NISYROS > MUSEUMS

Historical and Folklore Museum

The Historical and Folklore Museum of Nisyros is housed in an 18th century, two-storey mansion, which has been restored by the municipality. The rooms have been modelled after the rooms of a traditional house on Nisyros and include a kitchen, a kiln, a bedroom, etc.

The museum includes artefacts of folklore art, mainly useful and not decorative, which have gradually disappeared in the passage of time. Objects that were used in the past by Nisyrians in their everyday labours are exhibited, such as hoes, sickles, troughs, jars, etc. There is also photographic material and other souvenirs of the past, which were owned by locals who played an important role in the history of Nisyros. Other exhibits of folklore culture are items of embroidery, weaving, documents, books, coffers and various handicrafts.

The bedroom, the so-called “moni,” poses some interest. There is the traditional bed on which the whole family used to lie and which included two storage spaces, the cellar and the “glavani” (hatch) where clothes, sheets and other items would be stored.

Ecclesiastical Museum

The Ecclesiastical Museum of Nisyros is home to heirlooms mainly from the area of the Monastery of Panagia Spiliani and the parish of Panagia Potamitissa. The material is abundant, including everything from old vigil candles, chalices, incenses and ecclesiastical utensils to old gospels of the early 19th century, crosses, old seal etc. A great collection of coins and paper money is included, both Greek and foreign, from the donations of the faithful as well as various oblations and dedications mainly to Panagia Spiliani. Other items that have been collected are connected with ecclesiastical ordinances, such as an old font, wedding dresses, wedding ornaments and jars with which the brides of Nisyros washed themselves before the wedding. Various items are also exhibited that are connected to the festival of Panagia Spiliani, such as old kettles where the “revithada” was cooked (chick-pea soup) and clay plates on which it was eaten. There is also a collection of icons of the 19th and early 20th century and a copy of the marble chancel screen that Panagia Spiliani used to have.