History of Hydra
The pre-revolutionary times
At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, Hydra developed into a great naval power with a merchant fleet of 150 ships. The new possibilities given to Greek commercial shipping by the Russo-Turkish treaty of Kiucchuk Kainartzi (1774), together with the favor of the Ottoman Porte, in return for the naval experience of the Hydraians who served in the Turkish fleet, brought great wealth to the island.
At the same time, however, they created fertile ground for intense confrontations between the Hydra, anarchy, robberies and murders, with the Provosts being unable to maintain order. The culmination of all this was the murder of the father of Lazaros Kountouriotis, which resulted in the uprising of most of the people of Hydra, who together with the Provosts asked the Gate to send to Hydra an authorized Governor, responsible for enforcing public order .
Then Kapudan Pasha Kucuk Hossein, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Admiralty, places in Hydra on December 29, 1802 his favored one, the Water Captain of the Turkish fleet George Dima Voulgaris, whom he named Mitas Kotsambasi (Commander of Hydra) and Naziris (Observer) of Poros and Spetses, for some time. Together with Voulgaris, he appointed a certain Turkish Hasan Çaoussi as Zambiti (Policeman), with the aim of enforcing the broken order.
On January 1, 1803, Voulgaris elected ten prefects as his advisors and collaborators and at the same time appointed a militia. With this mission, on the one hand, the island ensured its self-government, and on the other hand, Georgios Voulgaris, the "Bey" as the Hydraians called him, with his prudent administration managed to reduce the island to a model favored place and himself to emerge to a great personality for the place.
Georgios Voulgaris proved to be a political genius, gathering many virtues, moderate and consensual, he managed to impose himself on Argosaronicos from Aegina to Spetses. The decade of the administration of Hydra by Voulgaris must be characterized as "Golden" for Hydra, because then peace prevailed and great riches were accumulated in Hydra.
The period of economic strength, the relatively suppression of piracy and the internal peace that followed the reign of Georgios Voulgaris, gave the Hydraians the opportunity to organize their society as they wanted, while the constant battles which the Hydra crews were forced to give to the pirates, who at that time ravaged the Mediterranean from end to end, transformed them in time from insignificant farmers and shepherds, to daring and experienced sailors.
The important position that Hydra held at that time in Greece and in the rest of the world is proven even by the existence of so many Consulates in Hydra, which shows that all the great powers of that time had interests from the Hydra.
Russia had Anastasios Laz as consul in Hydra from 1803 to 1806. Kokkini with secretary Dim. Condolences. In 1806, Grig. Skardamitsis with Hieronymos Skordalios as secretary. In 1821 the consular agent of Russia was Ioannis Klados.
Consul of the Ionian State, when Iptanissos was under Russian Occupation, was Lazaros Kountouriotis. Consul of France was Eleftherios Ghikas. Consul of Austria was Theodoros Emm. Serros from 1807 until 1823. Finally consul of Great Britain from 1818 was a certain Vitalis.
At this time, Hydra was used as a Naval station, leading to maritime trade and communications, as a result of the privileges of free navigation under the cover of the Russian flag.
This had as a result that at this time the island, controlling the maritime trade, experienced its greatest strength and by extension its economic and spiritual flourishing. The Hydra gradually became masters of the sea routes of the Mediterranean and Hydra emerged as the first naval power among the Greek islands.
Furthermore, during this period the Hydraians took advantage of the Anglo-French dispute and made huge profits, breaking the blockade that England had imposed on the ports of French territory, during the Napoleonic wars.
The Revolution finds Hydra the owner of an untold wealth of gold coins of the time, mainly the result of its successful involvement in the wheat trade during the Napoleonic wars, although the trade showed a slight decline after 1810. It is therefore completely understandable, why the moment of the beginning of the struggle in 1821 found this small and until then insignificant island of the Argosaronic, to have around 27,000 inhabitants.
