Quarantine Buildings
The quarantine buildings are the twin structures on the East side of Hydra Harbour between the Miaoulia Terrace and Historical Archive Museum of Hydra. The left building is now used as a community hall and exhibition centre, named for the Greek actress, Melina Mercouri, who was also the Minister of Culture in 1981. The other of the two buildings is now used as the home of the Hydra Voluntary Emergency Services (ground floor) and the offices of the Hellenic Coast Guard (port authorities).
The plague of 1792 killed a large part of the population, and many families temporarily moved away. As a result, the town was almost completely abandoned for a while.
Quarantine and Lazarettos on HYDRA 200 years ago.
Quarantine was described as “the greatest annoyance for travellers to Greece” in the 1800s.
During the 1700s there were two quarantine stations (Lazarettos) in Hydra – one was on the islet opposite Vlychos and the other was on the site of the present Melina Mercouri Hall.
In 1828, stringent new quarantine regulations were introduced throughout Greece and the first new lazarettos were built on Aegina, Syros, Spetses and Hydra. By then, the lazaretto in Vlychos had already fallen into disuse (it was described as a ruin at that time). The new quarantine laws were rigidly enforced, but, to the frustration of travellers, the length of quarantine varied from 10 – 40 days and was liable to constant fluctuations.
The new quarantine station on Hydra was at Mandraki and received particular praise: "Hydra has one of the best lazarettos in Greece. It is a spacious new building, situated at Mandraki. The rooms are good, well arranged, clean, and well ventilated. Attached to the lazaretto is an extensive yard for exercise. Provisions, however, at Hydra are dearer than in any other part of Greece, owing to the barrenness of the soil”. This was written by an English voyager in 1841 – but the last sentence could just as well have been written today.
Researched by Corinna Seeds © and published 1/7/2020
