The Museum

History

Τhe CHIOS MARITIME MUSEUM is the realisation of  its founders’ dream  that the modern Greek Merchant Navy acquires a museum of its history on Chios, one of its most significant centres, now located in an attractive, panhellenic house-museum.

 The Chios Maritime Museum is housed in the traditional residence of the late Anastassis and Marouko Pateras in the centre of town. It was donated by their descendants to the eponymous public benefit foundation in 1991. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, it is two-storeys high and an example of the island’s neoclassic style, with its  characteristically fine painted ceilings. In recent years, the interior spaces and the garden have been renovated and designed to present the exhibits in a cohesive way to bring together the rich maritime and commercial tradition of the island that travels across the world.

The core of the Maritime Museum was the small but significant collection donated by The Progressive Cultural Association of Vrontados (PEKEV), which has since been  enriched by other exhibits, mainly of ship’s models and other nautical artefacts.

Objectives

Everyone is aware of the centuries-old contribution that Chians made to shipping and trade. One of the main objectives of the Museum is to illustrate this most significant part of the island’s life in the best possible way; by collecting objects and classifying historical elements of its maritime tradition, as well as chronicling the developments in shipping and of merchant vessels.

Special emphasis has been given to the period of shipping after the Second World War characterised by the Liberty ships as well as other types of vessels which were built during the war, which ushered in the ‘golden age’ of post-war Greek mercantile shipping.

Activities - Events

The Museum’s activities include lectures and conferences on subjects related to Chios and shipping, as well as collaborations with other Greek maritime museums and the University of the Aegean.

The Building

The Maritime Museum is located centrally in Chios and was built between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in a neoclassical island style. It has high-ceilinged rooms with unique painted ceilings and many windows, and the interior spaces and in the garden have been designed in such a way so that the exhibits are showcased in an integrated and authentic setting.

The Garden

The monument in the garden of the Chios Maritime Museum, designed by Alexander Kokkinos, commemorates the memory of hundreds of merchant mariners from Chios, Oinousses and Psara who lost their lives during the Second World War.

The Library: A beacon of maritime history

The Chios Maritime Museum houses a library on the first floor of which has approximately 3,500 books, mainly Greek but also other languages, mainly on nautical subjects with some general content, as well.

The late Efstathios Batis (1912-2012) was both the inspiration and the initial donor; when he donated his personal library in September 2004. Initially it had 1300 titles, which he continued to add to even shortly before his death.

The library has a public reading room.