UNDER CREATION FOUNDATION
SERIFOS HISTORICAL MINES
SERIFOS HISTORICAL MINES
Serifos, beyond its lacy coasts and its rugged characteristic landscape, hides since ancient times in its viscera a treasure that makes it special among the other Cyclades: the iron.
This wealth was exploited from 1870 to 1964 by various mining companies, that left behind a rich material, which till today remains inexhaustible: kilometers of underground tunnels, buildings and infrastructure projects that served the mining operation and a huge railway network with wagons penetrating the island’s interior, climbing peaks, descending slopes and ending at loading bridges can be seen all over the south part of the island.
The deposit of iron in Serifos is one of the most interesting deposits in Greece!
ΚΟΙΝΩΦΕΛΗΣ ΦΟΡΕΑΣ
ΜΕΤΑΛΛΕΙΑ ΣΕΡΙΦΟΥ
Ανάδειξη της μεταλλευτικής ιστορίας της Σερίφου.
Το κοίτασμα σιδήρου της Σερίφου αποτελεί ένα από τα πλέον ενδιαφέροντα κοιτάσματα στην Ελλάδα!
Enjoy the new Experience
The Foundation “Serifos Historical Mines” is being established to highlight the mining history of Serifos.
The under creation non-profit foundation aims to protect and highlight the mining cultural heritage and history of Serifos, including the industrial buildings and the infrastructure that once belonged to the Societé des Mines de Sériphos et de Spiliazeza au Laurium
GOALS OF THE
FOUNDATION
The creation of two open-air mining parks
The creation of two open-air mining parks at the Mega Livadi and Koutalas, in the context of which two main tunnels will be maintained and highlighted, connecting the areas of Kalogeros with Mega Livadi and Malliadiko with Koutalas.
Study and restoration of the thermal baths, the thermometallic springs of Almyros, near the village of Mega Livadi
The creation of a website
The creation of a website with information about the mines, historical, photographic and bibliographic material, including the digitized archive of the French company Societé des Mines de Sériphos et de Spiliazeza (au Laurium), from which the lands of this project were acquired.
Temporary exhibitions of contemporary / modern art
Temporary exhibitions of contemporary / modern art, visual installations, cultural events, concerts, theater performances and more.
Μapping and recording of the tunnels’ network
The Agency’s vision includes the mapping and recording of the tunnels’ network, their maintenance and their accessibility to the public, either in the form of an interactive museum for all or as a specialized field of action for relevant schools / faculties in Greece or abroad for metallurgy workshops, research missions, summer schools, conferences, educational tests-experiments, etc.
The mining tunnels in abundance at the south-west part of Serifos are suitable to potentially be used as innovative natural tools of energy production or energy storage tanks (storage of green energy, housing and cooling of PC servers, cooling of homes, etc)
Study for the restoration of the loading bridge in Mega Livadi
The Foundation’s immediate goal is to set a study for the restoration of the loading bridge in Mega Livadi which is in extreme danger due to the high degree of erosion and to implement it after the proper research and survey.
Construction
A sustainable form of buildings construction is also proposed, which will follow the historical architectural patterns of the buildings that served the mines.
In the context of the creation of small protected marine areas (fish-banks) but also the development of diving tourism, the Foundation aims to the creation of a diving park, where the submerged remains of the loading ladders of Koutalas and Mega Livadi will be accessible. An underwater museum with works of contemporary art by local or international artists is also foreseen.
