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395

396

12

GREEK LIBRARIES AND READING-ROOMS

IN THE CITY OF SERRES DURING THE LATE OTTOMAN RULE
Petros C. Samsaris
Philologist-Historian

ABSTRACT
The city of Serres developed a great cultural activity and it was one of the most important edu
cational centres of Macedonian Hellenism during the late centuries of the Ottoman rule. What was
needed was the establishment of school, associational-public Libraries and Reading-rooms as well.
The oldest reference about a pre-Revolutionary Library in the city is in a note, which had been
written by the bishop Gabriel (1735-1754) on the Code of the Metropolis of Serres -that is lost
today- in the second quarter of the 18th century and it has to do with the Greek School of
Serres. This precious Code gives us information about the organization of a Library that was
founded by the schoolteacher Argyrios Paparizos, who had spent a large amount for buying
books (1828). The wise schoolteacher Emmanuel Fotiadis of Serres also enriched the Library
with didactical books (1837-1843).
The second school of the city, which continues the historical route of the Greek School of
Serres, is the six-year High School (which is recognized since 1884). We have more information
about its well-stocked Library. The headmasters had presented a great interest in the registra
tion of the manuscripts of the collection; a few of the manuscripts date the Byzantine period.
The Library of the Teachers College -the first in European Turkey- was founded in 1872 by
the "Macedonian Pro-educational Association of Serres" (1870) and it was really remarkable. The
second Library of the same Association had a public character and it also had a book guard.
The classification of its books was excellent.
The unique Reading-rooms ("Anagnostirion") in the city of Serres offered the habitants' popu
lar, amusing or educational printed subject, newspapers and magazines. The three Associations:
the "Macedonian Pro-educational" (1870), the "Ourania" (1874) and the Club of Serres (before
1903) owned these Reading-rooms. The magnificent building of the Association "Orpheas" (1905)
had a central theatrical hall, three large rooms for the teaching of music and dramatic recita
tion. These rooms were also used as a Library and a Reading-room.
Our knowledge involving the historical Libraries and the Reading-rooms of this ancient
Macedonian city would have been richer today, if the sensitive material of their collections had
not been burnt twice during the catastrophic fires (1849 and 1913), which destroyed the Greek
part of the city completely, or even if the written monuments of the city had been saved from
the
ruinations
and
the
sacks
by
our
northern
neighbours.
Keywords: Historical Libraries and Reading-rooms, School Libraries, Associational-Public
Libraries and Reading-rooms, Education, Pro-educational Associations- Fraternities, Collections
of Manuscripts and Printed Matter

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22. , ., 1866. ,
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