Collections of the Hellenic Maritime Museum

Collections of the Hellenic Maritime Museum

The exhibition area of the Hellenic Maritime Museum consists of 9 halls and the course followed by visitors is linear following the shape of the site.

Currently, 2,500 chronologically and thematically classified items are exhibited in its rooms, bringing to life, in front of the eyes of the visitors, the proud naval history and tradition ranging from the prehistoric years to present time:

Prehistoric and Ancient Age (Halls 1 & 2)
Presented primarily through ship models. From the first sea voyage in the world (documented to have been in the Aegean) to merchant marine activity of the Archaic and Classical Ages to archeological findings.

Byzantine Age (Hall 3)
Represents the marine part of the million year course of Greeks extending in the Byzantine period.

Years prior to the Hellenic War of Independence – The 1821 Navy (Hall 4)
Here are portrayed are the dark years after the Turkish conquest up to the times of the Greek rebirth.

The Navy during Contemporary Years (Halls 5 & 6)
These 2 rooms are dedicated to the Hellenic Navy, covering the years from the establishment of the Modern Greek State to the present day.

Predominant in this hall is the famous Aristotelis Onassis Collections, which includes decorative and historic items which adorned the spaces on board the yacht "Christina".

The Mercantile Marine since 1827 (Hall 7)
Viewed here are nearly all forms of merchant ships from the close of the 19th Century through the 20th Century that highlight the advancements of the Hellenic merchant marine.

Traditional Shipbuilding and Ships from the Mid-18th Century to the 20th Century (Hall 8)
On display here, at the end of the exhibit is the presentation of traditional shipbuilding and the sailing vessels which roamed around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea during the 19th and 20th centuries. For example, peramas, trechantiria, symian skafi, gatzao, trata, karavoskaro, santala, bombarda-polaque and varkalas.


COLLECTIONS

Found off to the right of the entrance. This final Hall is entitled the, "Maritime Art Gallery". This is where portraits of naval figures and Hellenic Maritime Museum donors stand across the way to seascapes and ships. This area is also utilized for lectures and temporary exhibitions.

Its exhibits date from the prehistoric to present times that include nautical instruments, models of ancient and modern ships, maps, flags, medals and weapons.

It also hosts works of art, such as paintings of seascapes made by some of the best Greek painters of the 19th and the 20th Century. All of these displays intend to present the long and glorious naval history.

Moreover, the Hellenic Maritime Museum houses a specialized library with 10,000 volumes and vast archival material, apart from a photo collection. There are also 200 maps dating from the 16th to the 20th Century and the archive of Admiral Kriezis, which has been donated to the Museum.


HISTORICAL ARCHIVE

Considered to be one of the most significant sections of the Maritime Museum, to preserve record, study and document the historical events of the greek nautical history and tradition.

Made up of ver 25,000 pages and covers the years from the Greek rebirth, "palingenesis", through the end of the 20th Century, material is classified in general thematic categories, the most important of which are the following:

Private Archives
Includes archives belonging to figures who played an active part both in the maritime and the political history of Greece. Such archives are those of Antonios Kriezis, Pavlos Kountouriotis, Dimitrios Papachristos etc.

Ship Logbooks
The ship log books are a valuable primary source on navigation as well as on the historical events of each era. The historical archive of the HMM includes among other things the log books of the brig "Themistoklis" (1821), the frigate "Hellas" (1828-1829), the steam brig "Amalia" (1861-1862) etc.

Personal journals
One of the most complete personal journals of the historical archive is that by Dimitrios Balerbas, gunnery petty officer onboard battleship "Psara".

It is an almost daily record of the naval struggle from the first to the last day of the Balkan Wars of the period 1912-1913.

Documents
Includes diplomas, declarations, decrees, memoranda, etc.

Ship signal Registers
Displays hip trademark registers from the period of the Greek War of Independence such as the trademark registers of ships "Terpsihori" and "Socrates", issued in 1825.

The Museum also has a library and a reading room which are open to the public during museum days and hours.