The regional department of the General State Archives is housed in the headquarters of the castle of Chora. Its main purpose is the supervision, preservation, collection, classification and indexing of the archival material of Kythera.
It is worth mentioning that this is one of the greatest Venetian archives of Greece, as the files of the Ionian Islands have been partially or totally destructed. The Kytherian archive material covers a period of four centuries (from the 16th century to the early 20th century), including the years of the Venetian, French and British administration. It includes notary documents, wills, Venetian official documents, censuses and civil status documents.
This archive is a very useful means of genealogical and historical research. In the summer many overseas visitors who originate from the island, visit the department to find out about their genealogy.
There is also a library with an up to date collection of books, magazines and newspapers as well as all versions of the General State Archives. This is not a lending library though, it is only for reading.
Open Hours
The Archive of Kythira is open on weekdays, like the rest of the public services. The Reading Room - Library is open from 09:00 to 15:00.
