GEORGIOS SCHWARTZ MANSION (Code: )

The Common Company and Brotherhood of Ambelakia
During the 18th century, spinning and dyeing developed in Ambelakia, and gradually came to be its residents’ chief occupation. The basic  substance they used for dyeing thread was the plant rizari (erythrodamon), which lent the thread an intense red sheen. Cottage industries  gradually merged into companies, and the five major companies formed in 1778 the “Common Company and Brotherhood of Ambelakia”. The  main pioneer in its creation was Georgios Mavros or Schwartz, who served as its “administrator and overseer” for life. His mansion housed the  Company’s core operations, including custody of its funds, transactions, and meetings of its members.

The purposes of the cooperative were  to increase and improve production, to financially support members, and to organize a distribution network for its products to major European cities.  Ambelakia quickly developed into a financial center for the region, and wealth brought a period of cultural flourishing. The cooperative began to  decline in the early 19th century, until around 1812 when it was finally dissolved.