The Revolution of 1821
Hydra's help was important in the national liberation struggle of 1821. The Revolution finds Hydra the owner of an untold wealth of gold coins of the time, mainly the result of its successful involvement in the wheat trade during the Napoleonic wars.
p>Its fleet numbered 186 small and large ships with a total capacity of 27,736 tons, i.e. it was twice that of Spetses which had 64 ships with a total of 15,907 tons, while Psara had 35-40 ships and Kasos 15. At the same time the crews had gained a lot of war experience due to the conflicts with Algerian pirates and so Ibrahim justly called the Hydra "Little England".
Since 1820 the provosts of Hydra had been initiated by the Friendly Society for the upcoming Revolution. In a meeting of members of the Filiki Etairia with Papaflessa at the end of 1820 in Hydra, the existence of two tendencies in the ranks of the local Philiki was established. On the one hand there was the faction of those Philiki with the main exponents of Antonis Oikonomou, Th. Gikas and others. who declared themselves ready for the rebellion and on the other hand the conservative faction of the island's powerful governors (Kountouriotis etc.) who treated with suspicion the enthusiastic declarations of Papaflessas and were troubled by the strength of the Ottoman fleet.
When the Revolution was announced in the Peloponnese, on March 24, 1821, the Hydraians and the Speciotes were informed by a letter from the nobles of the Peloponnese, that the Revolution began earlier because the secret had been betrayed by "Turco-lovers" and they are asking their assistance in naval blockade of the enemy.
The Spetsians raised the flag of the Revolution on 26 March, but the Hydraians seemed reluctant to rise up at the same time as the Peloponnese Revolution broke out, remembering the disasters they had suffered in the previous failed revolt of 1770 and considering the military superiority of the enemy. Finally, they declared the revolution on April 14, 1821, by Captain Antonios Oikonomou and the People who relaxed the reservations of those who qualified.
According to Antonio Lignos who published the historical record of Hydra, the people of Hydra revolted on Sunday 27 March and deposed the representative of the Ottoman authorities, Nikolaos Kokovila, with Antonio Oikonomou taking over the revolutionary administration. On March 31 the prefects recognized the Economos and gave him authority to mobilize the required naval and infantry forces. On April 14, the provosts printed a special accompanying document for the ships that sailed from the island for cruise operations, while on April 15, after the necessary preparations were made, the Revolution was officially declared by all.
This form, in Greek and Italian, was also a written revolutionary declaration that bore the title "Passport of Greek Battleships". It had blanks for the name of the captain, the ship, the number of guns and the date, which were filled in as appropriate. One such document issued for Giakoumakis Tombazis was published by Omiridis Skylitsis:
"IN THE NAME OF GOD ALMIGHTY, the Greek Nation, burdened to groan under the cruel yoke under which for about four centuries it has been pitifully depressed, runs with a general and unanimous impulse to arms to crush the heavy chains of the barbarous Mohammedans you have placed in it. ...
We the superiors, who constitute the administration of this Island, allow Captain Giakoumakis Toumbazis of the ship Themistocles, which has sixteen cannons and other weapons of war under the Greek flag, to surrender after the ship of this, wherever he wished to judge beneficial and necessary in the common struggle, and to act against the Ottoman forces by land and sea in all that is permissible in a lawful war, until the freedom and independence of the Greek Nation is restored by consolidation... April 16, 1821".
During the Ottoman Empire, the Hydra crews were called "Soulutzalides", while the Speciotian crews were called "Tzamutzalides". And the Hydra crews and the Spetsio crews were highly sought after even by the Ottoman commanders, as well as by Kara-Ali. But in general the Hydraians, like other islanders, were forced to join the Ottoman fleet.
Tsamados mentions an incident in September 1822, where when a Turkish flagship ran aground on an islet of the Argolis, hydra sailors who served on it by force, managed to detach the ship and as their reward, were released.
Hydra, together with Spetses and Psara, played a decisive role in the Revolution of 1821, disposing of their merchant and war fleet, fighters and money, at the service of the Revolutionary Struggle.
