Gravia ( el, Γραβιά) is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of

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 Vardo ...

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 with ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 161.651 km². In the 2011 census its population was 604 for the village and 2,073 for the municipality.

Location

The municipal unit Gravia is situated in the foothills of the mountains Giona and

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

. The northeastern part of the municipal unit covers the western end of the wide valley of the river Cephissus. There are farmlands in the valley. The municipal unit borders

Phthiotis Prefecture Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...

to the north and northeast. The

Greek National Road 27 National Road 27 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 27, abbreviated as EO27) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 3 at Bralos, south of Lamia, with the GR-48 near Itea, passing through Amfissa. It is pa ...

connects Gravia with Itea,

Amfissa Amfissa ( el, Άμφισσα , also mentioned in classical sources as Amphissa) is a town in Phocis, Greece, part of the municipality of Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 315.174 km2. It l ...

and

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

. Gravia is located south of

, northwest of Livadia and north of

and Itea.

History

The name is of Slavic origin, pointing to a settlement of the area after the 6th century; initially it was the name of a local river (mod. Koukouvistianos), which was later transferred to a castle some 5 km northwest of the modern settlement, above the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

of the ancient settlement of

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

. The castle was most likely built by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in the early 13th century, being mentioned for the first time in 1259, when the

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent s ...

William II of Villehardouin William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 – 1 May 1278) was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamata ...

crossed the local pass on his way to the

Battle of Pelagonia The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoriae.g. ; . took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a decisive ev ...

. In 1275 it was one of the castles ceded by the ruler 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 ...

John I Doukas John I Doukas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δούκας, Iōánnēs Doúkas), Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Thessaly from to his own ...

, to the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of the ...

, as the dowry of his daughter

Helena Angelina Komnene Helena Angelina Komnene ( el, Ἑλένη Ἀγγελίνα Κομνηνή) was a daughter of the Greek ''sebastokrator'' John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly in ca. 1268–1289, and a Greek princess of Aromanian origin, known only by her monastic name ...

. The castle's history is unknown thereafter, except for a brief mention in 1304. Gravia is famous for the battle of the Gravia Inn, that took place during the Greek Revolution of 1821.

Odysseas Androutsos Odysseas Androutsos ( el, Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος; 1788 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis el, Οδυσσέας Βερούσης) was a Greek military and political commander in eastern mainland Greece and a prominent figure of the ...

along with a group of Greek soldiers successfully repelled an attack from the Turkish army led by

Omer Vryonis Vizier Ömer Pasha Vrioni (in Greek spelling: Ομέρ Βρυώνης, ''Omer Vryonis'') was a leading Ottoman- Albanian figure in the Greek War of Independence. Early life Omer Vrioni was a Muslim Tosk Albanian from the village of Vrioni ne ...

in May 1821.

Municipal districts

* Apostolias *Gravia *

Kaloskopi Kaloskopi ( el, Καλοσκοπή, before 1927: Κουκουβίστα - ''Koukouvista'') is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Gravia, northeastern Phocis, Greece. It is situated in the northeastern foothills of Mount Giona, 8 km west ...

Kastellia Kastellia ( el, Καστέλλια, before 1979: Καστέλλι - ''Kastelli'') is a village in the municipal unit of Gravia, Phocis, Greece. It is situated at the western end of the wide Cephissus valley, at the foot of the mountains Giona a ...

* Mariolata *

Oinochori Oinochori ( el, Οινοχώρι, meaning "village of wine", before 1927: Άνω Κάνιανη - ''Ano Kaniani'') is a small village (2011 population: 58) in the municipal unit of Gravia, Phocis, Greece. It is located at an altitude of approximate ...

* Sklithro * Vargiani

Population

Sporting clubs

Androutsos Gravia A.S. Androutsos Gravia (Greek: Α.Σ. Ανδρούτσος Γραβιάς ''A.S. Androutsos Gravias'') was an athletic club based in the village of Gravia in Phocis, Greece. The club had been founded in 1959. Its logo and jerseys were red and wh ...

References

Sources

External links

Official website of the municipality of Gravia

Gravia on the GTP Travel Pages
{{Gravia Populated places in Phocis Castles in Greece