Aigialeia
Encyclopedia
Aigialeia is a municipality and a former province
(επαρχία) of the Achaea
peripheral unit, Greece
. The seat of the municipality is the town Aigio
. The main towns are Aigio, Akrata
and Diakopto
. The mountains dominate the central, the southern and the western part, farmlands dominate the northern part especially along the coastline and in the hills. Its main rivers are the Selinos and the Bouraikos.
ic times. It was later to include the entire Achaean League
. At the time it was bounded by Arcadia
to the south. It was annexed by the Roman Empire
in 187 AD and many of the cities were destroyed after the Roman Army
invaded the area. The area remained Roman until the Empire's split into the East and the West
, when Aigialeia along with the rest of Greece became a part of the Eastern Roman Empire, which as the Byzantine Empire
survived for the next 900 years. In the 13th century, all of Aigialeia became a part of the Frankish Empire
until 1457, when the Turks
invaded the area and it became part of the Ottoman Empire
. For a brief time in the 1460s and the 1470s, it was ruled by the Venetians before being ruled by the Turks again; the Venetians did not rule again until the 1680s and their rule was ended in the 1730s when the area was reinvaded and restored to the Turks again for the next 90 years. It was affected by the Orlov Revolt
from the 1760s until the 1770s, and Turkish rule finally came to an end during the Greek War of Independence
. Aigio was the first city to be liberated from Ottoman rule on March 26 and all of Aigialeia later on. Aigialeia finally joined the rest of Greece.
line was created in the 1850s and a rack railway to Kalavryta
later on. The highway linking Athens, Corinth and Patras was marked and ran into Aigieira, Diakopto and Aigio. However, in the 1910s during the Balkan Wars
, its municipalities were dissolved and its low-level administration became around tens of communities.
and the Greek Civil War
, most of its buildings were rebuilt as late as the 1950s and the economy boomed again, but residents left the villages for larger cities and abroad. In 1969, the two-lane highway linking Corinth and Patras opened and contains several interchanges. The Aigio Bypass did not opened until 1972; its tolls were removed later on.
Aigio was struck by an earthquake in 1995, damaging several buildings. Its communities were dissolved in 1997 under the Capodistria Plan and its municipalities were recreated.
In 2007 Aigeira was struck by a forest fire (see 2007 Greek forest fires
) that began on July 24 and continued through July 27 and consumed almost one-third of the area or about 200 km². Flames were as high as 30 m and smoke as high as 400 to 600 m. Buildings and farmland were also damaged in the villages of Mavriki
, Stachthi, Mamoussia
, Pteri
, Kato Pteri, Ano Diakopto
and Zachloritika
; about 80% of the areawas affected. Hundreds of fire trucks, helicopters and planes, firefighters and some residents were needed to put out the fire. Cattle were destroyed, several cars were ruined and electricity and hydro were blacked out. Several residents were evacuated. The fire burnt around 100 km² in its first day and later expanded to about 200 km² on the fourth. The fire ended in Kounina and Chatzi in the northwestern part on July 28 and did not the farmlands to the west. The fire disintegrated in the central portion on July 29 and finally ended on July 20. The cause was arson, which was growing in the 2000s across the country especially associated with housing expansion in the Athens area. The arsonists were imprisoned.
Provinces of Greece
The provinces of Greece were sub-divisions of some the country's prefectures. From 1887, the provinces were abolished as actual administrative units, but were retained for some state services, especially finance services and education, as well as for electoral purposes...
(επαρχία) of the Achaea
Achaea
Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
peripheral unit, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The seat of the municipality is the town Aigio
Aigio
Aigio is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Its population is around 30,000. Aigio is surrounded by trees in the north and cliffs in the...
. The main towns are Aigio, Akrata
Akrata
Akrata, is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. The location is in a valley with two mountaintops. The river named Krathi flows near the center of Akrata. ...
and Diakopto
Diakopto
Diakopto is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population app. 7,005 . The town of Diakopto is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, and at the lower end of...
. The mountains dominate the central, the southern and the western part, farmlands dominate the northern part especially along the coastline and in the hills. Its main rivers are the Selinos and the Bouraikos.
