The Silk Museum is located in Soufli, a town indelibly linked with silk. It is housed in the Kourtidis Mansion (1883), a fine example of the region's "manor-house" architecture. The Mansion, where Dr. Konstantinos Kourtidis (1870-1944) lived, was donated by his daughter, Maria Kourtidi-Pastra, for housing a museum dedicated to silk. The Museum comprises two buildings situated around an inner yard: the old Kourtidis mansion and the two-storey "cocoon house".
The permanent exhibition presents all stages of pre-industrial sericulture and silk manufacture. It also tracks the history of silk over time, focusing on how the town of Soufli became a major silk-production centre from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.
History
The Silk Museum opened its doors in 1990. It is housed in the Kourtidis Mansion in Soufli, in the Prefecture of Evros, and functions under the responsibility of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation.
The Kourtidis Mansion
Konstantinos Kourtidis (1870-1944) was a doctor, scholar and politician. In his time, the Mansion was a centre of national decisions for Thrace. Built in 1883 by local craftsmen, it is a building of outstanding architectural beauty and a notable example of Thracian bourgeois architecture.
The transformation into a museum
In 1976, Maria Kourtidi-Pastra, Konstantinos Kourtidis' daughter, donated the Mansion so that it might become the Silk Museum. As a result, systematic historical, ethnological and architectural research was undertaken, with a view to organizing the Museum's permanent exhibition on the town's tradition of sericulture and silk manufacturing.
In 2007, the Museum closed temporarily for the renovation of its premises and the radical reorganization of its permanent exhibition. The project was included in the Regional Operational Programme of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace and was funded by the Third Community Support Framework.
The Kourtidis Mansion was restored with genuine materials of its epoch.
The Silk Museum was expanded and reopened according to contemporary museum practices. The new permanent exhibition creatively incorporated contemporary technologies and audiovisual means.
Today, the Silk Museum offers a live experience of the old Thracian tradition of sericulture and silk manufacturing.
The Museum was funded by the European Union and the third community support framework, regional operational programme for the East Macedonia-Thrace 2000-2006.
What is on display?
There are displays in both buildings. In the ground-floor of the later building visitors can study photographs and archival material about the fascinating, multi-faceted personality of Dr. Konstantinos Kourtidis. Specially-made video projections recount the history of silk over time. The main exhibition is on the first floor and presents the pre-industrial process of breeding the silkworm and processing the silk. Different sections focus on "unwinding" the thread of the cocoon, and the dyeing and weaving of silk fabrics; others on everyday life in Soufli in the 20th century. In the old mansion are shown unique Soufliot costumes and accessories of the local attire, but also modern, spectacular Chinese Opera costumes, part of the collection that was donated to the Foundation by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in May 2018.
Audio-visual media help visitors learn about the manifold role of silk as an element of tangible culture across time, but also about Soufli, especially in connection with the town's historical-geographical and ecological-environmental frame of reference.
Of interest to children
The Silk Museum organizes educational programs for primary and secondary education schoolchildren:
"Let's Weave": describes the sericulture cycle, and the weaving and dyeing process for silk fabrics.
"Recycle by weaving": the children weave small carpets from old fabrics, with improvised looms made of a hoop of the type used in gymnastics.
"Traditional unwinding": the children learn about the process of unwinding the thread from the cocoon and feeding it to a spinning-wheel.
Very popular with both children and adults are the demonstrations of traditional unwinding, weaving at a traditional loom and dyeing silk fabrics using plant fibre as raw material.
The Museum’s educational pack and educational programmes are available only in Greek language.
Free admission:
You can purchase your ticket for the Museum online here
The Museum has free Wi-Fi.
To arrange a school visit, you can contact the Museum at the phone number 25540 23700.
For group visits you can contact the Museum at the phone number 25540 23700.
The Museum has a cafeteria.
The Museum has a shop where you will find a rich collection of objects designed exclusively for PIOP, inspired by the themes of the Museums.
In the MUSEUMSHOP you will also find the Foundation's publications.
You can shop not only during your visit to the Museum but also throughout the year from our e-shop.
Amateur photography or video filming is permitted. Professional photography or filming and the publication of the material in printed, electronic and digital media is only permitted with special permission from PIOP.
The Museum does not have a parking lot.
The Museum is accessible to people with disabilities and has:
Pets are not allowed in the Museum. Only guide dogs are allowed access.
The following categories of visitors pay a reduced entrance fee on presenting valid ID proof:
Free admission for the following categories of visitors, on presenting the relevant valid ID proof:
