Dimitsana ( el, Δημητσάνα) is a mountain village and a former municipality in

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 110.759 km². Dimitsana is built on the ruins of the ancient town

Teuthis Teuthis ( grc, Τεῦθις or Τευθίς) was a city of ancient Arcadia. It is mentioned in Pausanias, who visited and described its temples, and who narrated the elaborate story of King Teuthis' dispute with Agamemnon and goddess Athena in A ...

. The population of the village is 342 (2011 census), while it was 611 in 2001. It has been registered as a traditional settlement. Dimitsana is built on a mountain slope at an elevation of 950 meters. From its southern side a marvelous view of

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

plain and

Taygetus The Taygetus, Taugetus, Taygetos or Taÿgetus ( el, Ταΰγετος, Taygetos) is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as "Profitis Ilias", or "Prophet ...

is provided. Dimitsana is located 53 km east of Pyrgos, 31 km northwest of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, 23 km northwest of

Megalopoli Megalopoli ( el, Μεγαλόπολη) is a town in the southwestern part of the regional unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis ( grc, Μεγαλόπολις, literally ''large/great city''). When ...

and 17 km northeast of

Andritsaina Andritsaina ( el, Ανδρίτσαινα) is a village and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andritsaina-Krestena, of which it is a municipal unit. The munici ...

. The village has a school, a historical library, several churches, a post office, an open-air water-power museum, an open amphitheater, hotels and a square.

History

At the site of present-day Dimitsana there was, in ancient times, the ancient Arcadian town

that had participated in the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

, but also in the colonization of

. In 963 Philosophou Monastery was founded 2,5 km from Dimitsana. The name of the town is first recorded in 967 in a

Patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...

's document related to Philosophou Monastery. The first gunpowder mills of the town were built under the guise of home industry in the middle of the 18th century by Bishop Ananias Lakedaimonias, who paved a revolt against the Turks. In 1764 the movement was revealed and Ananias and his partners were killed. In the same year Agapios, a wise monk, built a library, where he moved the books of the monastery. The library was growing up constantly until 1821, as the Patriarchate offered new books and there was a seminary, known as ''Φροντιστήριο Ελληνικών Γραμμάτων'' (Tuition Centre of Greek Literature). A lot of bishops and scholars graduated from it, among them

Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople Gregory V ( el, , born , ''Georgios Angelopoulos''; 1746) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808, and from 1818 to 1821. He was responsible for much restoration work to the Patriarchal Cathedral of S ...

and

Germanos III of Old Patras Germanos III of Old Patras ( el, Παλαιών Πατρών Γερμανός Γʹ; 1771–1826), born Georgios Gotzias, was an Orthodox Metropolitan of Patras. He played an important role in the Greek Revolution of 1821, having diplomatic and ...

, whose houses have survived in the town. After the Orlov events, some inhabitants of Dimitsana bearing the name "Tasoulis" ( el, Τασούλης) migrated to Minor Asia fleeing the Albanian ravaging of Peloponnese. Upon arrival in Koldere, in 1777, near Magnesia ( ad Sipylum), they changed their name "Tasopoulos" ( el, Τασόπουλος).H καταγωγή των Κολτεριωτών της Σμύρνης – Του Μωυσιάδη Παναγιώτη
e-ptolemeos.gr Ιn the Greek War of Independence the Dimitsana gunpowder mills played an important role, but during the war a large part of its library's books were destroyed when Greek warriors used their paper in the 14 gunpowder mills that worked day and night, supplying them with gunpowder. For this reason Dimitsana has been called "the Nation's powder keg". In 1960 Dimitsana's population was about 2,000, but a lot of people have since then emigrated to the United States, Australia and elsewhere.

Sights

Dimitsana is a stone-built village with remarkable mansions, most of which are now restored. It is a typical sample of Gortynia's architecture and it is registered as a traditional one. The statue of Patriarch Gregory V dominates in the central square and also the family houses of both him and Germanos III of Old Patras can be seen. Dimitsana's Library contains today about 35,000 books, manuscripts and documents. In Dimitsana's Museum, housed in the Library, there are collections of weaving, looms and handicrafts and an archaeological one. The Elementary School was built 1898–1910, by a donation of

Andreas Syngros Andreas Syggros ( el, Ανδρέας Συγγρός; 12 October 1830 – 13 February 1899) was a Greek banker from Istanbul, at the time known internationally as Constantinople, and a philanthropist. Born in Istanbul to Chiot parents who left ...

, and is a characteristic sample of that period. It operated as a girls' school until 1930 and later as county court. Not far from the village is the Open-air Water Power Museum (1997), created by restoration of abandoned pre-industrial facilities, based on the Water Power. It includes a flourmill, a traditional cauldron, a tannery, a tanner's house and a gunpowder mill. Dimitsana01

In the surroundings important sights include the Old and the New Philosophou Monastery and Prodromou Monastery, both located inside

Loussios The Lousios ( el, Λούσιος; la, Lusius), also known in antiquity as Gortynius or Gortynios ( grc, Γορτύνιος), is a river and a gorge in western Arcadia that stretches from Karytaina north to Dimitsana in Greece. The river begins ...

's gorge.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Dimitsana is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Dimitsana (Dimitsana, Karkalou, Moni Aimyalon i Filosofou, Palaiochori) * Melissopetra *

Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

* Rados *

Rizospilia Rizospilia ( el, Ριζοσπηλιά, before 1927: Στρούζα - ''Strouza'') is a mountain village and a community in the municipal unit Dimitsana, western Arcadia, Greece. The community of Rizospilia consists of the villages Rizospilia and K ...

(Rizospilia, Kato Rizospilia) *

Zatouna Zatouna ( el, Ζάτουνα) is a mountain village and a community in the municipal unit of Dimitsana, western Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is situated on a mountain slope at about 1000 m elevation, west of the river Lousios. In 2011 Zatouna ...

(Zatouna, Vlongos, Markos) * Zigovisti

Notable people

* Germanos, metropolitan bishop of Patras (1771–1826) *

Gregory V Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia * Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...

(1746–1821), Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople * Theophanes III (1570-1644), Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem * Tassos Gritsopoulos, historian * Archbishop Ieremias of Gortyna

Gallery

File:Dimitsana en juillet 2009 - 6.jpg, House in Dimitsana File:Restored stone built house at Dimitsana.JPG, Old house restored File:Dimitsana2.jpg, The statue of

in Dimitsana File:Orthodox church in Dimitsana, Greece - panoramio.jpg, Orthodox church File:Dimitsana panorama, Greece - panoramio.jpg, Panoramic view

References

External links

Municipality of Dimitsana
(official site, pages in Greek and in English)

(in Greek)
GTP - DimitsanaGTP - Dimitsana municipalityPiraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation
open air water-power museum {{Authority control Populated places in Arcadia, Peloponnese