Municipality
The municipality Aigialeia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- AigeiraAigeiraAigeira or Aegira is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located about 500 m SW of the Gulf of Corinth in the northeastern part of Achaea. It is located on...
- AigioAigioAigio is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Its population is around 30,000. Aigio is surrounded by trees in the north and cliffs in the...
- AkrataAkrataAkrata, is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. The location is in a valley with two mountaintops. The river named Krathi flows near the center of Akrata. ...
- DiakoptoDiakoptoDiakopto is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population app. 7,005 . The town of Diakopto is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, and at the lower end of...
- ErineosErineosErineos is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat of administration was in the village of Kamares. It is connected by the old road of GR-8 linking Patras and...
- SympoliteiaSympoliteiaSympoliteia is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,840 . The seat of the municipality was in Rododafni. Sympoliteia was one of several ancient terms...
Province
The province of Aigialeia was one of the three provinces of Achaea and was abolished in 2006.Ancient to Revolution periods
The area was known in HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
ic times. It was later to include the entire Achaean League
Achaean League
The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...
. At the time it was bounded by Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
to the south. It was annexed by the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in 187 AD and many of the cities were destroyed after the Roman Army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
invaded the area. The area remained Roman until the Empire's split into the East and the West
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, when Aigialeia along with the rest of Greece became a part of the Eastern Roman Empire, which as the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
survived for the next 900 years. In the 13th century, all of Aigialeia became a part of the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
until 1457, when the Turks
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
invaded the area and it became part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. For a brief time in the 1460s and the 1470s, it was ruled by the Venetians before being ruled by the Turks again; the Venetians did not rule again until the 1680s and their rule was ended in the 1730s when the area was reinvaded and restored to the Turks again for the next 90 years. It was affected by the Orlov Revolt
Orlov Revolt
The Orlov Revolt was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence , which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at the instigation of Count Orlov, commander of the Russian Naval Forces of the Russo-Turkish War...
from the 1760s until the 1770s, and Turkish rule finally came to an end during the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
. Aigio was the first city to be liberated from Ottoman rule on March 26 and all of Aigialeia later on. Aigialeia finally joined the rest of Greece.
Pre-modern times
The population of Aigio grew from a small town. Its economy boomed and its roads were linked. Its municipalities including Aigio, Diakopto and Akrata were created. Years later, its railway services with the OSE's SPAPPiraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP was a Greek railway company founded in 1882, which owned and operated the line connecting Piraeus and Athens to Peloponnese. The company was nationalized in 1954 and absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways in 1962.-History:The first line section...
line was created in the 1850s and a rack railway to Kalavryta
Kalavryta
Kalavryta is a town and a municipality in the eastcentral part of the peripheral unit of Achaea, Greece. It is the southern terminus of the Kalavryta - Diakopto Road and the eastern terminus of the Patras - Kalavryta Road. It is located approx...
later on. The highway linking Athens, Corinth and Patras was marked and ran into Aigieira, Diakopto and Aigio. However, in the 1910s during the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, its municipalities were dissolved and its low-level administration became around tens of communities.
Modern times
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, most of its buildings were rebuilt as late as the 1950s and the economy boomed again, but residents left the villages for larger cities and abroad. In 1969, the two-lane highway linking Corinth and Patras opened and contains several interchanges. The Aigio Bypass did not opened until 1972; its tolls were removed later on.
Aigio was struck by an earthquake in 1995, damaging several buildings. Its communities were dissolved in 1997 under the Capodistria Plan and its municipalities were recreated.
In 2007 Aigeira was struck by a forest fire (see 2007 Greek forest fires
2007 Greek forest fires
The 2007 Greek forest fires were a series of massive forest fires that broke out in several areas across Greece throughout the summer of 2007. The most destructive and lethal infernos broke out on August 23, expanded rapidly and raged out of control until August 27, until they were put out in early...
) that began on July 24 and continued through July 27 and consumed almost one-third of the area or about 200 km². Flames were as high as 30 m and smoke as high as 400 to 600 m. Buildings and farmland were also damaged in the villages of Mavriki
Mavriki
Mavriki is a Greek village located roughly south of Aigio, west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Patras. The GR-9 Mavriki is a Greek village located roughly south of Aigio, west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Patras. The GR-9...
, Stachthi, Mamoussia
Mamoussia
Mamousia is a Greek village located west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Aigio and Patras. The GR-9 Mamousia (Greek: Μαμουσιά) is a Greek village located west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Aigio and Patras. The GR-9 Mamousia...
, Pteri
Pteri, Greece
Pteri is a Greek village in Achaea. Pteri located about 15 km south of Aigio, about 45 km east of Patras, west of Diakopto and northwest of Kalavryta. Pteri is part of the municipal unit of Aigio and had a population of 618 in 2001...
, Kato Pteri, Ano Diakopto
Ano Diakopto
Ano Diakopto is a Greek village located west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Aigio and Patras. The GR-9 Ano Diakopto (Greek: Άνω Διακοπτό meaning Upper Diakopto) is a Greek village located west of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Aigio...
and Zachloritika
Zachloritika
Zachloritika is a Greek village located about southwest of Diakopto, west of Corinth, about 3 km west of Diakopto and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and about 45 east of Patras and southeast of Aigio. The GR-9 Zachloritika (Greek: Ζαχλωρίτικα) is a Greek village located about southwest...
; about 80% of the areawas affected. Hundreds of fire trucks, helicopters and planes, firefighters and some residents were needed to put out the fire. Cattle were destroyed, several cars were ruined and electricity and hydro were blacked out. Several residents were evacuated. The fire burnt around 100 km² in its first day and later expanded to about 200 km² on the fourth. The fire ended in Kounina and Chatzi in the northwestern part on July 28 and did not the farmlands to the west. The fire disintegrated in the central portion on July 29 and finally ended on July 20. The cause was arson, which was growing in the 2000s across the country especially associated with housing expansion in the Athens area. The arsonists were imprisoned.
Transportation
- GR-8Greek National Road 8The National Road 8 in Greece is a single carriageway with at-grade intersections in the Attica and Peloponnese regions. It links the cities of Patras, Corinth and Athens. Until the 1960s when the National Road 8A, a toll road, replaced it as a major route, it was the only road linking Athens and...
/E65European route E65European route E 65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chaniá, Greece. The road is about in length.-Itinerary:* Sweden** E 65: Malmö – Ystad* Baltic sea, ferry Ystad-Świnoujście* Poland... - GR-33Greek National Road 33Greek National Road 33 is a highway that runs from Patras, originally at Dimitris Gounaris Street, now begins at the beltway, and had a branch ending at Olympia, and ends near Vytina, and Levídi, and some think it still ends at Ellinikon near Andritsaina and Megalopolis...
- Kalavryta-Diakopto Road
Newspapers, fanzines and others
- FilodimosFilodimosFilodimos is a newspaper that was founded in 1886 in Aigio, Greece. The newspaper is the first publication ever established in the city. -References:...
- AigioAigioAigio is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Its population is around 30,000. Aigio is surrounded by trees in the north and cliffs in the... - Frourio tis Anatolikis Aigialeias
- Proti tis Aigaleias - Aigio and Aigaleia
- StyxStyx (newspaper)Styx or Stix is a weekly newspaper that features local and general information. It is based in Akrata in the eastern part of the Achaea prefecture in Greece. It was first published in 2004. It is the Independent Cultural and Political Newspaper of the Northern Peloponnese...
- Akrata
Sporting clubs
- Anagennisi/Aias Sympoliteias - RododafniRododafniRododafni is a Greek village located 30 km southeast by the old road and 35 km east by the new road from Patras, about 10 km west of Aigio, west of Corinth and north-northwest of Kalavryta. Rododafni had a population of 2,514 in 2001. Rododafni was the seat of the municipality of Sympoliteia...
- Aris Valimitika
- Asteras Temenis
- Diakopto AC - DiakoptoDiakoptoDiakopto is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population app. 7,005 . The town of Diakopto is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, and at the lower end of...
- fourth division - Egieas Egion
- Olympiakos Aigio - AigioAigioAigio is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Its population is around 30,000. Aigio is surrounded by trees in the north and cliffs in the...
, fourth division - Panaigialeios - fourth division
- Thyella Aigio - Aigio
- A.O. Vouraikos Diakopto
- A.O. Ziria
- Aris Longou - Longos, Achaea