Hydra Merchant Marine Academy

Location: Town

The National Merchant Marine Academy of Hydra is the first naval academy in Greece and the oldest school of its kind that is still in operation. It was founded in 1749 as a school but turned into a nautical academy around 1800. In 1930, its name was again changed and it became the Merchant Marine Academy of Hydra, the name that it bears to this day.

Before the Greek Revolution, Portuguese and Italian instructors taught naval theory and foreign languages at this school. Since 1930, the academy has been housed in a mansion where Anastasios Tsamados and Athanasios Koulouras lived. The manor was given to the State to be used for the sake of the academy.

During German occupation and up to 1948, the academy was operating in Poros and then in Piraeus, but in 1949 it returned to its birth town. The first boat the academy acquired was the trawler Agios Georgios of the fisherman Evangelos Tsigaris. The second boat was called Electra and the third one was Evgenios Evgenidis. Due to the prestige of the academy, the naval cadets are allowed to go on container ships as crew to get practical experience.

The compulsory service for the students amounts to four years. To date, the academy has more than 5,000 graduates.

Moreover, a memorial in honor of the graduates who lost their lives during World War II sits in the Merchant Marine Academy's courtyard.