Hydraians such as Admiral of the trinity fleet Andreas Miaoulis, Captain Antonios Oikonomou, sailors Iakovos and Manolis Topazis, Anastasios Tsamados, G. Sachtouris , G. Sahinis, Antonis Kriezis, the Vokoi together with the arsonists I. Matrozo, Andrea Pipino and Vatikioti, played a very important role in the Revolution of 1821.
The Hydra fleet, together with the Spetses and Psara fleets, dominated the sea during the seven-year struggle, thus contributing decisively to the liberation of Greece, sacrificing human lives, ships and money and highlighting leaders and fighters .
The years that followed
After the Liberation begins a long period of decline for Hydra, which, having contributed a lot of money and most of its fleet to the fight, goes through a period of economic depression, for about a century.
The decline of Hydra begins simultaneously with the presence of Otho in Greece, even though Hydra, despite its small size and its intensifying economic decline, gave the political life of the country a President of the Republic, five prime ministers, many ministers (especially in the Ministry of the Navy).
Georgios Kountouriotis (1782 - 1858), was elected President of the Executive during the Revolution in 1824 and a member of the Panhellenic Council of Kapodistrias, while in then he was a senator, State Councilor and Minister of Marines. He took part in the Fourth National Assembly and in the National Assembly of 1843. Under Otho, he was appointed in 1848, to the position of Prime Minister and Minister of Marines.
Antonios Kriezis (1796 - 1865), was appointed as Admiral of the Fleet in 1828 by Kapodistrias and under Otto he was promoted to Vice-Admiral and named Admiral. In 1836 he became Minister of Marines in the Armansberg Government and then also Minister of Marines in the Government of Alexander Mavrokordatus in 1841. On December 12, 1849 he succeeded Kanaris as Prime Minister of Greece, until May 16, 1854 and under King George I he was named an honorary aide-de-camp, advisor on Naval Affairs and Rear Admiral.
Dimitrios Voulgaris (1802 - 1877), was prime minister 8 times over a period of 20 years, for 6 years and 1 month in total. In 1821 he was elected Prokritos of Hydra, in 1825 he was elected Plenipotentiary to the 3rd National Assembly of Epidaurus and in 1829 Plenipotentiary to the 4th National Assembly of Argos. In 1832 he was appointed Minister of Marines, a position from which he resigned not accepting to demote the fighters of 1821. In 1837 he was elected Mayor of Hydra, remaining in the mayoral position for six years. In 1845 he was appointed Senator and two years later Minister of Marines in the Kolettis government. In the following years, he took over the Ministry of Finance in the Canaris government (1848) from where he resigned. In September 1855 he became Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, with the government resigning two years later. With the eviction of Othon, Voulgaris formed the revolutionary Government of 1862, which was managed by a Commission (Rufos, Kanaris, Voulgaris) under his presidency. In February 1862, he resigned as Prime Minister, to form a Government again in October of the same year (1863). In 1865 he formed a short-lived Government of three days and in January 1866 he was appointed Prime Minister. In January 1868 he won the election and formed a one-year government. In 1871 he won the elections taking over the prime ministership for the seventh time, while in February 1874 he took over the prime ministership for the last time.
Athanassios Miaoulis (1815 - 1867), was elected Member of Parliament in 1855 and became Minister of Marines during the Government of Dimitrios Voulgaris. After the resignation of Dimitrios Voulgaris, he was called by King Otto to replace him. Subsequently, he formed a government on November 13, which was maintained with various changes until May 1862. In 1859 he resigned and in the elections of the same year was re-elected Prime Minister. In 1860 he resigned and was re-elected in 1861 to resign permanently in 1862.
Petros Voulgaris (1883 - 1957), on April 8, 1945, assumed the prime ministership of the country, from April 1945 until August 1945 for six months and nine days, trying to bring political parties to an agreement for elections.
