A walking tour of colourful Ermoupoli in Syros
ou know you’re in the heart of the Cyclades when you’re in Ermoupoli, the port-town of Syros, because the grandness of the Town Hall announces that this is the administrative capital of Greece’s best-known island chain. Only that everything around you – the neoclassical architecture, multi-coloured mansion houses and cosmopolitan aura – is nothing like the whitewashed spectacle of other Cycladic islands.
Instead, Ermoupoli tells a different story that is unique to Syros. It was founded by settlers from nearby islands (such as Chios, Samos and Kasos), as well as various cities of Asia Minor, who fled here during the 1821 revolution against the Turks, when Syros was under the protection of the French.
Through the enterprise of the new residents, Syros flourished and by the middle of the 19th century became a commercial, industrial and shipping centre – second only in importance and population to Athens. It was named after Hermes, the god of merchants and messengers, and as its riches grew so did its thriving artistic and cultural scenes. Even today, it has a population of 12,000, giving it a year-round vibrancy.
Source : https://www.discovergreece.com
