Spetses Anargyrios School

Location: Town

The Anargyrios and Korgialenios School of Spetses was funded in 1927 and was named after its benefactors Sotirios Anargyros and Marinos Korgialenis. When the school opened for the first time, it had only 4 students. However, by the time the institution shut down in 1983, it had many graduates who worked in important posts in Greece and abroad. Note that the school had only male students.

The Anargyrios Mansion is a remarkable Neoclassical structure and was used as part of the school complex which also housed a theater and many sports facilities. It is still used for national and international educational and research purposes. A plethora of conferences have been held (and continue to take place) within its premises.

The founders

Sotirios Anargyros was born in Spetses in 1849 to a wealthy and powerful family. After many years of traveling, he settled in America in 1883 where he set up a cigarette manufacturing unit. He later sold the company and returned to Spetses where he lived until his death in 1918. His return was pivotal; he constructed the island's first aqueduct, bought a large area of land to reforest it, resurrected the local pine forest, and established the famous Poseidonion Hotel.

Marinos Korgialenios, a businessman, was born in 1830 in Argostoli. During the 1860s, he was setting up companies in London and Marseilles and also banking houses. Following his death in 1910, his estate was used for national, social, and educational purposes. He also left behind a large sum of money which helped to establish the school.

Official website: akss.gr