Kranidi (, ) is a town and a former municipality in

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

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 ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . Some say the name is derived from the word ''Koronida'', while others claim it is from the word ''Kranaos'', which means "rocky trough". It is situated in the eastern part of Argolis, on the easternmost "finger" of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is west of

Ermioni Ermioni (Greek: ; Ancient Greek: Hermione ) is a small port town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is ...

, south of

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

and southeast of

Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

. Kranidi is known for being the location of second homes of several prominent celebrities, including

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

and the Dutch head of state King

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

and his wife Queen Máxima.

Geography

The area around Kranidi consists of low hills, covered with olive groves and small forests. The town itself is about from the coast. Several villages of the municipal unit Kranidi are on the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

coast, including Koilada, Portocheli and the small beach settlement Doroufi.

History

The place of Kranidi has been inhabited for thousands of years. Very close to town is located the Phrancthi Cave that was the dwelling of prehistoric man. During the Homeric era, in this place there were two cities, Hermion (in place of modern

) and Masis (in place of the modern village of Koilada). In the classical era, a few kilometres south, the city of

Halieis Halieis (), or Halice or Halike (Ἁλίκη), or Halia (Ἁλία), or Alycus or Alykos (Ἄλυκος), or Haliai (Ἁλιαί), was a port town of Hermionis, in ancient Argolis at the mouth of the Argolic Gulf. The district is called Halias (� ...

was built, in place of modern

Porto Heli Porto Cheli (, also ''Portocheli'') is a summer resort town in the municipality of Ermionida in the southeastern part of Argolis, Greece. It is situated on a bay of the Argolic Gulf, 7 km south of Kranidi and 40 km southeast of Nafplio. ...

. Kranidi is first mentioned in the 16th century after the Turkish name Kato Nahagie, which means low province. Kranidi was one of the centers of the Greek uprising of 1777. After the failure of the rebellion, however, many locals abandoned the area in order to avoid persecution by the Muslim Ottomans. Many of them sought refuge away from the Peloponnese, in Europe and Russia. Many also migrated to Cyprus. The modern name derives either from ancient the Greek name Kranaos or from the name of the nearby islet of Koronida. This name was corrupted to ''Kranida'' and later ''Kranidi''. The residents of Kranidi took part in 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 ...

. One local guerrilla was the priest Arsenios Krestas. In 1823, before the outbreak of the first

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 ...

, Kranidi became the seat of the legislature part of Greek government. After independence, Kranidi was appointed the seat of Ermionida province. Today, Kranidi is a flourishing small town with a rich nautical tradition and developed tourism services. In Kranidi and the surrounding villages,

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika was brought to Southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Alb ...

was spoken, with heavy Greek influence. The language has largely been abandoned, with today only elders speaking it, whereas young people only understand it.

Historical population

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Argolis Ermionida Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Arvanite settlements