Ermoupoli

Ermoupoli was founded in the 1820s by refugees from Chios and Psara, and within a generation it was the busiest port in Greece, with shipyards, banks and a customs house handling more trade than Piraeus. That wealth built a town unlike any other in the islands: Miaouli Square paved in marble with a neoclassical town hall by Ernst Ziller, the Apollo Theatre of 1864 modelled on La Scala, mansions with painted ceilings, and two hills crowned by churches, Ano Syros with its Catholic cathedral, a legacy of Venetian rule and still a Catholic community, and Vrontado with the Orthodox Anastasis. The shipyard still operates. Syros remains the administrative capital of the Cyclades, which keeps the town alive in winter, unlike most island centres.

History

Ermoupoli was founded in the 1820s, during the Greek Revolution, as an extension of the old town of Ano Syros, by refugees from other Greek islands, and it soon became the leading commercial and industrial centre of Greece and its main port; the Greek Steamship Company was founded here in 1856, and thousands of ships were built in the Syros yards. Piraeus overtook it in the late 19th century and the town declined, though it remained the administrative centre of the Cyclades, and around the turn of the 21st century its economy recovered on services, industry, education and tourism (Wikipedia, Ermoupoli).

What to look for

• Miaouli Square - a marble plaza with Ziller's town hall.
• The Apollo Theatre - a small nineteenth-century opera house.
• Ano Syros - the medieval Catholic quarter climbing one hill.
• The mansions - merchant houses along the streets above the port.

When to go

Spring and autumn for walking the steep streets comfortably; the town works year-round because it is a real administrative centre, and winter has a genuine local life rather than shuttered shops.

Good to know

Syros is not a beach island in the usual Cycladic sense, and visitors coming for sand will be disappointed by the small local bays. The town's hills are steep. Some mansions are derelict behind their facades.

Nearby

Ano Syros is above the town; Delos, Mykonos, Tinos and Paros are all short ferry hops.

Key facts