Perama Museum of Fishery and Shipbuilding Boats

At the Perama Museum of Fishing and Shipbuilding, visitors have the opportunity to observe the material evidence of Perama’s cultural identity and Greek maritime culture, such as the old tools used to build the wooden fishing boats. Planes, saws, hand drills, wooden winches, harpoons… bring to life the art of wooden shipbuilding that once flourished in the Perama shipyards, the boats, trawlers, schooners and “panadika”, and the entire heritage of shipbuilding culture. All this material in the museum underlines how different the relationship was in the past between the object of labour of the seafarers and nature, compared to today. The manual working methods of shipbuilders and fishermen, the organic nature of the materials used in shipbuilding, and the way in which natural resources were exploited, reveal a harmonious and respectful relationship between man and nature.

Today, sails have been replaced by engines, wood by plastic, manual labour by machine power, and the natural management of marine resources by overfishing, resulting in a threat to marine ecosystems. The aim of the museum is to protect and preserve the shipbuilding tradition of the town, but also of the country as a whole, since Perama has played a leading role in this sector. The construction of the museum was financed by the PESCA Community Programme. It is housed in a space donated by the former Ministry of Agriculture and used as a slaughterhouse.