Agrinio (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Αγρίνιο, ,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

regional unit of

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 ...

and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of

, although its capital is the town of

Mesolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

. The settlement dates back to ancient times. Ancient Agrinion was northeast of the present city; some walls and foundations of which have been excavated. In medieval times and until 1836, the city was known as Vrachori (Βραχώρι). The majority of the local population was occupied for an important period of time in the

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

industry, from the last decades of 19th till the end of the 20th century. Big tobacco companies were founded in the city, including the famous

Papastratos Papastratos ( el, Παπαστράτος Ανώνυμη Βιομηχανική Εταιρεία Σιγαρέττων) is a Greek tobacco company and is the largest manufacturer and distributor of cigarettes in Greece. The company was formed in 193 ...

, alongside Panagopoulos and Papapetrou. Agrinion is also agriculturally known for its production of Agrinion olives.

History

Antiquity

According to mythology, the ancient city of Agrinio (situated in the area of Megali Chora) was built by king

Agrios Agrius (; Ancient Greek: Ἄγριος means 'wild, savage') in Greek mythology, is a name that may refer to: *Agrius, one of the Giants, sons of Gaia. He, together with Thoon, was clubbed to death by Moirai with maces made from bronze, during ...

, son of

Portheus In Greek mythology, Portheus ( Ancient Greek: Πορθέα) may refer to various figures: * Portheus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons of the impious King Lycaon either by the naiad Cyllene, Nonacris or by unknown woman. He and his brot ...

Gerasimos Papatrehas, "The history of Agrinion", Municipality of Agrinion, 1991 and a great grandson of Aetolos (king of Plevron and

Calydon Calydon (; grc, Καλυδών, ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea. Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be ov ...

) around 1600-1100 BC. The town, built near the banks of river

Achelous In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he ...

(the natural border between

Aetolia Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...

and Acarnania), was claimed by both states during ancient times. Agrinio became member of the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

and it was later destroyed by

Cassander Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a conte ...

in 314 BC during the League's wars against the

Kingdom of Macedonia Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

Ottoman era

The city reappears during the Ottoman period with the name Vrachori and apart from its Greek population it was also inhabited by many Turks (Muslims). In 1585 it was deserted during the revolt of

Theodoros Migas Theodoros or Theodorus ( el, Θεόδωρος) is a masculine given name, from which Theodore is derived. The feminine version is Theodora. It may refer to: Ancient world :''Ordered chronologically'' * Theodorus of Samos, 6th-century BC Greek ...

. At the beginning of the 18th century it became the administrative centre of

(then as the

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

Karleli Karli-Eli ( gr, Κάρλελι, ''Karleli''; tr, Karlıeli), also Karli-Ili or Karlo-Ili, was the Ottoman name for the region of Aetolia-Acarnania in western Greece, which formed a distinct administrative unit ('' sanjak'' or '' liva'') from the ...

), depended on the imperial harems. Vrachori participated in the

Greek Revolution 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 b ...

and was temporarily liberated, by an army group led by

Alexakis Vlachopoulos Alexakis Vlachopoulos ( el, Αλεξάκης Βλαχόπουλος), also known as Alexis Vlachopoulos, ( Nicopolis near Preveza, 1780 – Athens, 1865) was an armatolos, fighter in the Greek Revolution for Independence of 1821, congressman, an ...

, on June 11, 1821. In August 1822, while

Reşid Mehmed Pasha Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı ( el, Μεχμέτ Ρεσίτ πασάς Κιουταχής, 1780–1836), was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an imp ...

's (Kütahi) troops were marching towards Vrachori, its citizens decided to burn and evacuate their city, following the strategy of scorched earth. The deserted city was recaptured by the Turks. The city was finally included in the borders of the newborn Greek state permanently in 1832 with the Treaty of Constantinople (July 9, 1832) and was renamed after its ancient name, Agrinion.

Modern era

Agrinio, Etolio-Acarnania Prefecture, Greece - city by evening

In the years following the liberation, Agrinio went through an important growth and development, especially at the end of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th. After the Greco-Turkish War and the Asia Minor Catastrophe, many refugees from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

(western

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

) arrived in the city and settled in the district of Agios Konstantinos. At the same period there was an important internal immigration to Agrinio from the whole

region, along with immigration from the areas of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

and

Evrytania Evrytania ( el, Ευρυτανία, ; Latin: ''Eurytania'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is almost entirely formed ...

