Mylopotamos () is a municipality in

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

regional unit in the Greek island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. Spread across an area of , it was formed from the former municipalities of Geropotamos, Kouloukonas, and Zoniana in 2011. The seat of the municipality is Perama. This region is characterized by mountainous terrain interspersed with fertile valleys.

History

The broader region of Crete has a significant history dating back to the

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

era, more than 130,000 years ago. After early settlers, it came under

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

occupation in the first century BCE. It was under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

rule during the early

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

, before being captured by the Venetians in the 12th century. It came under the control of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in the 17th century, with the locals fighting for independence. In 1866, the Battle of Arkadi resulted in widespread damage. It became part of Greece in 1913. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the inhabitants actively participated in the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

. After the capture of Crete by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1941, the local people from Mylopotamos fought against the invaders, which resulted in mass executions by German occupation forces. It was occupied by Germany till 1945, after which it re-joined Greece. The province of Mylopotamos was one of the

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

of Rethymno Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Mylopotamos and

Anogeia Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit), Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of ., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana. Population 2,240 (2021). When exact ...

. It was abolished in 2006, and Mylopotamos was officially formed from the former municipalities of Geropotamos, Kouloukonas, and Zoniana in 2011.

Geography

Mylopotamos municipality is located in the

regional unit in the Greek island of

. The name is derived from the water mills that existed in the Avlopotamos river. The municipal unit occupies an area of . The topography of the region consists of the Kouloukonas and Talea mountains, interspersed with plains, where people engage in

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

farming.

Demographics

Mylopotamos municipality had a total population of 14,363 inhabitants according to the 2021 census data. The population is distributed across numerous villages and settlements. The municipal unit of Perama had a population of 6,108 while Kouloukonas recorded 4,772 inhabitants.

References

{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece Municipalities of Crete Populated places in Rethymno (regional unit) Provinces of Greece

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References