The Leros War Museum
“We all knew our enemy was the English. They arrived with their aeroplanes and bombed us at night. But in the last month, the situation changed... Now, German Stukas are bombing us, and the English are in the same trenches as us!”, wrote an Italian soldier to his father during World War II. The Battle of Leros, fought in November 1943, transformed the island into a theatre of intense aerial bombardment, amphibious operations and fierce fighting between German forces and the Allied troops defending the island.
Today, the memory of those events lives on in the ‘Merikia Tunnel’ War Museum, a unique exhibition space housed in a military tunnel from the 1930s. The tunnel was built by the Italians when Leros was a significant naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean, thanks to Lakki, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean.
The museum's underground galleries, meticulously restored, house a rich collection of artefacts discovered on the island or salvaged from the sea. Photographs, historical maps, models, letters, military equipment and a multitude of period objects recount the island's wartime history and illuminate the dramatic moments of the battle.
At the end of the tour, a short film featuring historical footage is shown, while in the outdoor grounds, an open-air military park with vehicles, aircraft and military equipment of the era awaits.
Today, the memory of those events lives on in the ‘Merikia Tunnel’ War Museum, a unique exhibition space housed in a military tunnel from the 1930s. The tunnel was built by the Italians when Leros was a significant naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean, thanks to Lakki, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean.
The museum's underground galleries, meticulously restored, house a rich collection of artefacts discovered on the island or salvaged from the sea. Photographs, historical maps, models, letters, military equipment and a multitude of period objects recount the island's wartime history and illuminate the dramatic moments of the battle.
At the end of the tour, a short film featuring historical footage is shown, while in the outdoor grounds, an open-air military park with vehicles, aircraft and military equipment of the era awaits.