. During the Interwar period, in spite of economical crisis, works of infrastructure took place in the city, like the paving of streets and the installation of electricity, and a water tower was installed in 1930. At the same time excavations revealed the ancient city of Agrinion. Growth and prosperity returned after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and 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 ...

. This growth was boosted by the building of two major hydroelectric dam installations at Kremasta and Kastraki, on the north of the city. The tobacco industry and olive tree cultivation became the main income sources of the city.

Climate

The climate of Agrinio is Mediterranean (

Csa CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

), with a large amount of rainfall during the short winter, and high temperatures in the summer, sometimes over . On April 10, 2007 the city was struck by several earthquakes, with their epicenter located in the nearby Lake Trichonis on the southeast of the city. The first earthquake rumbled at around 2:20 AM, the second around 6:15 AM, three earthquakes shook at 10:13, 10:14 and 10:15 AM, and the last one at around 13:45 PM, they measured between 5.0 and 5.7 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

. Residents reported that the buildings and its glasses were shaking and rumbling. Minor damages were reported without any victims. On June 7, 2007 a low-pressure system, including heavy torrential rains, arrived from Southern and Central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

stranding several people, and caused flooding in several buildings.

Transportation

The main roads passing through Agrinio are the

Greek National Road 5 National Road 5 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 5, abbreviated as EO5) is a single carriageway road in western Greece. It connects Antirrio, at the north end of the Rio-Antirrio bridge, with Ioannina in northwestern Greece, passing through Agrinio a ...

/ E55 ( Arta – Agrinio –

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

) and the

Greek National Road 38 National Road 38 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 38, abbreviated as EO38) is a single carriageway road in western and central Greece. It connects Thermo with Lamia, via Agrinio and Karpenisi. It passes through the regional units Aetolia-Acarnania ...

/ E952 ( Thermo – Agrinio – Karpenisi). Since 2009 the new Motorway 5 bypasses Agrinio to the west. Agrinio's airport is located near the city, in the area of Dokimi. IATA code: AGQ, ICAO: LGAG. The airport hosts the Agrinion aeroclu
Agrinion Aeroclub

Municipality

The extended municipality Agrinio was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 10 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *Agrinio * Angelokastro *

Arakynthos Arakynthos (Greek language, Greek: Αράκυνθος) is a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio, of ...

* Makryneia * Neapoli *

Panaitoliko Panaitoliko (Greek: Παναιτωλικό) is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') ...

* Parakampylia * Paravola * Stratos * Thestieis The municipality has an area of 1229.330 km², the municipal unit 162.728 km².

Subdivisions

The municipal unit (former municipality) of Agrinio consists of the following communities: *Agios Konstantinos *Agios Nikolaos Trichonidos *Agrinio *Dokimi *Kalyvia *Kamaroula *Skoutesiada The city of Agrinio consists of the main city and the outlying villages Agios Ioannis Riganas, Akropotamos, Bouzi, Giannouzi, Diamanteika, Eleftheria, Lefka, Liagkaiika, Pyrgi, Schinos and Strongylaiika.

City Seal

The city's official seal includes a characteristic moment of the ancient Greek mythology. More specifically, the seal depicts

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

fighting the river-god

. According to the myth, Hercules fought against the river-god for the sake of Diianira, the princess of

, which both of them wanted as a wife. Despite Achelous' transformations, Hercules managed to win the battle and married the princess. According to Strabo, the myth symbolises the struggle of ancient Aetolians to control the river's power with embankments, by which the river was confined to its bed and thus the area gained large tracts of land for cultivation.

Historical population

Landmarks

Lysimachia Lake, Etoloakarnania, Greece - View upon the lake with the city of Agrinio in the background

*The Archaeological Museum of Agrinion, located in the city center, at 1-2 Diamantis Street
website
*The neoclassical buildings of the tobacco storehouses

and Papapetrou, which date from the early 20th century. *The Papastrateio Municipal Park. *The Papastratios Municipal Library. *The Dimokratias Square, the main square of the city. *The remains of the Church of the Holy Trinity of Mavrika (8th-9th century), situated at the banks of lake Lysimachia. *Lakes Trichonida and

Lysimachia ''Lysimachia'' () is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family wa ...

. *The ancient city of Stratos. *The gorge of Kleisoura, on the old national road, south of the city. *The hydroelectric dams of Kremasta, Kastraki and Stratos.

