The Historical Archive of Kythera is housed in the castle headquarters in Chora. And –taking into consideration the bad state of the other Ionian islands’ archives, due to the partial or total damage sustained- it is one of the most important Venetian archives all over Greece!
The material kept at the Kytherian archive covers a period from the 16th century until the beginning of this century, it is also divided in parts previous to the Venetian period and after the period of British rule. It includes notarial documents, wills, Venetian official documents, census papers, civil status, judicial and ecclesiastical documents. The notarial record of Kythera includes protocols of 128 notaries running from 1563 to 1914 – amongst them the important documents concerning the relation between Kythera and Crete during the 17th -18th century. Similarly, another group of documents refers to the relation between Monemvasia and Kythera. Many visitors from abroad, mainly expatriates from Australia, visit the Historical Archive during summer in order to track down their family tree, the origin of their name, documents relating to properties etc.
