Description
Venetian ShipyardsIn historical Gouvia, at the end of the marina, is the Venetian dockyard. (Venetian Shipyards).The monument of the Venetian shipyard is a remnant of a bygone era. It stands today as its skeleton. In the early years, the Venetian ships of the Serenissima docked in Mandraki. Soon, however, revealed the need for greater military port with spacious warehouses and dry dock. It was selected for this purpose, the bay of Gouvia, seven kilometers northwest of the city. The depth in the area is 4-5 orgyies and the narrow mouth of the inlet needs no defense works. The cornerstone of the gate in the yard entrance bears the inscription:ZBM ANNO MDCCL XXVlll where "ZBM" is probably the name one of the captains of ships built the arsenal and added their coat of arms and the initials of the buildings, and the year is 1778. The practice of Venetian masters, who participated in the construction of the arsenal, to enter the buildings with his initials and coats of arms, were recorded in the late 18th century, the writings of the French consul in Corfu Saint- Sauveur. The arsenal in Gouvia was to be used for ship repairs during the winter, after each fleet had returned from their annual campaign during peacetime. However, the Venetian Senate was concerned about the prospect of an arsenal near Venice which could potentially compete with the main arsenal in order to protect the operation of their local maritime facilities, the Senate chose to restrict the kind of repair activities undertaken in the yard of Corfu. Consequently, the operations of the yard in Gouvia limited to basic maintenance, such as cleaning and caulking.At Gouvia landed the Turkish army for the first time on August 29, 1537 under the command of Choureintin Barbarossa. The Turks, having destroyed what they found in the Middle Corfu, went to the city and unsuccessfully besieged the Old Fortress.In the late 16th century the port could accommodate 25 galleys.And the second time in Corfu attacked the Turks, in 1716, landed in the same place.After repelling the attack, the Venetians decided to fortify the position.After the siege of 1716 began to be constructed the Neorion facilities.Was the winter maintenance and repair of ships anchored in Corfu. In the last years of Venetian, facilities were neglected and the entrance of the bay had become problematic due to deposition of large volumes of sand by currents and winds southeast.Democrats French have used the Neorion facilities, while in 1798 there anchored Russo-Turkish war. The siege of the Russians to occupy Corfu began on November 4, 1798, but the attackers decided to wait on the Turkish aid before attempting a landing. On November 13 a small Russian contingent made landing and managed to secure a small enclave in the area of Gouvia, where installed with cannons which fired against the fortresses of the island.The bay of Gouvia was last used by a naval ship in 1814, when a British corvette anchored in its waters.The subsequent history of the region is rich and interesting. It concerns the creation of the French seaplane base in 1916 as well as the disembarkation of Serbs.The years of interwar, French seaplanes were carrying mail and passengers again using the area until the beginning of the entry of the Second World War.During WWII the host plants of seaplanes used by both the Italians and the Germans.
