Karlovasi

**An industry that made Samos rich in the 19th century, then vanished completely — leaving its buildings.** ✅ **The boom**: through the 19th and early 20th centuries Samos — Karlovasi especially — was a **major centre for tanning leather** and exporting it to Egypt and Europe. **Dozens of stone factories were built right on the shore**, because tanning needs **abundant water** and a sea outlet for shipping. ✅ **The context**: Samos was then a **semi-independent principality** with self-rule under Ottoman sovereignty (1834–1912), which gave it the stability and commercial freedom it exploited. ⚠ **The collapse**: the industry declined in the mid-20th century — competition, shifting markets, costs, **and later environmental law** (tanning is a heavily polluting industry). **The factories closed and were left.** ✅ **Today**: **some are restored** as buildings of the **University of the Aegean**, one is a small museum, ⚠ **and most are empty ruins** on the water. ⚠ **Do not go inside them**: collapsed floors and unsafe roofs.