St George's Cathedral

Syros

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Proudly capping the medieval hilltop settlement of Ano Syros, this pretty cathedral is the mother church of the Cyclades' significant Roman Catholic minority. Call in to admire the pastel-hued interior and star-fretted barrel roof.

Built in the 1830s, it's the fifth church to stand on this site. The Byzantines built the first in around the 8th century, and the Venetians planted a Catholic cathedral here in 1207. In 1617, the Ottomans burnt it to the ground, hanging the bishop while they were at it. The oldest part of the existing structure is the bare-stone-walled baptistery, off the nave, dating from its 1705 incarnation.

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Nearby Syros attractions

1. Markos Vamvakaris Museum

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This museum celebrates the locally born patriarch of rembetika, a popular style of urban Greek music usually played on bouzouki and guitars.

2. Syros Archaeological Museum

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The town’s small archaeological museum is housed in the rear of the town hall (enter from the side). Founded in 1834 and one of the oldest in Greece, it…

3. Town Hall

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Designed by German architect Franz Ziller, this grand 1889 building is one of the largest town halls in Greece. Visitors are free to explore the foyer,…

4. Apollon Theater

0.56 MILES

Built in the 1860s, this venerable but intimate theatre was partly modelled on La Scala in Milan, with four layers of boxes and an elaborate ceiling…

5. Plateia Miaouli

0.58 MILES

This great square is perhaps the finest urban space in the Cyclades. Once situated immediately upon the seashore, today it sits well inland and is…

6. St Nicholas' Church

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Known locally as St Nicholas of the Rich, referencing the shipowners from the surrounding Vaporia neighbourhood, this beautiful Orthodox church (built in…

7. Church of the Dormition

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After being badly bombed during WWII, it's a wonder anything survived in this stately 1820s Orthodox church – which made the discovery, in 1983, of a…

8. Ermoupoli Industrial Museum

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This excellent chronicle of Syros’ industrial and shipbuilding traditions occupies a restored factory packed with more than 300 well-labelled items…