Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality

Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra ( el, Δίστομο-Αράχοβα-Αντίκυρα) is a municipality in the Boeotia regional unit, Central Greece, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast ...

. It is a tourist destination due to its location in the mountains, its traditions and its proximity to the town of Delphi. The town is a popular day or weekend trip destination from Attica and a gathering place for the rich and famous. This is not to be confused with Caryae (also spelled Karye) which is a town in the Southern Peleponnese that used to be called Arachova. Greek rebels under

Georgios Karaiskakis Georgios Karaiskakis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), born Georgios Karaiskos ( el, Γεώργιος Καραΐσκος; 1782 – 1827), was a famous Greece, Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence. ...

defeated the

Ottomans 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, ...

at the 1826

Battle of Arachova The Battle of Arachova ( el, Μάχη της Αράχωβας), took place between 18 and 24 November 1826 ( N.S.). It was fought between an Ottoman Empire force under the command of Mustafa Bey and Greek rebels under Georgios Karaiskakis. Afte ...

. The Formaela cheese from Arachova has been designated as a

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

.WIPO
/ref> Nearby Arachova, modern ski facilities are popular with visitors. Although contemporary culture tends to outdo regional folklore, the town maintains some local customs and demonstrates them at celebrations on

23 April Events Pre-1600 * 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. * 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in south ...

, in the honor of the patron

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

. Arachova has a panoramic view, uphill small houses and the cobbled streets show a picturesque architecture. The town center includes a huge and steep cliff, the Bell Tower, covered with dense ivy. At the top of the tower is a large 10m height clock. Arachova is famous for its black wine, its "brusque", the colorful textiles, carpets and rugs, handicrafts and

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

creations as well.

Historical significance

Geography

Arachova is situated at about a 970 m (3182 ft) elevation on the southern slope of

Mount 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 ...

, above the valley of the river

Pleistos The Pleistos ( el, Πλείστος, grc, Πλεῖστος, la, Pleistus) is a river in central Greece. It drains the Pleistos valley, named after it, a relatively recent rift valley north of the Gulf of Corinth, and parallel to it. They ha ...

. The municipal unit has an area of 139.448 km². Arachova is located 8 km E of

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 orac ...

, 9 km northwest of Distomo, 18 km southeast of

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 26 km west of

Livadeia Livadeia ( el, Λιβαδειά ''Livadiá'', ; grc, Λεβάδεια, Lebadeia or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-ea ...

. The Greek National Road 48 (

Naupactus Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos (, Lati ...

- Delphi - Livadeia) passes through the town. The Parnassos Ski Centre is situated to the north.

Climate

Arachova has a temperate climate. Snow falls in winter, though its sheltered location means that it receives less snow than areas at similar altitudes on the north side of Parnassos mountain. Summers are warm with pleasant nights.

Historical population

Gallery File:Arachova hoj05.jpg, View of the town hall File:EHGritaly_120305-02_(Street_in_Arachova).JPG, A street in Arachova File:Arachova hoj17.jpg, View of Arachova File:Arachova hoj06.jpg, Another street of the city File:Arachova.jpg, Arachova Viewpoint

References

External links