Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα) is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

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 ...

. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' ( el, Αίγιο, Aígio, ; la, Aegium), is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipal ...

, southeast of

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 ...

and northwest of Tripoli. Notable mountains in the municipality are Mount Erymanthos in the west and Aroania or Chelmos in the southeast. Kalavryta is the southern terminus of the Diakopto-Kalavryta rack railway, built by Italian engineers between 1885 and 1895.

History

Kalavryta is built near the ancient city of

Cynaetha Cynaetha or Kynaitha ( grc, Κύναιθα or ἡ Κύναιθα), or Cynaethae or Kynaithai (Κύναιθαι), was a town in the north of ancient Arcadia, situated upon the northern slope of the Aroanian Mountains, which divided its territory fro ...

. During the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the town was the centre of the Barony of Kalavryta within the Frankish Principality of Achaea, until it was reconquered by the Byzantines in the 1270s. After that it remained under Byzantine control until the fall of the Despotate of the Morea to the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

in 1460. With the exception of a 30-year interlude of Venetian control, the town remained under Turkish rule until the outbreak of 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 1821, in whose early stages Kalavryta figures prominently: it was here that on 21 March 1821 the flag of the revolt was raised at the monastery of Agia Lavra by bishop Germanos III of Old Patras. Chelmos

At the end of 1943, near Kalavryta, 81 German soldiers, led by Hauptmann Johannes Schober, were captured by Greek partisans. Four Germans were killed on the spot. Three were taken to hospital at Kalavryta but were later shot by the furious partisans. The rest were initially treated as prisoners of war until most were shot dead and some plunged over the cliff near Mazi from the force of the shots. Two German prisoners survived the execution and raised the alarm on the following day 8 December 1943. Following this, the

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...

of the town, who had been a majority since the 1500s, had fled and formed settlements along the Gulf of Patras and the Ionian Sea. Many of them fled and settled in modern-day Tsoukalaiika and Vrachnaiika. On 13 December 1943, in retribution for the killing of the captured German soldiers, the Massacre of Kalavryta took place. German troops ordered all male residents of Kalavryta, aged 14 years and up, to gather in a field just outside the village. Some 1 300 women and girls were locked in a school which was then set on fire while the men were looking on from a hill outside the village. Then 696 boys and men were machine-gunned. Only 13 survived. After that, they burnt down the town before they left and the next day they burnt down the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Agia Lavra Agia Lavra ("Holy Lavra") is a monastery near Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It was built in 961 AD, on Chelmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters, and can be described as the symbolic birthplace of modern Greece. It stands as one of the oldest m ...

, the birthplace of the

. After the war, the federal government of Germany offered gestures of atonement in the form of free school books for the high school, scholarships for orphans of the massacre and the building of a retirement home. However, German commanders, including Major Ebersberger who carried out the destruction of Kalavryta and Hauptmann Dohnert who led the firing party, were never brought to justice for their crimes. The Kalavryta region also became the site of fighting during 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 ...

. On 11 April 1948, Kalavryta was seized by the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) after the former overpowered the town's garrison. DSE released 17 leftists held in the local gendarmerie building, while also emptying the national guard and

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

warehouses; taking 400 million

drachmas The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...

and large quantities of food and military equipment in the process.

Historical population

Landmarks

In Kastria, in the municipal unit of

Kleitoria Kleitoria ( el, Κλειτορία) is a village and a municipal unit in Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. It was also the new name of the former municipality Lefkasio, of which it was the seat, between 2008 and 2011. Since the 2011 local government ...

, there is the famous cave system ''Spilaio ton Limnon'' (" Cave of the Lakes") which is filled with beautiful lakes and strange rock formations. Kalavryta has a ski centre which is located east of town, on the slopes of

Chelmos Aroania ( el, Αροάνια), also known as Helmos or Chelmos (Χελμός, from South Slavic , "summit"), is a mountain range in Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. At 2,355 m elevation, Aroania is the third highest mountain of the Peloponnese, after ...

. The monastery of

is located on a hill southwest of Kalavryta. Another famous monastery nearby is Mega Spilaio which is located northeast.

Administration

The municipality Kalavryta was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units: * Aroania *Kalavryta *

Paion Paion ( el, Παΐων) is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 1,055. The seat of the municipality was in Dafni. The municipality was created after the Greek War of Independence and was dissolved in 1 ...

The municipality has an area of 1,058.147 km², the municipal unit 531.797 km².

Subdivisions

The municipal unit of Kalavryta is divided into the following communities: * Ano Vlasia * Ano Lousoi * Doumena * Drosato * Flampoura (Flampoura, Neochori, Ortholithi) * Goumenissa *Kalavryta (Kalavryta, Avlonas, Vrachni, Krastikoi, Moni Agias Lavras, Souvardo) * Kallifoni * Kandalos * Kato Lousoi (Kato Lousoi, Lousiko) * Kato Vlasia (Kato Vlasia, Menychtaiika, Metochi) * Kato Zachlorou *

Kerpini Kerpini ( el, Κερπινή), is a small mountain village in the north of the municipality of Kalavryta in Achaea, Greece. In 2011 its population was 173. It is 5 km west of Kato Zachlorou and 5 km north of Kalavryta town. Notable people Kerp ...

Kertezi Kertezi ( el, Κέρτεζη) is a mountain village in the municipality of Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It is built in the valley of a tributary of the river Vouraikos, east of the mountain Kallifoni. In 2011 the population of Kertezi was 365. It is ...

* Korfes * Kouteli * Kryoneri * Lagovouni * Lapanagoi * Manesi Kalavryton (Manesi, Boumpoukas) * Mikros Pontias (Mikros Pontias, Karousi, Lompokas, Megas Pontias) * Petsakoi (Petsakoi, Bosi) * Plataniotissa (Plataniotissa, Digela, Spartinou) * Priolithos * Profitis Ilias (Profitis Ilias, Mouriki) * Rogoi * Sigouni (Sigouni, Lefki) * Skepasto * Trechlo (Trechlo, Lapatheia) * Valta * Vilivina

Province

The province of Kalavryta ( el, Επαρχία Καλαβρύτων) was one of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Achaea. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

Notable persons

* Asimakis Fotilas (1761–1835), politician and revolutionary leader * Nikolaos Petimezas, military leader *

Anastasios Charalambis Anastasios Charalambis ( el, Αναστάσιος Χαραλάμπης, 22 September 1862 – 11 March 1949) was a Greek Lieutenant General and interim Prime Minister of Greece for one day in 1922. Life Anastasios Charalambis was born in Ka ...

(1862–1949), military officer, PM of Greece *

Andreas Zaimis Andreas Asimakis Zaimis ( el, Ανδρέας Ζαΐμης; 1791 – 4 May 1840) was a Greek freedom fighter and government leader during the Greek War of Independence. Biography Born in Kalavryta, in the northern Peloponnesos, Zaimis was a priva ...

References

External links

Municipality of Kalavryta

{{Authority control Municipalities of Western Greece Populated places in Achaea Provinces of Greece Razed cities