Skiathos Museum of Naval and Cultural Tradition

Location: Town
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

Established in 2015, the Skiathos Museum of Naval and Cultural Tradition is located in the verdant Bourtzi peninsula, inside the beautiful neoclassical building that now houses the Municipal Cultural Center. Consisting of over 600 pieces, its permanent collection takes visitors on a journey through time, narrating the centuries-old maritime and shipbuilding tradition of Skiathos.

This tradition began after the 18th-century Russian-Turkish wars, when the people of Skiathos were granted the right to build small vessels on the island. Later on, skippers were allowed to construct bigger boats and extend their commercial activities over the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The transfer of the island’s capital from the Medieval Castle to the present-day Skiathos Town also gave a huge boost to this shipping activity, with Skiathian sailing ships being greatly admired for their masterful construction, while the island’s maritime economy continued to thrive even after the advent of steamers.

Among the interesting exhibits, visitors will have the chance to see shipbuilding tools and designs, a representation of traditional naval wood-cutting techniques, a rare collection of model ships and nice 19th-century paintings. Moreover, in the section dedicated to ocean-going vessels, there are naval maps and navigation instruments, logs, a representation of a Liberty-type ship deck, models of vessels belonging to the Greek Navy, as well as a small tribute to the Lambros Katsonis submarine, which was sunk off the coast of Skiathos by the Germans in 1943.