Finally, Pavlos Kountouriotis, later the first President of the Hellenic Republic, in 1886, as Vice-Captain, Governor of the gunboats A and B achieves his first major naval success. While the Greek army advances towards Arta, it invades the bay of Preveza to hinder any resistance. In February 1897, as Pilot, Governor of the steamship "Alfeios", he disembarked the expeditionary force of Colonel Timoleons Vassos at Kolymbari in Chania and in April 1897 at Skala Leptokaryas, during the Greek-Turkish War of 1897.
The Beginning of the 20th Century
At the beginning of the 20thth century, Pavlos Kountouriotis (1855 - 1935) later the first President of the Hellenic Republic, in 1908 he became aide to the king George I and the following year he was promoted to Captain.
In June 1911 and due to the indiscipline of the crew of the battleship "Averof", the position of Governor was assumed by the then Captain Pavlos Kountouriotis. With the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, while on April 16, 1912, he became Chief of the Naval General Staff, a position in which he remained until September 16, 1912. He then became Chief of the Aegean Fleet, during the Balkan Wars.
As the Commander of the battleship "Averof", the Hydra hero of the Balkan wars, occupies Lemnos, while in the following days he liberates Thassos, Imbros, Tenedos, Psara, Agios Eustratios and Samothrace . By December 21, he had managed to liberate almost all the Aegean islands, including Chios. With the battleship "Averof" he participated in two naval battles, that of Hellas and that of Lemnos (January 5, 1913). The naval battle of Hellas was won thanks to a daring maneuver by Kountouriotis, which was considered unthinkable heroism. His successful maneuvers forced the Turkish fleet to withdraw to the Dardanelles and confine itself within the Hellespont.
At the end of the Balkan Wars he was promoted to Vice-Admiral for "exceptional service in war" and was the first Greek, after Konstantinos Kanaris, to receive this rank. He then took over the Ministry of Marine in the governments of Alexandros Zaimis and Stefanos Skouloudis. Disagreeing with Greece's policy of neutrality in World War I, he participated in the Government of Thessaloniki as a member of the Triad (Danglis-Venizelos-Koundouriotis). In 1917, he once again assumed the portfolio of the Ministry of Marines and in the same year he retired with the rank of Admiral, an honor he deserved.
After the death of King Alexander, he assumed the duties of Regent until November 1920 and again after the departure of George II from the country in December 1923, until the proclamation of the Republic in March 1924. As a person of great prestige and widespread acceptance, he was elected first President of the Republic, a position in which he remained until 1926, when he resigned protesting the Dictatorship of general Theodoros Pangalos. On June 4, 1929, he was re-elected to the office of president by the House and the Senate, but resigned definitively this time, in December of the same year, for health reasons.
Another hero of the Balkan wars, the Rear Admiral of the Navy Nikolaos Votsis (1877 - 1931), during the First Balkan War achieved something that was considered impossible. With the first naval engagements on October 18, 1912, in command of Torpilovolos 11, he entered the fortified port of Thessaloniki, without being noticed, where he launched three torpedoes against the Turkish battleship "Fetich Bulent" of 2806 tons, as a result of which the two torpedoes hit and the Turkish warship to sink, while Torpilovolos 11 of N. Votsis left without any loss. This initiative undertaken by N. Votsis succeeded thanks to his cool judgment and bravery as he was not only in danger of being recognized by the enemy, but also in danger of the minefield, which he passed, in the port of Thessaloniki.
After his success he commanded the battleships Kilkis and Lemnos and was High Commissioner in Constantinople in the period 1921 - 1922. He was promoted to rear admiral and retired at his request in 1922.
Much later Petros Voulgaris (1883 - 1957), on April 8, 1945, assumed the prime ministership of the country, from April 1945 until August 1945 for six months and nine days, trying to bring the political parties to an agreement for elections.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some of the inhabitants of Hydra have indulged in sponge fishing, some in fishing, others are employed in seafaring and a few are engaged in animal husbandry.
During this period the Hydra, which has always been facing the sea, begins to experience a temporary economic recovery with the spongalia, in which the fearless pranksters of the Revolution now become risky divers, diving into mythical depths without no equipment or with the primitive diving suits of that time.
