Chranoi ( el, Χράνοι - ) is a village in the municipality of

Megalopoli Megalopoli ( el, Μεγαλόπολη) is a town in the southwestern part of the regional unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis ( grc, Μεγαλόπολις, literally ''large/great city''). When ...

, southwest Arcadia,

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 ...

. It is located in the mountains on the border with

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

, at about 500 m elevation. It is 4 km west Paradeisia, 5 km southeast of

Isaris Isaris ( el, Ίσαρης) is a village and a community in the municipality of Megalopoli, Arcadia, Greece. It is situated in the mountains west of the Alfeios valley, at about 750 m elevation. It is considered a traditional settlement. It is 2 ...

, and 13 km southwest of Megalopoli. Chranoi had a population of 137 in 2011. The railway from

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

passes through the village.

Population

Name and history

The name Chranoi (Χράνοι) probably derives from the Slavic word Hrana (Хpaнa) which literally means 'crop', probably in relation to the village's agricultural nature. This name, along with other Slavic village names, like

Andravida Andravida ( el, Ανδραβίδα, ) is a town and a former municipality in Elis, in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andravida-Kyllini, of which it is a ...

, is proof of Slavic presence in the Peloponnese during the Middle Ages, though the extent of said presence is unknown. Chranoi and the area around it has been inhabited since at least the 15th century. Chranoi was originally several smaller villages which grew together and eventually joined into one, according to local accounts. As part of

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis ( el, Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of c ...

' construction projects a bridge and railroad station with trucks running through the village were built. It cut the village into Upper Chranoi and Lower Chranoi, area terms still used today by the locals. During World War II it was occupied by the Italians and many villagers joined the resistance with the

National Liberation Front (Greece) The National Liberation Front ( el, Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, ''Ethnikó Apeleftherotikó Métopo'' (EAM) was an alliance of various political parties and organizations which fought to liberate Greece from Axis Occ ...

. The villagers managed to convince the local Italian garrison, which was guarding its strategic bridge, to join them in the guerilla warfare against the Nazi occupation, telling them that the Germans would otherwise kill them because of Italy's surrender. During the Civil War many joined the

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; el, Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας - ΔΣΕ, Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas - DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At ...

as well as the Royal

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

. The village had a relatively large and growing population compared to smaller villages up until the 1960s. Like most of Arcadia, its population starting falling due to the large waves of migration of Arcadian Greeks to major Greek cities, like Athens, and to foreign countries, particularly North American ones.

References

{{Megalopoli

- The village's website * Χράνοι στις επάλξεις του αγώνα - book by Giannis Palavos https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152611/http://vopac.nlg.gr/Record/303789 Megalopolis, Greece Populated places in Arcadia, Peloponnese

Population

Name and history

See also

References