Electricity
Having been contracted for the major new port project, in 1918 British firm Sir Robert MacAlpine & Sons built a power station on the shore road in order to carry out the necessary work. In 1924 Mayor of Heraklion Ioannis Voyiatzakis negotiated the transfer of the factory to the municipality, so as to supply the town with electricity. The following year saw the foundation of the Municipality of Heraklion Electricity Service under Nikolaos X. Limnios, and on 25th December, Christmas Day 1925, electric street lighting was turned on in the town. Over the ensuing years, hundreds of homes in Heraklion used electricity to cater for their daily needs. At the same time, the first appliances such as the radio and the electric cooker began to appear.
The "Electric company", Heraklion's first power station. Built opposite the Dermatas Gate, it is now home to the University of Crete Natural History Museum (M. Papadakis Collection)
The interior of the power station when it was functioning (A. Karambela Collection)
An advertisement for AEG fuses (Historical Museum of Crete, © S.C.H.S, Heraklion)
A greetings card from AEG to K. Limnios (Historical Museum of Crete, © S.C.H.S, Heraklion)
An advertisement for AEG electric irons (Historical Museum of Crete, © S.C.H.S, Heraklion)
An AEG greetings card and advertisement for vacuum cleaners (Historical Museum of Crete, © S.C.H.S, Heraklion)
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