Mayors

* Georgios Baibas (1899–1907) *

Andreas Panagopoulos Andreas Panagopoulos ( el, Ανδρέας Παναγόπουλος, 1883 - 1952) was a Greek politician and four times mayor of Agrinio, being considered one of the city's most important mayors. He was born in Agrinio in 1883 and to Anastasis Pana ...

(1925–1934 and 1951–1952) * Dimitrios Votsis (1934–1941) * Anastasios Panagopoulos (1964–1967) * Stelios Tsitsimelis (1975–1986) * Giannis Vainas (1986–1994) * Thimios Sokos (1994–2006) * Pavlos Moscholios (2006–2014) * Georgios Papanastasiou (2014–present)

Famous citizens

Stratos Apostolakis Stratos Apostolakis ( el, Στράτος Αποστολάκης; born 17 May 1964), nicknamed The Turbo, is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender or a defensive midfielder. Career Apostolakis was no stranger to contro ...

(1964) – footballer *

Petros Michos Petros Michos ( el, Πετρος Μίχος; born 17 February 1959) is a former Greek footballer that currently works as a manager. He started his career as a defender with Panetolikos but is better known for his many years with Olympiacos and t ...

(1959) – footballer * Kostas Chatzopoulos (1868–1920) – poet * Christos Garoufalis (1959) – writer * Katia Gerou – actress *

Panagiotis Danglis Panagiotis Danglis ( el, Παναγιώτης Δαγκλής; – 9 March 1924) was a Greek Army general and politician. He is particularly notable for his invention of the Schneider-Danglis mountain gun, his service as chief of staff in the Bal ...

(1853–1924) – general and politician * Filipos Darlas (1983) – footballer * Maria Dimadi (1907–1944) – resistance fighter * Petros Fyssoun (1933) – actor * Panos Kaponis (Caponis) (1947) – poet & writer *

Christos Kapralos Christos Kapralos (Greek: Χρήστος Καπράλος, 1909 – 20 January 1993) was a Greece, Greek artist of the 20th century. He was born in Panaitolio (or Moustafouli) in the former municipality of Thesties (now part of the municipalit ...

(1909–1993) – artist * Michalis Kousis (1953–2005) – Marathon runner *

Aristidis Moschos Aristeidis Moschos (Greek: Αριστείδης Μόσχος; 1930 – 8 November 2001) was a Greek player and teacher of the santouri. Biography Moschos was born in Agrinio, a city in the Aitoloakarnania district. He was fifth in a family of t ...

(1930–2001) – musician * Pythagoras Papastamatiou (1930–1979) – writer * Thodoros (1931–2018) – sculptor *

Evangelos Papastratos Evangelos Papastratos ( el, Ευάγγελος Παπαστράτος, 1910 – 1998) was a Greek businessman born in the city of Agrinio in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece. Although the youngest of his brothers, he was the first in his family to becom ...

(1910–1988) – industrialist and benefactor of Agrinio * Loukia Pistiola – actress * Yiannis Yfantis (1949) – poet * Kostis Maraveyas (1974) – singer and composer *Spiros and Eleni Tsiknia – Benefactors of Agrinio

Sporting teams

* Panetolikos FC – Super League Greece *Gymnastiki Etairia Agriniou (G.E.A.) *A.O. Agriniou *Ionikos 80 Volleyball *Nautikos Omilos *Asteras Agriniou *PAO Agriniou *Panagriniakos

Gallery

File:Kalydon Aetolias 01.JPG, The ancient theatre of

near Evinochori File:Agiatriada.JPG, Agia Triada Mavrika Byzantine church File:Agrinio-city-view.jpg, Central square, Κεντρική Πλατεία Αγρινίου (Dimokratias square) File:Agioschristoforosagrinio.jpg, Agios Christoforos church File:Agr mouseio.jpg, Agrinio Archaeological museum File:Agrinio railway station.jpg, Old railway station File:AGRINIO REGION.jpg, Rural area in the municipality of Agrinio File:Trichonida lake.jpg, Trichonida Lake File:Ruins of Voukatio castle.jpg, Voukatio castle, Paravola

References

External links

Official siteRichard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', 1976:
"Agrinion Greece"
www.agriniovoice.gr
local news
Agrinio City Guide
{{Authority control Cities in ancient Greece Aetolia Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania