Kastellia (, before 1979: Καστέλλι - ''Kastelli'') is a village in the municipal unit of

Gravia Gravia () is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the Kallikratis plan, 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

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 ...

. It is situated at the western end of the wide Cephissus valley, at the foot of the mountains Giona and Oeta. It is 3 km northwest of Gravia, 19 km north of

Amfissa 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 lies on the northern edge of the olive forest of the Crissaean plai ...

and 23 km south of

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

. The

Greek National Road 27 National Road 27 (, abbreviated as EO27) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 3 at Bralos, south of Lamia, with the GR-48 near Itea, passing through Amfissa. It is part of the European route E65 ...

( Damasta - Amfissa - Itea) passes southeast of the village. The railway from Athens to Thessaloniki passes east of the village, with the nearest railway station at

Bralos Bralos or Brallos () is a village located on the slopes of Mount Kallidromon in Phthiotis, Greece. It is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia. The town can be found along European route E65, and is served by Bralos railway station. History ...

, 4 km east. Kastellia has an area of app. 37,468 acres (151,630 m²) and an average altitude of 450m. The ground is semi-highland consisting of: (1) 8,914 acres of cultivated land, (2) 11,368 acres of partial-forestry land, (3) 13,925 acres of forestry quality land. The remainder is allocated for housing and roads. The population has been steadily decreasing. The 1928 census found 1,066 inhabitants. By 1961 it had fallen to 827. By 1991 it had dropped to 779 and the latest census, in 2021, counted only 422.

History

After the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

the

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

settled in the area of present Kastellia, and founded the cities Erineus,

Boium Boium or Boion () was a town and polis (city-state) of Doris, and one of the original towns of the Doric Tetrapolis (along with Pindus, Cytinium, and Erineus). According to Andron of Halicarnassus, the founders of these cities were coming from a ...

Cytinium Cytinium or Kytinion ( or Κυτείνιον) was an ancient city and polis (city-state) of Greece, one of the towns of the tetrapolis of Doris. Its site is within the bounds of the modern village of . Cytinium was more frequently mentioned in h ...

and

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; ; ; ) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly long, with a maximum elevation of (Smolikas, Mount Smolikas). Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epiru ...

. In 1835, after 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 ...

, Kastellia became a part of the municipality of ''Erineos'', named after the ancient city. This municipality, part of the Parnassida Province, had 2,253 inhabitants. In 1872 the municipality was renamed to Dorieis. The municipality was dissolved on August 29, 1912 (under Law 4057/1912) and Kastellia became an independent community, with the settlement of Chlomos. In 1997 under the

Kapodistrias reform Kapodistrias reform (, "Kapodistrias Plan") is the common name of law 2539 of Greece, which reorganised the country's administrative divisions. The law, named after 19th-century Greek statesman (Ioannis Kapodistrias), passed the Hellenic Parliamen ...

, the former communities Apostolias, Gravia,

Kaloskopi Kaloskopi (, before 1927: Κουκουβίστα - ''Koukouvista'') is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Gravia, northeastern Phocis, Greece. It is situated in the northeastern foothills of Mount Giona, 8 km west of Kastellia and ...

, Kastellia, Mariolata, Oinochori, Sklithro and Vargiani were merged into the new municipality of Gravia.

Kastellia today

The town has a modern community hall where the ground floor serves as the offices of the town council and the upper floor has been converted to a six room hostel to host students and tourists. A community clinic has been constructed at a site donated in 1972 by K.I. Drosopoulos. It provides low-cost health care to local residents and also serves as the doctor’s residence. The nearest lyceum (middle school) and gymnasium (secondary school) are in

. Because of the limited agricultural activity, an agricultural and fiduciary association is being housed in a large stone building which is also used as a repository. In 1910, it operated as the mutual association, a

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

which insured against crop and livestock loss. In Chlomos it ran the Rural and Cattle Association for the same purpose. Livestock farming is limited to flocks of sheep, goats and cattle. East of town there is a modern pig farm. There are many professional craftsmen, such as carpenters, steelworkers, electricians and plumbers. Commercial facilities include supply yards of building materials and earthmoving machinery as well as a modern unit for processing timber. For entertainment purposes there are coffee houses, cafeterias and taverns. A large number of Kastellians live in Athens,

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, Lamia, Thessaloniki, Amfissa, and

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, as well as abroad (mainly in America and Australia). Despite the fact that the population is shrinking, a large number of new houses are being built and many older homes are being refurbished.

Cultural associations

The Progressive Association "Kastellia" which is based in Athens, was founded in 1950. Its membership is composed of Kastellians who live outside the area. The association publishes a newspaper ''The Kastelliotika Nea'' with news and events related to the town and those who have left. In each of the last 15 years the association has organized a ceremony where the young people from Kastellia who succeed in the Pan-Hellenic Examinations receive a commemorative diploma and a monetary reward. The association was founded by Ioannis Moscholios. By a decision of the Amfissa Court (#297/87), the founding statute of the Kastellia Cultural Association was approved. Its main aims are: (1) The study and protection of the natural environment of Kastellia. (2) The rediscovery and promotion of the town's cultural heritage. (3) Improving the cultural level of the population. The cultural association organizes many cultural events in Kastellia.

References

External links

www.kastellia.org.grwww.kastellia.euwww.kastellia.grwww.kastellia.com
{{Gravia Populated places in Phocis Delphi