In the spring of 2023, the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni opened the Archaeological Museum of Kythnos, a vision for the island’s residents who had been waiting for thirty full years for its realization. The Museum is housed in the old, one-room, primary school of Chora, in buildings that were constructed according to the first state school construction program (Royal Decree of 1894), to designs by the public engineer Dimitris Kallias. The structure was granted by the Municipality of Kythnos to the Ministry of Culture.
The Museum’s exhibition concentrates on selected episodes and periods of the island’s history from prehistoric times to the present day. Among them are the Mesolithic settlement of Maroulas, the ancient metallurgical operations that constitute an enduring activity on the island, the ancient city of Kythnos at Vryokastro with its public buildings, sanctuaries and cemeteries, the monasteries and churches of the Byzantine period, as well as the Castle of Oria from the Frankish period.
The creation of the museum was implemented with funding from the Regional Program ESPA 2014-2021 of the Region of South Aegean, with a budget of 1,600,000 euros.