However, this economic recovery was temporary and despite the strong and dominant presence of the Hydraean element in Greek affairs from the beginning of the 20thth century, as well as the privilege of the Hydraeans to three deputies are elected, which seems to have been left unexploited, the decline of Hydra enters a stage of deterioration and the Hydraians slowly leave Hydra.
So as can be seen from the numbers the 28,000 inhabitants of Hydra in 1828 became 6,500 inhabitants in 1910 and much later 3,200 inhabitants in 1940.
The wealthiest come to the Capital and engage in business, where they succeed. However, most of the Hydraians settled in Piraeus, around the Church of Agios Nikolaos and created an entire district called Hydraiika, with the result that when Piraeus became a Municipality, the first Mayor Kyriakos Serfiotis was a Hydraian and not only that, because the Hydraians everywhere if found they were distinguished.
If we start across the Atlantic we will meet the Hydra national hero of Argentina, Nikolaos Kolmaniatis, whose honorary plaque brought to Hydra by an Argentine Navy training ship in 1935, is embedded in a special monument under the School Merchant.
The Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Dorotheos Kotaras, was also a Hydraean, the Metropolitans of Paris and Patsis were also Hydraeans, as well as Epiphanios Kalafatis of Paranaxia and Procopius Georgandopoulos of Krinis and Kalamaria, who are still alive today.
And to the temple of the spirit in the Academy of Athens, Hydra sent her own children Antonios Lignos, Ioannis Haramis, Nikolaos Hatzikyriakos-Gikas and Panagiotis Tetsis.
The "Old" Hydra in the 1930s
In the 1930s, life in Hydra was different from season to season due to the sponginess of the place's only significant economic factor. But Sunday mornings were the same in all seasons on the beach of our island, except for Easter Sunday, Apocreos or if it coincided with the 25th of March or another holiday.
On Sunday morning all the shops were closed, until the Church was dismissed, except for the coffee houses which only served, but did not give out cards or backgammon.
The main form of traffic in the port on Sunday mornings was the Monastery, even though nine parishes were operating at the same time. All eyes were on the great bell tower, when the bells would ring for the movement to begin. The six coffee shops that had been open since morning were Nick's. Kalogiannis (Katsika An.), the famous ouza distillery of Yiannis Tzitzas (today Fan. Surelis), of Spyr. Bikos (Takis Sourelis), by Lefteris Kotomatis and then Styl. Perkiza, No. Tsagaris, of Mich. Korou (D. Drakopoulou) with the Turkish hookah in its glory and Andreas Mastrogeorgiou (Lefteris Pinotsis). Mimis Giakalis was also open during the winter season.
The empty fisher's stalls and an array of glazes set up from the current restaurant of G. Tiliakou to the statue of P. Kountouriotis. Barba Sotiris Minas, Barba Andreas from Kourmada, Giannis Georgiou (Pamfilis) Saravala all three, the first two from sponge shops and the third by birth. And with them Sadik, a huge Libyan who had been brought from Benghazi by Capta Giannis Danabasis, Zacharias Gis, and a multitude of children.
As soon as the bells of the Monastery rang, and this happened at ten o'clock, the bells of the shops opening could be heard almost at the same time. Let's see them ...
Restaurants of claim for the Athenian visitor to eat were Georgios I. Kalogiannis (Katsikas brothers), D. Tetsis-Noukos (Gallery Plai I. Kremos) and St. Perkiza (K. Kalogianni) and later Univ. Fever. At the end of 1930, Mr. Evst opened his grocery store. Koukoudakis with cash register and cashier Matina St. Caulk.
Cooking wines galore. By Sp. Papathanasiou, M. Giozou, G. Meidani, Tzortzos, N. Loukas, I. Tiliakos with chef Yannis Lardis, G. Kokonelis and G. Kalafatis. They were all crowded and must have sold at least 100,000 okades (128 tons) of wine a year.
