of Pavlos Kountouriotis, which dominates the west of the port of Hydra. The combination of the unique view - which is awarded every year as one of the best view restaurants in the world - Kitchen with sought after recipes, fresh fish, and impeccable service make Sunset one of the best choices on the island.
Sunset Restaurant
The Caprice Restaurant-Bar, the restaurant of Vassilis Kokkos, has been a reference point of the good cuisine of the island since 1994. Competitively competing with the trattorias of the Italian peninsula, it is hidden about 150m. behind the port of Hydra and combines Italian recipes, thin and fine pizzas, "slightly teased" Greek dishes and of course the special hydra almond macaroon with ice cream.
Caprice Restaurant-Bar
"The Beautiful Hydra”, Is from 2016, a new gourmet restaurant in the center of the waterfront (in place of the old Psaropoula, where since 1911 the Tiliakou family maintained a tavern and since 1993 a restaurant). Its creator is Antigoni Vamvaka, a Piraeus businesswoman and for thirty-five years a friend of Hydra who aspires to make her own gastronomic history.
The Beautiful Hydra
The Restaurant “Group” is housed in a historic site, in the old Bunny of Babis More and later of Theodoros Roubanis, where in the 60s and 7s the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jackie Kennedy, Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis were guests, a point of reference for generations and generations. Today, Costas Achilas and Lisa Bartsioka have created a very promising restaurant-bar of unique aesthetics.
Hydra Nautical Club - Omilos Restaurant
It is obvious that the three days in Hydra was highly exploratory and that the detailed material for all the sights with lots of photos will follow in the coming days.
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