Prefecture of Fokida / Naval Museum

The Navy and Ethnological Museum of Galaxidi is one of the first and most prominent in the country. It is an old building, which was built in 1870, when Dedousis Hardavellas was the mayor of the city and until 1880 it was girls' school. Later in this building was the Police and the Town hall until 1979, when the Town hall was transferred in the building Tsalaggira, where it is until today. In the two big rooms of the building where the Archaeological museum and the Navy and Ethnological museum are,many objects about boats and the sea are exhibited and is called “Naval Art gallery”. The founder of the Art gallery in 1928 is doctor Efth. Vlamis.The first materials of the collection were paintings of vessels, naval instruments and figure - heads. Various objects were gathered until 1960, when the chairman was Zoe Tziggouni (1890-1972) and Curator of the Museum was the captain and navigator Ac. Mpompogiannis (1886-1967), who was a tireless collector of the Museum. Then, more objects were assembled, arranged, recorded and categorized.

When N. Tsantilis was the chairman the museum was officially called Naval Museum of Galaxidi. Rodoula Koumari-Stathaki played an important role in the organisation of the Art gallery from 1974 until today.Among the exhibits of the Art gallery are paintings, which represent the boats, whose owners had them created by Greek or foreigner painters and had them in the lounges of their houses. A lot of paintings were created in Venice, Marseille, Livorno, Malta by extinguished Italian and other painters, from 1861 and afterwards. Many paintingsa were created by Greek painters. The art of boat painting was “photographic”, that is they painted the side of the boat that they could see. Their work was very detailed. Other exhibits are the figure-heads (female shapes that were placed in the front part of the boat to decorate it and for the exorcism of the waves), the naval instruments (sextants, compasses, lamps of course etc), the shipping registers of the boats of Galaxidi, charter parties, premiums, diplomas, timetables, exhibits from the revolution in 1821 and the paintings of the popular painter and captain Petros Petrantzas (1857-1942).

In a glass showcase there is "The Chronicle of Galaxidi", written in 1703 by the priest-monk Efthimio that was found and published by K.N Sathas in 1865. In the small hall there are ethnological and historical objects from the long-lasting martial life of the area. Finally in the museum there are the works of popular painters and craftsmen. Today the preservation of the exhibits of the Museum and the reconstruction of the building is made with the financing of the Institution "Stavros S. Niarchos".