The barber shops, 6 in number, did not open on Sunday because they worked on Saturday until late at night. It belonged to E. Moutzouris, P. Rabia, the brothers D. and G. Lastkaros, P. Kalogiannis, G. Venizelos and N. Drivas. Also with them was a traveling barber N. Schwombs. The barbers of Hydra, at that time, one would think belonged to an aristocratic class. From them graduated the younger ones who also opened their own barbershops such as Gikas Theodorikas, Mimmis Gelos, Dimitrios Iordanidis, blessed are they all and many years of G. Makrygioglou.
The other event of the day after the liturgy was the arrival of the steamer, coming from Piraeus and literally shaking the port. The preparations started at 11 while the ship usually arrived at 12. Many times two ships came on Sunday from Piraeus and the orgasm in the port was great. The ships stayed outside the harbor and 5 or 6 four-cabin boats with a helmsman were used to transport the passengers, which means that at least 30 limousines took part. Owners and share holders were G. Kalafantis, Gr. Koutsoumbelis, Barba Yiannis, Spanos, the always-in-love Nikolos Kolokythas, giant and easy-going, and Mitsos Kalafantis (called Spaghetti because he was very thin).
The Sarrides Dinos, Panagiotis, Vassilis, Giannis, the Teliakos Nikolos, Ilias, Charalambis, Giannis Surelis, Petros Kritikos, Petros Panagos, Michalis Saroukos, Giannis Retitagos, Gikas Dardanos and the younger ones G. Bravakos, G. Tzortzis, N. Volonakis Iordanidis and a lot of kids, together with the writer to get the two-piece.
There were many ships at that time that made the Argosaronic route starting from Piraeus. Some reached as far as Nafplio and others as far as Leonidio. Two of them were the famous and well-known "Hydraki" and the "Goissa" which collided off Korakia with another boat and sank dragging several people to the bottom, including Hydreos Fokas, father if I remember correctly, of Mrs. Sophia Tsourtou. Other ships were "Mana", "Moshanthi", "Pteroti" and "Fokion". "Ioanna" and "Aulis". Competition with races of Koutsoumbelides, Kalafatides, Perkiza, Gastdopoulos (Alexiou Mich. ), Tzorgis G., happy everyone and many years to Delali Vas and Georgios Tsigaris. Travelers were often offered a piece of pasta.
The "foragers" Vassilis Delali, good time, G. Karagiannis, A. Vlassis and others took part in the two-hour orgasm. sailors of the port authority, philanthropists, the picturesque swindlers, we will talk about them another time, and the donkey riders, first of all the barba George the trumpeter who distributed the postmen's footstools.
SOURCE: THE VOICE OF HYDRA MARCH 1988, CH. CHRISTODOULOU
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FROM THE MEMOIRS OF DR IO.D. KANDILI
I visited Hydra, our great historical island, and toured it in the Spring of 1935. The reason for my trip was the student geological excursion there by Professor Th. Skoufos, of which I was the organizer, in my capacity at the time of the Curator at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. We stayed on the island for three days and it was thoroughly explored. It excited me and I really enjoyed the simplicity and the special grace that the island life had then. The small, beautiful port of Hydra is incredibly picturesque, teeming with all types of vessels, with an excess of small and large sailboats. The circular road that surrounded it, the well-paved from olden days with slabs, and the continuous embankment towards the sea. The row of picturesque buildings on this street that housed shops, cafes and taverns and among them the majestic metropolitan church. And in between, amphitheatrically built, the massive old mansions of the admirals of 21, like this fortress of Lazaros Kountouriotis. And many other smaller ones with their unnecessary appearance and their long history. The then hotels that housed us and our over fifty students were small, had a traditional island type and great simplicity, which was particularly pleasing. Unknown, of course, then, today's ostentatiousness and luxury and the noise of the roving crowd of visitors and the secular centers, so frequented today. For us at that time, the cafes of the port with their small tables, the ones next to the sea, and the fish taverns with their fried fish and the centostaraki with the retsina were delightful and more than enough. We were shown all the interesting, historical and touristic, of the cute little state and we even visited the school of merchant mariners which was installed in a nice building, on the hill to the left of the port entrance. We were greeted by the principals, with great enthusiasm, showing us all their facilities and explaining to our students the history and aspirations of their school, which is related and, in some ways, parallel to our own university. The inside tour of the island was also detailed, the largest part of which is rocky and bare and the smallest part wooded with a wild dense pine forest. There were no significant villages in the interior of the island apart from rare small settlements and huts. We stayed a few hours in a nice large monastery, whose Abbot and his monks treated us very well, and we also visited the villa of Professor Haramis, a colleague and friend of the head of our excursion Geologist-Professor T. Skoufos. The villa was luxurious and the view from its terraces towards the surrounding rocky mountains and the endless sea was of unimaginable beauty.
