Etoliko
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Etoliko District Δημοτική Κοινότητα Αιτωλικού (Αιτωλικό) |
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| Basic data | |||
| Country |
 Greece
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| region | West Greece | ||
| Regional district | Aetolia-Acarnania | ||
| local community | Mesolongi | ||
| Parish | Etoliko | ||
| Geographic coordinates | 38 ° 26 ' N , 21 ° 21' E | ||
| Height above d. M. |
6 m |
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| surface | 57.507 km² | ||
| Residents | 4935 (2011) | ||
| Population density | 86.13 inhabitants / km² | ||
| LAU-1 code no. | 38010201 | ||
| Local division | 8 settlements and an uninhabited island | ||
Etoliko ( Greek Αιτωλικό ( n. Sg. ), Also Aitoliko ) is a lagoon city with 4012 inhabitants (2011) in the Greek region of western Greece . Together with several small villages and settlements, Etoliko forms the municipality of the same name ( Dimotiki Kinotita Etolikou Δημοτική Κοινότητα Αιτωλικού) with 4935 inhabitants in the municipality of Etoliko in the municipality of Mesolongi .
It is located between the ancient cities of Pleuron (which bears the name of a son of the mythological father Aitolus , while the nearby ancient city of Kalydon bears the name of the other son) and Oiniadai . The name of the small country town Etoliko is the only one that still reminds of the Aitolians who lived here in antiquity , who founded a city league in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and thus played an important political role.
location
The old town Etolikos located on an island between the lagoon of Etoliko the north and the larger to the south to the Gulf of Patras and the Ionian Sea opening lagoon of Mesolongi . The island is connected to the mainland to the east and west by two bridges. Tidal forces regularly create strong currents in alternating directions. The road from Mesolongi to Atsakos leads over these bridges and along the north side of the island . Highway 5 runs on the east side of the lagoons .
Of the 57.507 km² total area of the Etoliko urban district, 45.957 km² are land. In the north the local communities of Agios Ilias and Stamna border, in the east and south the parish of Mesolongi and Iniades in the west .
In the Church of the Taxiarches you can see the historical spring that supplied the besieged with fresh water during the Turkish siege of the city in the War of Independence on the island, which was otherwise without drinking water. The source is said to have been opened by Turkish artillery fire. In the forecourt of the church lies the grave of Kyra Basilikis, the wife of Ali Pasha of Ioannina .
In Etoliko's taverns, smoked eel and avgotaracho fish roe wrapped in wax are special specialties.
The delta and the lagoons
The Acheloos delta is named after the district capital further south on the large Mesolongi lagoon, the Mesolongi delta, the largest in Greece. The Mesolongi Lagoon, one of the largest lagoons in the Mediterranean , is only 1.5 meters deep on average. It is separated from the Gulf of Patras by sandbanks and is supplied with lake water from there, while the Etoliko lagoon is up to 30 meters deep and brackish.
In addition to agriculture, the extensive salt pans between Etoliko and Mesolongi, fish farming in the lagoons and fishing are of economic importance . The lagoons are one of the richest in fish in Greece. The fishermen of the lagoon can stake their boats because of the shallow water here, but they also need one because of the huge lagoon and the great distances. Pilades, fishermen's huts on stilts, can be found in various places . Buildings and sewage are strictly regulated in the entire delta area, a large part is under nature protection, hunting is prohibited. More than 170 species of birds live in this area.
history
Around 900 AD the Byzantine naval base Lepanto on the Gulf of Corinth became the capital of the subject (administrative district) Nikopolis . The new capital was secured by building fortresses in advance. One of these fortresses was Etoliko, conveniently located on the island in the lagoons for defense. The island fortress, which has now developed into a city, has been called Anatolikon since the 12th century. A first written mention from this time comes from the Jewish traveler Benjamin von Tudela , who noted in his travelogue 1172/73: "From there it is half a day's journey to Anatolikon, which is on a tributary of the sea." 1406 expelled the Lord of Kefalonia (the largest of the Ionian Islands), Carlo I. Tocco , the Albanians from Anatolicon. However, the force Venetians the Tocchi to share their revenue from the salt marshes and fish waters Anatolikon with them. Around 1430 Anatolicon became Turkish.
During the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century, Etoliko became an important place of resistance. Etoliko, which is difficult to access for attackers, experienced three Turkish sieges. In 1823, in a first siege, together with Mesolongi (where Lord Byron died in April 1824), the only 500 Greek defenders successfully resisted 15,000 Turks. A second siege was also repulsed. Only in a third siege could Etoliko be retaken by the Turks, roughly at the same time as Mesolongi (April 11, 1826). In 1829, in the Treaty of Adrianople, the Sublime Porte recognized the autonomy of Greece.
Until it was incorporated into Mesolongi on January 1, 2011, Etoliko was the administrative seat of an independent municipality, which last grew to over 7,000 inhabitants in 1997 through the incorporation of some neighboring towns. This parish is now one of three parishes in Mesolongi parish.
literature
- Siegfried Lauffer (Hrsg.): Greece, Lexicon of historical sites. From the beginning to the present , 1st edition, Verlag CH Beck, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-333028
- Liebscher, Mike: Greece, Nature Travel Guide , 1st edition, NTV Nature and Animal Publishing House, Münster 2003, ISBN 3-931587-82-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) according to 2001 census , p. 16 (PDF, 793 kB)
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)