What to see in Aegina

Temple of Aphaia

The temple of Aphaia in Aegina is one of the most impressive buildings of the Late Archaic era. The temple dominates the area of the sanctuary of Aphaia founded by the Aeginites to honor the Minoan deity Aphaia, daughter of Zeus and Karma.

Afaia has been identified by many researchers with Vritomarti and also with Diktynna Artemis. The myth states that Afaia fled to Aegina and hid in a forest, to escape the love rage of the Cretan King Minos. In this forest the Aeginites founded a sanctuary where they honored her. The temple was first built in 570-560 BC but was destroyed by fire.

Archaeological Site of Kolona

One of the attractions in Aegina is the archaeological site of Kolona which is located next to the current port of Aegina and shows the continuation of the long history of the island. The archaeological site got its name from Venetian sailors, thanks to the one and only column that they used for orientation. The oldest traces of habitation in the archaeological site of Kolona go back 5000 years.

The first excavations at the archaeological pillar site in Aegina began as early as the 19th century, the first systematic excavation began in 1921 by Welter. German, Austrian and Greek archaeologists have worked from time to time in the excavations that continue to this day.

Everything shows that in this particular location there was a strong prehistoric settlement with great development. The characteristic column that is preserved today in the archaeological site on top of a hill belongs to a temple of Apollo that was built around the end of the 6th century BC.

Archaeological site in Livadi

In the Livadi area, right after the beach, we will find a free archaeological site on the sea side.

Excavations in the area have revealed ancient tombs, mound remains and tombs of of those who took part in the battle of Salamina.

Immediately after the archaeological site in Livadi we will find the all-white church of Agioi Anargyri and next to it the sandy beach of the same name.

Mansion houses

Aegina is full of stately houses, some of which even belonged to persons known from the history and spiritual life of the Greeks at the time, as well as houses of captains of Aeginites, Athenians and Stereohellaites. Some of them are:

The mansion of the hydra family Voulgaris (shortly before Santa Claus in Perivola, built in 1767)
Historian Finley’s House in Asomatos (built 1826, Red Castle)
The house of Kontostavlos (built in 1829, in Faros)
The house of G. Ireiotis-Kontogiorgis (built in 1817, today houses the Historical & Folklore Museum of Aegina)
The house of admiral Kanaris (near Ethnegersias Square)
The house of Varvakis

Municipal theatre

The building of the Municipal Theater is also located in the center of the city, on the same line as the Einardio Didaskalio and close to the Cathedral of the Metropolis. A neoclassical building in the heart of the city of Aegina.

A cultural center where cultural events of clubs, private bodies and the municipal authority are organized there. Testimonies say that it existed before the Kapodistrian era, but we do not know exactly its use. In 1828 it was initially repaired by the Architect Theodoros Valianos and later by St. Kleanthi and E.Schaubert, and is used as a co-educational School and then as a preparatory School that prepared the students who intended to study at the upper Central School (Einardeio).

Today it is used as a Municipal Theater and for cultural events of the island. The Theater of Aegina is another emblematic building on the island. Cultural heritage of the action of Ioannis Kapodistrias in his effort to rebuild the modern Greek state. The project belonged to the family of Kapodistrian Buildings, which formed the central structure of Greek government buildings after the revolution of 1821.

Einardio Foundation

The Einardian institution is located in the city of Aegina. Just a few minutes from the main port of Aegina, Einardeio is still a historical point both for Aegina and for all of Greece. During the period when Aegina was the first capital of the modern Greek state, the then Governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias, housed in Einardeio the first school for the teachers of the entire country.

A landmark decision for the Greek education system and for Greece as a whole. The Einardian School was built in 1830 according to the plans of the architects S. Kleanthi and E. Schaubert with money offered mainly by the Swiss banker Philhellenas G. Eunardos, a friend of the Governor, and Philhellenic organizations in Switzerland.

A large part of the Greek cultural heritage is gathered in a historic corner of the island. The Einardian Foundation and the rest of the Kapodistrian Buildings are a point of reference in Aegina. The Einardian Foundation is located in the city of Aegina. It is easily accessible on foot from the main port of Aegina, but also from all the other attractions of the city.