THE OLD HYDRA: PRE-WAR BAKERY
By the pen of Christos Christodoulou
We will refer to those old glories leaving something more to the future researcher since the treacherous homeland has been unimaginably alienated.
So we turn on the taps of our insatiable memory with bakeries. We caught up with eight bakeries, one of which was owned by the Blessed John V. Verveniotis (Neos Kosmos area, today's Hotel of Mr. Lykourgos Keramidas), which produced the galette for the sponge shops. Other bakeries also produced galette, but that of Verbeniotis produced approximately 80% of the quantity needed by the sponge shops.
The brothers Christos and Kostis Giakalis owned a bakery. The first had it in the current store of Mrs. Athena Roussi with some extension towards the current guest house of Mr. Nikos Chiotis, and the second opposite the Holy Church of Agios Konstantinos and Eleni. Mr. Evangelos Siakos had his bakery on the beach, which was then passed on to Mr. Nikolaos Saitis. It occupied the space currently occupied by the shop of Mr. Th. Saitis and the shop of Mrs. Nektarias Sureli.
Zafiris Paraskevopoulos was the only one who had changed the oven. We caught up with him at the current store of Mrs. Klious Soureli-Voulgari, in a current tourist store across the street from Balaska and at the current "Xenona Kirkis", then Maniatis Nik's Bakery. Georgopapadakou.
A little above the current guest house of Nikos Botsis, his father, Antonis Botsis, had a bakery. In the narrow street of Antoniou Oikonomou, immediately to the left of those coming up, was the Bakery of Evangelos Tsigaris and a little further where Zafeiris Paraskevopoulos had opened a bakery, some "refugees" opened a motorized bakery, which startled with their progressiveness.
A family of three generations, headed by the grandfather-Giorgis Chalkidis, and with patriarchal discipline, had set up the modern oven by moving from the old one that was next to the house of the late Yannis A. Karamitsos from the entrance. Most of these bakeries also had a donkey on which they loaded two large baskets of bread, which they distributed or sold in Chora, small "servants".
But besides the bakeries we mentioned, there were also some who prepared bread at home and sold it in the neighborhoods. We caught up with Klapsa (probably a nickname).
If there were houses in Kamini that made bread and sold it, we didn't know it.
Cover photo. Production of galette. A commemorative photo of 1938. The Georgiou Chalkidis brothers' bakery in action. Pictured from left are Georgios Tiliakos, Panagiotis Kranidiotis, Ioannis Stroumboulis, Ioannis Chalkidis, the girl Paraskevi Chalkidis-Vamvakas, Lazaros and Anestis Chalkidis. The "patriarch" Georgios Chalkidis is standing and in front of him is the akakos Panagiotis Ravdas.
Hydra in the 50s & 60s
In the early 1950s, Hydra, like all of Greece, was barely surviving. Abandonment and poverty were evident. The settlement and its inhabitants exuded a sense of lost glory and Hydra is driven, slowly but surely, to the brink of economic withering.
Hydra's temporary "driving" force, spongalia, found itself in complete decline over time mainly due to the limitation of the financial support of the sponge businesses by the Agricultural Bank of Greece , at which point new Hydra caravans leave Hydra, which is in complete depopulation.
The 1950s would change all that.
