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Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the
regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...
. It is part of the geographic region of
Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
and the
administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
West Greece Western Greece Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Ελλάδας, translit=Periféria Dhitikís Elládhas, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the north ...
. A combination of the historical regions of
Aetolia Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetoli ...
and
Acarnania Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...
, it is the country's largest regional unit. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest city and economic centre at
Agrinio Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its c ...
. The area is now connected with the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...
peninsula via the Rio-Antirio Bridge. The surrounding regional units take in Arta in Epirus, a narrow length bordering
Karditsa Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly. Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, th ...
of
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
, Evrytania to the northeast, and
Phocis Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Var ...
to the east.


Geography

Mountains dominate the north, northeast, west and southeast, especially the Acarnanian Mountains. The longest and main river is the Acheloos, which ends as a delta in wetlands to the southwest on a rich fertile valley. The second longest is Evinos; others include the Ermitsa, the Inachos, and the Mornos (on the border with Phocis). The regional unit excludes the islands lying to its west, since they belong to the
Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
and
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
regional units. There is one reservoir and a lake in its central part. The many mountains of the area span the Panaitoliko toward the northeast and the Acarnanian Mountains, the Valtou and the Makrynoros mountains in the north, the Nafpaktia Mountains in the southeast, the
Arakynthos Arakynthos (Greek: Αράκυνθος) is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio (Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is th ...
and Kravara in the south. Lakes include the Amvrakia, the Lysimachia,
Ozeros Lake Ozeros ( el, Οζερός, Λίμνη Οζερού) is a lake located west of the Greek city of Agrinio. The lake has its own catchment area but is sometimes connected to the waters of the Acheloos river, flowing from the northwest, when th ...
, and Trichonida, and artificial lakes and reservoirs include Kastraki, Kremasta, the largest lake in Greece since its creation in 1970, and
Stratos Stratos may refer to: People As surname *Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian *Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher * Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politici ...
. Two lagoons are found in the southern part of the regional unit: the
Messolongi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
and the Aitoliko. The lowest altitude in Greece is found in west Aetolia-Acarnania at about -10 meters from the sea level.


Climate

Its climate ranges from hot and humid summers, with temperatures often surpassing 40 °C, to mild and short winters in the low-lying areas, with cool winters dominating in the mountain areas. At the highest elevations, summers are cool, and snow and cold weather dominate the winter months in the Panaitoliko.


History


Ancient era


Byzantine era


Ottoman era

During the Ottoman period, between the 16th century until the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, the region was called Karleli and formed a province (''
sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
'') in the Rumelia Eyalet.


Modern Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia and Acarnania became a prefecture and merged to form Aetolia-Acarnania after the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
in the late-1820s; the prefecture included Evrytania at the time, and it ranked second largest in Greece. Evrytania separated from the prefecture in 1948. In the 20th century, ferry services between
Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
and the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...
began. and in the 1950s and the 1960s ferry services began to incorporate vehicles. Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
a number of buildings needed to be repaired. A drawbridge linking the island of Lefkada began in the 1960s. The prefecture's first reservoir, the Acheloos Dam over the Acheloos was under construction in 1967 and completed in the early 1970s delivering water and hydro to western part of Greece, villages were relocated at the time. Two more dams were added, the Stratos Hydroelectric Dam in the 1980s and another in the late-1980s.


Transportation

The following years, GR-5 bypassed Messolonghi and Agrinion and GR-38 became connected with paved road with Eurytania and Phthiotida. In the late-1980s, the by-pass of Naupaktos began construction but after paving the road, the signs did not appear and until 1998, it was left unopened. In 1999, the road was re-repaired and finally opened to traffic. In 2000, the construction of the Rio-Antirio or the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge connecting the Peloponnese began construction and was opened to traffic in August 2004. The superhighway, the
Ionia Odos The Greek Motorway 5 ( el, Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5; code: A5) is a motorway in Greece. The motorway, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos ( el, Ιόνια Οδός) or Ionia Motorway, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastl ...
(Ionian Motorway) which will run centrally bypassing communities began construction in 2001 at a part between Messolonghi and the curve, this section remains to be unpaved, the rest of the highway is in plan but the opening date is not yet set. A railway formally served the places from Kryoneri and
Agrinio Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its c ...
and served with the ferry with
Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
. In the 1980s, the service came to an end. * Greek National Road 5/ E55, SE, S, Cen., N *
Greek National Road 38 National Road 38 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 38, abbreviated as EO38) is a single carriageway road in western and central Greece. It connects Thermo with Lamia, via Agrinio and Karpenisi. It passes through the regional units Aetolia-Acarnania ...
, Cen., NE * Greek National Road 42, N, NW * Greek National Road 48/ E65, SE *Road linking Agios Nikolaos, Astakos and Aitolikon, NW, W, SW, S


Population history

*1981: 218,362 *1991: 230,688 *2001: 224,429 *2011: 210,802


Administration

The regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania is subdivided into 7 municipalities. These are (number in parenthesis corresponds to number in the infobox's map): *
Agrinio Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its c ...
(2) * Aktio-Vonitsa (3) * Amfilochia (4) *
Messolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
(1) * Nafpaktia (6) * Thermo (5) * Xiromero (7)


Prefecture

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania was created out of the former
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Νομός Αιτωλοακαρνανίας). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.


