ARCHITECTURE:National Merchant Maritime Academy of Hydra

The Mansions of Hydra are three and four-storey imposing and austere buildings, closely related to the glorious history of the island. They were built in the late 18th and early 19th Century, an era of economic prosperity for the island, thanks to trade and shipping, and bear Genoese architectural elements. They were built of grey stone ferried from the neighbouring islet of Dokos, the houses were three or four stories high with spacious, high ceilinged rooms. The wealthy ship-owners, having traveled a lot, wanted to “introduce” into Hydra features of the European architecture, to join in the lifestyle of western bourgeois society.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Dimitris Lempesis

Located on the eastern side of Hydra’s port and built between 1780 and 1810, the Tsamados Mansion houses the National Merchant Maritime Academy of Hydra, which is the World’s First Merchant Naval Academy , it has operating continuously since its founding in 1749. In 1930, the school moved to its current location. Though not allowed inside the building, visitors can view the impressive exterior. The Academy started to operate in 1749. At first it was a school with the name “School of Saint Nikolaos” and from the 1800 it operated as Merchant Marine School of Hydra with initiative from the eldership of the island. In the years before the Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution of 1821, foreign teachers from Portugal and Italy mostly, were teaching naval theory and foreign languages in to the Academy. Felice Caserta from Palermo, Sicily, was a teacher and taught at the Academy of Hydra from 1817 until 1821. In 1821 he fought in an Hydraian ship for the Nation’s freedom. Teacher of the Italian language at the Navy School was the Doctor of Laws Joseph Kiappe. At the beginning of the revolution he was the secretary of Anastasios Tasmados and from 1821 and throughout the course of the revolution, the secretary of the community and editor of “Friends of the Law” and Abeille Grecque. Since 1837, the fledgling state was sending in Hydra, Syros and Nafplion navy teachers to teach nautical subjects. In 1867 at the schools of Hydra, Syros, Spetses and Argostoli, had been added a teacher specialist for nautical courses and for this reason are characterized Nautical Schools. In 1927 was established in Hydra the  Private Naval College under the protection of the naval Society of Hydra. In 1930 and with the law of “4511” which established by the State, the National Merchant Maritime Academy of Hydra belongs to the grade of Senior Technical and Vocational Education. From 1930 the Academy is situated to the Mansion where Anastasios Tsamados and Athanasios Koulouras used to live. The owner, Anastasios Tsamados, was a heroic admiral who died during the Greek War of Independence in 1821. It is bestowed to the State exclusively for the operation of the Academy. During the German-Italian occupation the building was requisitioned by the Italians to install their headquarters while the school was operating in Athens, at the offices of the association of shipowners and later in Castella until 1949. On 1 November 1949, the first two classes repatriated to Hydra where the school operates today. Since 1989 the institute of interchangeable education has been applied. According to this, the naval cadets are traveling with containers ships and they get paid for that. The apprenticeship in the Academy is four years. From the Academy have already gratuated 2.800 captains. The Academy’s dorm fireplace consists of single single chambers for each year of education separately newly renovated and very well maintained. The number of students reaches 120. In 2018 the National Merchant Maritime Academy of Hydra signed a memorandum of agreement with SUNY Maritime College in New York to establish an articulation agreement between the two maritime institutions. According to the agreement, Greek students, upon completion of their program at Hydra, will be able to transfer to SUNY Maritime College to earn a Bachelor of Science in Marine Operations. The agreement, signed between Cmdr. H.C.G. Danopoulos Evangelos, of the National Merchant Maritime Academy of Hydra and Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis, president of SUNY Maritime College, also allows the two institutions to develop further partnerships and find additional areas of cooperation.