{"id":76538,"date":"2020-11-23T17:44:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T15:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oll.gr\/?page_id=76538"},"modified":"2020-11-26T13:20:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T11:20:32","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oll.gr\/en\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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History<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In ancient times, the name \u2018Workshops<\/strong>\u2019 used to refer to a place where the processing facilities used for the enrichment of the silver lead ores of Lavreio were located.<\/span><\/p>

Later in time, this name was also given to the facilities equipped with smelting furnaces. The latter existed in the port of Lavreio, as evidenced by the presence there of a large quantity of 322,793<\/strong> tons of ancient slag, which even contained silver lead and which were first mixed by the company Ilarion Roux et Cie. Based on that evidence, it is assumed that the location continued to be referred to as \u2018Workshops\u2019 until modern times.<\/span><\/p>

The almost deserted port was called \u2018Porto-Argastiriakia<\/strong>\u2019 (meaning small port close to Laboratories) and then, with the resumption of the redevelopment works, the name slightly changed to the \u2018Port of Ergastirion\u2019 (meaning big port close to Laboratories), a name that the whole area of Lavreio was named after.<\/span><\/p>

The piles of slag that enclose like walls the southern hill of the port, these inanimate metallurgical remains, first gave breath and light to the area of Lavreotiki, which had been desolated and neglected for centuries. The area close to the port where the workshops were located, was actually the last hub of the region of Lavreio in antiquity, but it was also the first place to show any signs of activity after being idle for centuries.<\/span><\/p>

Eventually, within a few years, the deserted bay next to the \u2018Laboratories\u2019 started receiving large sailboats and steamships from most European countries, gradually becoming a European port. It was the pier that was first built and then a 200-meter pier with a waterfront followed. Also, in the south and north sides of the port, a kind of protective waterfront was erected and in front of the metallurgical plant<\/span>,<\/span> a 10-kilometre road was laid to enable horse-drawn carriages to transport necessary materials,<\/span> such as fuel and various products, to be used for the needs of the port and other related projects.<\/span><\/p>

Between 1865 and 1873, the port had an annual traffic of 40,000 tonnes, of which about 10,000 were metallic silver lead in ingots exported to Europe – close to half of France’s total production. The Customs of Lavrio had already been established before 1869 and the building that housed it had been built and it still survives today. At present, it houses the service of the Port Authority. In the early 1870s, it was the only port in Greece to which ships with a capacity of over 1,600 tons transporting fuel and metallurgical products were moored.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A vivid description of the port\u2019s activity in 1871 is given by Ch. Ledoux: \u2018Greek, French and English ships arrive at the port. Large 1,000-ton sailboats loaded with coal have sailed from Newcastle. A steamer that has just arrived from Marseilles, is moored on the pier and from its wide sides come out engine parts, tools, wagons, scaffolding rails. A ship of the Greek navy can be seen a little farther\u2026 Around these heavy volumes, boats with triangular beautiful sails glide. They transport vegetables, fruits, and fish from the islands of the Archipelago.\u2019<\/span><\/p>

With the establishment and operation of the two large companies of Lavrio, the Greek (1873) and the French (1875), which developed the mining-metallurgical projects of Lavrio, the port facilities were actually expanded and modernised to meet the great needs that had arisen. In 1881, the waterfront of the previous company, Ilarion Roux et Cie, was expanded by the successor company, Elliniki, and in 1888 it reached 6,000 m<\/span>2<\/span><\/sup>. It was built of stone and its warehouses had a capacity of 20,000 tons. Other development projects included: the building with the clock (1875) that housed the sector that supervised the port operations, the Chemistry Lab, for which the original building which was held by the predecessor company was used. There, two extensions were made, one in 1874 and the second in 1877. The Chemistry Lab was used for the analysis of incoming and outgoing materials and products. Also, an architrave rail was designed, that is, erected stone walls one apart from the other, over which a railway ran though. This development assisted in the loading and unloading of products and to further facilitate the process, the structure was equipped with steam cranes, the so-called Greek \u2018Skala\u2019 (Wharf). These mechanical means allowed loading and unloading of 100 tons per hour.<\/span><\/p>

There were also automatic scales for weighing various materials and products. To cover the local needs, the Hellenic Society had <\/span>Nikias<\/i><\/span>, a steamer with a 40-ton capacity, a dredger for the retrieval of ancient slags from the coastal sites, several large barges as well as many small ones.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Port Character<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The character of the port was industrial-commercial as well as<\/span> suitable for passengers. With the start of the works, <\/span>Lavreion<\/i><\/span>, the steamer of the Ilarion Roux et Cie company, sailed regularly to and from Piraeus within two hours. In 1878, the steamer was sold by the successor, Hellenic Society. Afterwards, the transportation was carried out by the approaching steamships of the various Greek steamship companies and from 1885 with the Attiko Railway. Small sailboats transported food for the population of Lavreio from the coastal cities of the Peloponnese and the islands.<\/span><\/p>

The port’s products were exported to Europe from the port: metallic silver lead, ores, fired calamine, ferrous and ferro manganese. Later, the by-products of hard lead were also available in the Greek market: arsenic acid, soft lead and lead in sheets, stoneware,<\/span> primer and silver. Fuels, coal, coke, machinery and various materials were imported from Europe, and ores from Central Asia and the Mediterranean countries.<\/span><\/p>

Indicatively, the steamships that sailed in 1888 were 120 and reached 231 in 1899, and the transported volume of products from the port rose from 40,000 tons in the 1860s to 450,000 tons in 1899. Additionally, the capacity of the floating steamers rose to 5,000 tons.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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French Wharf<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With the establishment and operation of the two large companies of Lavrio, the Greek (1873) and the French (1875), which developed the mining-metallurgical projects of Lavrio, the port facilities were actually expanded and modernised to meet the great needs that had arisen. In 1881, the waterfront of the previous company, Ilarion Roux et Cie, was expanded by the successor company, Elliniki, and in 1888 it reached 6,000 m<\/span>2<\/span><\/sup>. It was built of stone and its warehouses had a capacity of 20,000 tons. Other development projects included: the building with the clock (1875) that housed the sector that supervised the port operations, the Chemistry Lab, for which the original building which was held by the predecessor company was used. There, two extensions were made, one in 1874 and the second in 1877. <\/span><\/p>

The Chemistry Lab was used for the analysis of incoming and outgoing materials and products. Also, an architrave rail was designed, that is, erected stone walls one apart from the other, over which a railway ran though. This development assisted in the loading and unloading of products and to further facilitate the process, the structure was equipped with steam cranes, the so-called Greek \u2018Skala\u2019 (Wharf)<\/strong>. These mechanical means allowed loading and unloading of 100 tons per hour.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Important Historic Facts<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is worth noting some historical events, which are directly related to the port of the Laboratories:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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