Provinces

*Province of
Messolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
- Messolonghi/Messolongi *Province of Nafpaktia - Nafpaktos *Province of Trichonida - Agrinio *Province of Valtos - Amfilochia *Province of Vonitsa & Xiromero - Vonitsa ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
.


People

* Stratos Apostolakis - footballer * Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas - a former Greek
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
*
Filipos Darlas Filippos Darlas ( el, Φίλιππος Δάρλας; born 23 October 1983) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Apollon Dokimiou. Club career Superleague Greece Born in Agrinio, Kenourgio, Greec ...
, footballer * Ioannis Kalogeras * Christos Kapralos, writer * Pavlos Karakostas *
Pantelis Karasevdas Pantelis Karasevdas ( el, Παντελής Καρασεβδάς; 1877 – 14 March 1946) was a Greek sport shooter. He was a member of Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, that merged in 1923 with Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron to become Panachaik ...
*
Michalis Kousis Michalis Koussis (Greek: Μιχάλης Κούσης; 10 October 1953 – 24 May 2005) was a Greek Olympian Marathon and long-distance runner. Koussis was born in 1953 in Agrinio in Aetolia-Acarnania, western Greece. He was an athlete of the Agri ...
*
Nikolaos Makris Nikolaos Makris ( el, Νικόλαος Μακρής, 1829–1911) was a Hellenic Army General and politician. Nikolaos Makris was born in Missolonghi in 1829. He was the son of Dimitrios Makris, a military leader during the Greek War of Indepen ...
*
Aristidis Moschos Aristeidis Moschos (Greek: Αριστείδης Μόσχος; 1930 – 8 November 2001) was a Greek player and teacher of the santouri. Biography Moschos was born in Agrinio, a city in the Aitoloakarnania district. He was fifth in a family of t ...
, musician * Andreas Panagopoulos *
Thodoros Papadimitriou Theodoros Papadimitriou (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαδημητρίου; 1931 – 8 June 2018), also known simply as Theodoros (Θόδωρος), was a Greek sculptor who achieved international recognition. Biography He was born in Agrinio in ...
* Pythagoras Papastamatiou, director * Evangelos Papastratos * Loukia Pistiola, actress * Charilaos Trikoupis - a former Greek Prime Minister * Spyridon Trikoupis - a former Greek Prime Minister *
Dimitrios Valvis Dimitrios Valvis (Δημήτριος Βάλβης; 1808 or 1814Zinovios Valvis - a former Greek Prime Minister * Yannis Yfantis - poet *Panagiotis Kontos - a former General Secretary of the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...


Communications


Radio

* Agrinio 93.7 FM * Dytika FM * Stereo Channel * Akarnania Radio


Television

* Acheloos TV - Agrinion *Lychnos, UHF channel 32 (religious), broadcasting from Nafpaktos *
Lepanto Tv Lepanto may refer to: Places * Lepanto, Greece, medieval Italian name of Nafpaktos ** Battle of Lepanto, 1571 * Lepanto, Arkansas, United States * Lepanto, a sub-province in the former province of Lepanto-Bontoc, Philippines (now part of Mankay ...
- Nafpaktos * Ν TV - Agrinion


Newspapers

*
29Dytika
' *'' Akarnania'' *'' En Bambini'' - Bambini *
Nea Epohi
' *'' Vela''


Sporting teams

*
Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...
- Agrinion,
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...
* Nafpaktiakos Asteras F.C. -
Nafpaktos Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos (, Latini ...
, Local Championship * AE Messologiou - Mesologgi, fourth division * Thyella Paravolas -
Paravola Paravola (Greek: Παραβόλα) is a village and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio (Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium ...
, Local Championship * Amfilochos - Amfilochia, Fourth Division * Aris - Etoliko, Local Championship


See also

* List of settlements in Aetolia-Acarnania


References


External links


Etoloakarnania's News PortalStructurae on AitoloakarnaniaSociety of Agrinio’s Youth and Students in AthensKatafigio Nafpaktias(Mountainous Nafpaktia)Katafygion Nafpaktias
{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1833 establishments in Greece Regional units of Western Greece