Kalavryta () is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

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 ...

. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' (, ; ), is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the mun ...

, southeast of Patras and northwest of Tripoli. Notable mountains in the municipality are Mount Erymanthos in the west and

Aroania Aroania () (also known as "Sopoto") is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Kalavryta, of which it is ...

or Chelmos in the southeast. Kalavryta is the southern terminus of the Diakopto-Kalavryta rack railway, built by Italian engineers between 1885 and 1895.

History

Kalavryta is built near the ancient city of Cynaetha. During the late

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 ...

, the town was the centre of the Barony of Kalavryta within the Frankish

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...

, until it was reconquered by the Byzantines in the 1270s. After that it remained under Byzantine control until the fall of the Despotate of the Morea to the Ottoman Turks in 1460. With the exception of a 30-year interlude of Venetian control, the town remained under Turkish rule until the outbreak of the

Greek War of Independence 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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

in 1821, in whose early stages Kalavryta figures prominently: it was here that on 21 March 1821 the flag of the revolt was raised at the monastery of Agia Lavra by bishop Germanos III of Old Patras. Chelmos

At the end of 1943, near Kalavryta, 81 German soldiers, led by Hauptmann Johannes Schober, were captured by Greek partisans. Four Germans were killed on the spot. Three were taken to hospital at Kalavryta but were later shot by the furious partisans. The rest were initially treated as prisoners of war until most were shot dead and some plunged over the cliff near Mazi from the force of the shots. Two German prisoners survived the execution and raised the alarm on the following day 8 December 1943. On 13 December 1943, in retribution for the killing of the captured German soldiers, German troops perpetrated the Kalavryta massacre: they ordered all male residents of Kalavryta aged 14 years or older to gather in a field just outside the village. Some 1,300 women and children were locked in a school which was then set on fire while the men were looking on from a hill outside the village. Then 696 boys and men were machine-gunned; only 13 survived. After that, they burnt down the town before they left and the next day they burnt down the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of Agia Lavra, the birthplace of the

. In total, 752 civilians were killed during "Operation Kalavryta", a deliberate strategy by the Nazis in order to break the resistance by targeting civilians. After the war, the federal government of Germany offered gestures of atonement in the form of free school books for the high school, scholarships for orphans of the massacre and the building of a retirement home. However, German commanders, including Major Ebersberger who carried out the destruction of Kalavryta and Hauptmann Dohnert who led the firing party, were never brought to justice for their crimes. The Kalavryta region also became the site of fighting during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

. On 11 April 1948, Kalavryta was seized by the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) after the former overpowered the town's garrison. DSE released 17 leftists held in the local gendarmerie building, while also emptying the national guard and United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration warehouses; taking 400 million

drachmas Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma, a modern Greek currency (1833...2002) * Cretan drachma, currency of the former Cretan State * Drachma proctocomys, moth species, the only species in the Genus '' ...

and large quantities of food and military equipment in the process.

Historical population

Landmarks

In Kastria, in the municipal unit of Kleitoria, there is the famous cave system ''Spilaio ton Limnon'' (" Cave of the Lakes") which is filled with beautiful lakes and strange rock formations. Kalavryta has a ski centre which is located east of town, on the slopes of Chelmos. The monastery of Agia Lavra is located on a hill southwest of Kalavryta. Another famous monastery nearby is Mega Spilaio which is located northeast.

Administration

The municipality Kalavryta was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *

*Kalavryta * Kleitoria * Paia The municipality has an area of 1,058.147 km², the municipal unit 531.797 km².

Subdivisions

The municipal unit of Kalavryta is divided into the following communities: * Ano Vlasia * Ano Lousoi * Doumena * Drosato * Flampoura (Flampoura, Neochori, Ortholithi) * Goumenissa *Kalavryta (Kalavryta, Avlonas, Vrachni, Krastikoi, Moni Agias Lavras, Souvardo) * Kallifoni * Kandalos * Kato Lousoi (Kato Lousoi, Lousiko) * Kato Vlasia (Kato Vlasia, Menychtaiika, Metochi) * Kato Zachlorou * Kerpini * Kertezi * Korfes * Kouteli * Kryoneri * Lagovouni * Lapanagoi * Manesi Kalavryton (Manesi, Boumpoukas) * Mikros Pontias (Mikros Pontias, Karousi, Lompokas, Megas Pontias) * Petsakoi (Petsakoi, Bosi) * Plataniotissa (Plataniotissa, Digela, Spartinou) * Priolithos * Profitis Ilias (Profitis Ilias, Mouriki) * Rogoi * Sigouni (Sigouni, Lefki) * Skepasto * Trechlo (Trechlo, Lapatheia) * Valta * Vilivina

Province

The province of Kalavryta () 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 Achaea. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

Notable people

* Panagiotis Anagnostopoulos, Lieutenant General of the Greek Army * Anastasios Charalambis (1862–1949), military officer, PM of Greece * Asimakis Fotilas (1761–1835), politician and revolutionary leader * Panagiotakis Fotilas (died 1824), politician and revolutionary leader * Jim Fouras (1938–2021), Australian politician * Andreas Panagopoulos (1883–1952), politician and four times mayor of Agrinio * Georgios Papandreou (1859–1940), historian * Miltiadis Papaioannou (born 1947), politician * Anagnostis Petimezas (1765–1822), revolutionary leader during the Greek War of Independence * Konstantinos Petimezas (c. 1764–1824), revolutionary leader during the Greek War of Independence * Nikolaos Petimezas (1790–1865), military leader * Aristovoulos Petmezas, gymnast and sport shooter * Konstantinos Plegas (born 1997), footballer * Ioannis Sofianopoulos (1887–1951), politician * Panagiotis Spiliotopoulos (1891–1962), Hellenic Army officer * Georgios Theodorakopoulos (born 1944), water polo player * Andreas Zaimis (1791–1840), freedom fighter and government leader during the

* Alexandros Zaimis (1855–1936), Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He served as prime minister six times. * Thrasyvoulos Zaimis (1822–1880), 21st Prime Minister of Greece * Germanos Zapheiropoulos (1760–1821), priest and bishop

References

External links

Municipality of Kalavryta
{{Authority control Municipalities of Western Greece Populated places in Achaea Provinces of Greece Razed cities