Historical and Folklore Museum

The Historical and Folklore Museum is housed in a neoclassical building from 1828. On the first floor we find the “Town House of Aegina” which includes heirlooms of the Ireiotis family, the library, the correspondence and archive of Panagis Ireiotis, as well as old furniture, engravings, paintings , traditional and urban costumes.

Aeginetan lace made with copanelli, white embroidery and various decorative items. On the ground floor we can visit the “Village House” with objects of daily use, textile items, agricultural and

The Government House

The Government House is a modest two-story stone-built building with a wooden tile roof, located near the metropolitan temple of Aegina, in the center of the city. It is a very important building for modern Greek history, as it housed the first government of free Greece and at the same time was the modest residence of the first governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias. On the first floor, the first room was the office and then the Governor’s residence, while the government offices were housed on the ground floor. After the departure of the Governor for Nafplion in 1829, the building became an asylum for the refugees of the Cretan Revolution, a girls’ school, a high school, a Command Hall during the 2nd World War and finally a school again.

Christos Kapralos Museum

In the Plakakia area, 3 km from the port of Aegina to the north and on the coastal road, it is worth making a long stop at the museum of Christos Kapralos, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century in the world.

The Christos Kapralos Museum in Aegina hosts in its rooms and outdoor space a significant number of works from all periods of the artist from 1963 to 1993, during which time he worked mainly on the island of Aegina.

Using a variety of materials (wood, copper, marble, local porolite, plaster, etc.), Christos Kapralos has to present paintings, sculptures, engravings, ceramics and terracotta, among others.

His work is inspired by people’s everyday life, by peace and war, but also by his relationships with his friends and relatives. He represented Greece at the Venice Biennale in 1962 and participated in the São Paulo Biennale in 1975.

Today his works adorn private collections and museums in Europe and America. Some of his most important works that can be admired in this museum are the copy of the frieze “The Monument to the Battle of Pindos”, inspired by the Greek revolution against the Germans, which today adorns one of the halls of the Greek parliament. Also, the bronze statue “The Mother”, placed opposite the museum, gazes at the sea and symbolizes the Greek mother waiting for her sailor son.

The Orphanage

The Orphanage is also known as the Prisons of Aegina. The Orphanage, perhaps the most famous Kapodistrian Building, was the first large public building and played an extremely important role in the history of Greece.

It was created based on the plans and supervision of the Architect Theodoros Valianos, and even today it stands imposingly on the edge of the city. Construction of the building began around the spring of 1828 and was completed a year later. Initially, the purpose of creating the building was to house and treat the orphans of the liberation struggle.

At the same time, it also functioned as a co-educational school, since it housed professional sewing, carpentry, watchmaking, bookbinding, shoemaking, printing, etc. workshops. The first National Library, the National Printing Office, the first Archaeological Museum with the Director Andrea Moustoxydis Corfu scholar, the first Numismatic Collection, Conservatory, etc. Later the Orphanage functioned as a Military School of Evelpida, a sanitarium, a psychiatric hospital but also as a maximum security prison for criminal and political convicts. A building that was an important place for modern Greece.

Palia Chora

Palia chora of Aegina is the medieval capital of the island. It is located on a high rocky hill that offers natural protection and was not difficult to fortify. The capital of Aegina must have been moved to Paliachora around the 10th century due to the fear of pirates.

In the same fortified position, in ancient times there was the city of Oia or Oii, many of its architectural elements were used in the building of the new city. In Paliachora today, only 38 churches are preserved in good condition, which give us a measure of the city’s development during the Venetian occupation. Unfortunately, no elements of the city’s fortifications or urban architecture survive, as in the centuries that followed life moved back to the coastal area of Aegina

The Tower of Markellos

The Tower of Markellos is located inside the city of Aegina. Built in 1802 it is a historical and unique attraction for the island of Aegina. In 1826, the Anti-Government Committee was established in it, when the Government was transferred to Aegina.

The tall imposing red building impresses visitors for its Peloponnesian-style construction and battlements. The building also housed the treasury of the Greek State for a while.

The Tower took its name from the MP Spyros Markellos. Great figures of the time were found in Pyrgos as Ioannis Kapodistrias used it strategically.