:"Distomo" ''may also refer to a work by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

'' Distomo () is a town in western

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 131.270 km², the community 80.498 km². Population 3,644 (2021). Distomo is situated in the western foothills of Mount Helicon, at about 450 m elevation. It is 5 km north of the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

coast, 9 km southeast of

Arachova Arachova (, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. It is a tourist de ...

, 12 km east of

Desfina Desfina () is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 148.992 km ...

, 16 km southeast of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

, 18 km west of

Livadeia Livadeia ( ''Livadiá'', ; or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia Regional units of Greece, regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-east of Lamia (city), Lamia, ...

and 105 km northwest of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The Greek National Road 48 (

Naupactus Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mor ...

) passes north of the town. Distomo is known as the site of the Distomo massacre that was perpetrated by the German army against the local inhabitants during the Second World War. One of the most important monuments of

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

and a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, the monastery of

Hosios Loukas Hosios Loukas () is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art, and has been l ...

is situated close to Distomo. During the ancient Greek times there was a settlement called Amvryssos (Amvrossos) part of which is buried under Distomo. There is an archaeological museum in Distomo officially called Distomo Archaeological Collection (Wikipidia) with a fine exhibit of ancient pottery and artifacts. The local football/soccer team is also named Amvrysseas after the ancient Greek city. Aluminium of Greece has its production facilities in the coastal village Agios Nikolaos. Other industries include agriculture and services.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Distomo is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Distomo (Distomo, Agios Nikolaos,

Paralia Distomou Aspra Spitia (), is a town in the municipal unit Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, in Boeotia, Greece. In 2021, its population was 1,676. History Aspra Spitia was founded in 1960, planned by Doxiadis Associates to house industrial workers for Aluminum ...

) * Steiri (Steiri,

monastery)

Population

History

The ancient Phocean city of Amvrissos (Amvrossos) is located on the site of modern Distomo and its broader area. On 10 June 1944, Distomo was the site of a massacre of civilians by the Germans, which constituted a war crime. The massacre was meant as "retribution" for the previous death of three Germans at the hands of local guerrillas, even though the villagers had no relation to the guerrillas. The 4th SS Polizei Division perpetrated grave crimes with superiors encouraging the soldiers., among them ripping out the intestines of a baby and splattering them on a close relative. Decades later, a Greek court awarded restitution to Greek victims, but the German government pressed Greece politically to nullify that decision. To enforce the decision by the Greek court, this case was brought before an Italian court, Greece being unwilling to enforce their own decisions. The judges awarded the plaintiffs the Villa Vigoni in Menaggio, Italy, a German government-sponsored nonprofit foundation. The German government appealed a decision by the Italian supreme civil court for restitutions at the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, claiming for

State immunity The doctrine and rules of state immunity concern the protection which a sovereign state, state is given from being sued in the courts of other states. The rules relate to legal proceedings in the courts of another state, not in a state's own cour ...

References

External links

*
distomo.gr

distomo-arahova-antikyra.gr
* Distomo, still we mourn https://www.thenationalherald.com/opinions_columnists/arthro/distomo_still_we_mourn-444433/ {{Authority control Populated places in Boeotia Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra