Welcome to the renovated website
of the Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala.
Important announcements
We have some important announcemets about the activities of our Archives.
- We will start by expressing our discontent and protest to the Minister of Economics, the political parties and the members of the greek Parliament for having voted for all the cruel austerity measures, which affect not only the greek citizens but also the economics of all Institutes that promote greek Culture, History and Tradition. Not even the Society of Macedonian Studies was excluded from this policy, despite the huge service that provides to our country.
- DESPITE THE HARSH TIMES and our financial impoverishment, we explicitly declare that WE WILL NOT SUSPEND ANY OF OUR ACTIVITIES, because we believe that we cannot be deprived of the satisfaction we get from the cultural and historical service that we provide to our homeland.
- We announce the digital publication of the Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Balkan Historical Studies that was held in Kavala in September, 2010.
The Proceedings consist of 3 volumes of 1486 pages in total. They contain exquisite papers of great interest and are posted at our website in pdf format. The third volume includes exclusively Balkan History.CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Proceedings page.
The above 3 volumes are available free of charge via our website for anyone that want to study them or perform any other legal use. We hope that, by the summer of 2013, we will be granted the promised subsidy by the State and the Proceedings will be printed and dispersed to the public, Libraries etc. - We announce the 4th International Conference of Balkan Historical Studies, entitled:
KAVALA AND THE BALKANS
1. ARCHAEOLOGY - MODERN HISTORY - ART - CULTURE
FROM ANTIQUITY UNTIL TODAY
2. KAVALA AND THE BALKAN WARS
WARFARE, POLITICAL, CULTURAL, FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL FACTS
100 YEARS OF LIBERTY. REVIEWS, JUDGEMENTS, COMPARISONS, CONCLUSIONS AND EXPECTATIONS.Kavala, September 13th-15th, 2013
Specifics of the extended Conference Theme.
***
The Conference Theme includes the following:- All topics related to the events that took place in the region of Kavala during the period of the Balkan Wars, that is, from 1911-12 until 1914. Relevant topics also include papers concerning the start of World War I.
- The activities of Greek and foreign archaeological researchers in the area. This includes findings, publications and other contributions to the knowledge of the historical past over the last century (1912 - 2012). Also invited are submissions addressing unresolved archaeological issues - such as locating specific cities and temples in the area. Issues related to the development of new research technologies are also included.
- For contributors focusing on Balkan history, the list of relevant subjects includes all topics (politics, warfare, economy, society) related to the participation of the Balkan states in the Balkan wars insofar these had an impact on Greece. Also welcome are works related to studies conducted by the Balkan states about the consequences of the Balkan Wars and the post-1913 state borders.
- The names of the members of the Organizing Committee and other useful information will be announced soon.
- Telephone number for any additional information: +30 2510 222830, Mr. Nikolaos Roudometof, Secretary of the Organizing Committee and President of H.L.A.K.
Download participation form (doc-EN)
The form can be sent to H.L.A.K.'s address or as an e-mail attachment to: histarchiv@otenet.gr.
Abstracts of the papers (1 A4 page maximum) should be sent until June, 30th, 2013 as e-mail attachments to: histarchiv@otenet.gr or to the address:Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala (ΙΛΑΚ)
183 Omonoias Str., Kavala, Greece, Postal Box 1548, Postal Code 651 10.
Telephone: +30 2510 222830, FAX: +30 2510 837880.***
Our identity
The oldest archival folders of the Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala have been retrieved in 1959. The oldest book of our library is:
"Stefanou Peri Poleon", by Stefanos Vizantios,
printed in 1521 by Philippos Iountas at the homonymous printery of Florence. The olderst documents of the Archives are one-leaf scripts of the Greek Revolution of 1821, as well as other documents of that era.
The current official form of the Archives was established in 1996, when it was obvious that its size was so great, that had to be organized by modern methods, based on exemplary scientific institutes. This was the only way to present to the public the precious historical material that it has been collecting for the past 50 years.
It is purely a non-profiteering, public utility foundation.
The foundation of the Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala is not subsidized by the Greek State, neither by any other enterprise of the private sector. Its operational cost is covered only by its founders and by infrequent aids of the local self-government.
Objectives
The objectives of the Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala are mainly the following:
- Presentation of its rich historical Archives by specialized researchers, via publications of books, CD-ROMs, multimedia and internet, as well as by the organization of exhibitions and conferences. Our persistent aim is all presentations to take place not only in Greek, but also in other major European languages, in order to give the foreigners the opportunity to know us better.
- Disposal of its rich and very specialized historical library to the needs of any researcher.
- Detailed study and presentation of our photographic Archive via publications of books, albums, CDs, DVDs, multimedia and internet, as well as by regular exhibitions of the archival material.
- Interconnection with similar existing Archives of Greece and abroad, aiming to the co-operation, common research and mutual support. The communication with foreign Archives is achived by the organization of Conferences, Seminars, lectures and exhibitions. Also, we encourage the presentation of foreign Archives in Greece and pursue our own abroad, because we believe in the cultural and historical approach and co-operation of all nations.
- Continuous enrichment and classification of the material that we have been intensively collecting in our Achives. The material includes all kinds of historical, cultural and literary evidence, as well as anything related to the local folklore of Kavala.
Dear fellows of our Archives
We collect old documents, photographs, letters, carte-postale, commercial transaction documents (mail, invoices, certificates, booklets etc.), professional archives (from unions, services, lawyers, notaries, engineers, scientists, contractors, commercial ventures and small industries). We are also interested in old newspapers, journals, books and generally anything that it might seem outdated or needless. Give us a call and we will come to your place and pick up any of the above.
Thus, you become our valuable partners and you help us preserve the History of our land. We are located in 183 Omonoias Str., Kavala, Greece.
Telephone number: 0030-2510-222830. E-mail address: histarchiv@otenet.gr.
