Page "Poros" Paragraph 10

With the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji, Russia secured free shipping for its navy, war and merchant alike, throughout the waters of the Ottoman Empire.

As Russian naval activity grew, need arose for a supply station, and land was acquired at the edge of Poros town.

Extensive materiel, coal, and food storage facilities were built, as well as a hardtack baking factory.

After Greek independence, Governor Capodistrias requisitioned the facilities for use of the Greek war navy, and offered the Russians an alternative location in a nearby cove.

The new facilities were far larger, and were used by Russian ships throughout the 19th century.

The number of Russian residents of Poros increased and even a Russian school was established.

Then as Russian naval activity declined, so did the base and by the early 1900s only a single Russian watchman was left guarding it.

It was then granted to the Greek Navy by the Czar but was never put to actual use, and the abandoned buildings were left to decay.

The ruins, in elaborately carved stone, were listed as protected architectural monuments in 1989.