Gradually in Hydra will be created a peculiar, charming microcosm of cosmopolitan artists, intellectual writers and film producers, who "discover" Hydra and use it lavishly in their films. A direct consequence of all this is the rapid tourist and economic activity on the island, which has since developed into a cosmopolitan tourist resort.
In the 1950s, the film "The Child and the Dolphin" with Sophia Loren was filmed here, and Hydra began to become internationally known.
Among the most famous films shot in Hydra is the famous "Girl in Black" by Michalis Kakogiannis with Elli Lambeti, which received rave reviews at the European festivals that Jules Dassin's great film "Phaedra" with the wonderful Melina Mercouri and the famous Anthony Perkins and Ralph Vallone was also screened.
However, the beauties of Hydra, unchanged over time and characteristic, are immediately recognizable. The bell tower of the Monastery of Panagia, the bust of Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, the cannons to the left and right of the harbor waterfront, the breakwater with many boats, the stone paddocks, the abandoned old stone warehouses of the port, the imposing mansions, the old building of Historical Archive of Hydra, the "Neraida", the symbol ship of the time, the cafes and shops of the waterfront, with their long striped awnings and hand-made inscriptions, prompt foreign writers such as the Australian George Johnston, the Swede Axel Jensen and Canadian Leonard Cohen and others, to buy houses in Hydra and lay the foundations of a foreign community that exists to this day. Generally at some point in time, every global celebrity has set foot in Hydra. For Hydra this is not of great importance, since here ordinary people and celebrities are the same.
So Hydra became a destination mainly in the 60s when famous people from all over the world, such as Lennon, Clapton, Rolling Stones, Onassis and Callas, Pax Harrison, Peter Ustinov and many others passed through here, as well as a source of inspiration for many people of the spirit and the arts, such as Xatzikyriakos, Gikas, Seferis, Eggonopoulos, Henry Miller, Tetsis, Byzantios ...
The Recent Past
From 1970 onwards Hydra is organized "touristically" acquiring very good infrastructures. Many mansions were renovated and turned into traditional hotels, of high standard, preserving their historical form, while at the same time paying special attention to detail.
The same happened with many simple houses that were converted into cozy guesthouses, in which the visitor feels as if he is at home.
Little by little, Hydra turned into a nearby destination, not only for romantic holidays, but also a place for business meetings, conferences and seminars, combining work with fun and holidays.
Long before the end of the last century, the Nautical Club of Hydra began to organize twice a year, in autumn and spring, world-renowned sailing races, with the result that the island is flooded with hundreds sailboats and yachts with colorful sails.
For the last two years, Hydra has hosted distinguished Greek and foreign athletes, as well as those who want to participate in a two-day sports event with mountain running competitions, which offers athletes and spectators a unique experience of intensity and a lot action
For many years now, Greeks and foreigners have discovered in Hydra, the ideal romantic destination to celebrate their weddings, since the Hydraians have made sure to offer all the necessary services for the preparation of the ceremony.< /p>
Hydra continued to be a meeting place for artists and to "produce" its own painters and writers, such as Panagiotis Tetsis, who is the greatest living painter of modern Greece, who was born and lives here.< /p>
Besides the very important Museums of Hydra, in which its glorious history is unfolded and revived, in the recent past the School of Fine Arts was founded which encourages young artists, while throughout time Greeks and foreigners continue to produce the work them with a "traditional style".
In 1983 Dakis Ioannou founded DESTE, a cultural institution of contemporary art, which since 2009 has housed projects of various young artists.
From then until today, the Hydra people have made sure that their island preserves all its elements from its glorious past. The Mansions of the island, buildings over 200 years old, many of which have become Museums, the Battlements with cannons, which protected the settlement of Hydra, the Historical Archive-Museum of Hydra, which displays important museum relics, archival material and a library with valuable publications, the Ecclesiastical and Byzantine Museum of Hydra which exhibits vestments, relics, tributes and images mainly from the 18th century , along with the romantic aura radiated by today's Hydra, makes visitors come back to Hydra again and again.
