Egio
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Egio municipality Δημοτική Ενότητα Αιγίου (Αίγιο) |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : |
West Greece
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| Regional District : | Achaia | ||
| Municipality : | Egialia | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 38 ° 15 ′ N , 22 ° 5 ′ E | ||
| Height above d. M .: | 0 - 630 m coast - Paraskevi |
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| Area : | 151.101 km² | ||
| Residents : | 26,523 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 175.5 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Code No .: | 370201 | ||
| Structure: |
1 city district 13 local communities |
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| Located in the municipality of Egialia and in the regional district of Achaia | |||
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Egio ( New Greek Αίγιο ( n. Sg. ), German also Aegion, Äjion, Aeghion or Egion , for the ancient place: ancient Greek Αἴγιον Aigion , Latin Aegium ) is a city on the north coast of the Peloponnese on the Gulf of Corinth in the Greek region of Western Greece . From 1924 to 2010 it was an independent municipality in the Achaia prefecture ; Since January 1, 2011, it has been the seat of the municipality and, together with the surrounding villages, one of the six municipal districts of the newly created municipality of Egialia .
geography
Apart from a strip between 100 and 200 meters narrow, which lies directly on the coast at sea level, the majority of the city spreads out on a plateau that rises steeply 30 to 40 meters above the coastal strip. In the north the city borders on a small bay of the Gulf of Corinth, in the south the country becomes increasingly mountainous through the foothills of the Panachaiko massif . In the west the urban area is bounded by the river Meganitis, in the east by the Selinoundas. Egio is located in an earthquake-prone area and is repeatedly shaken by quakes, most recently in 1995.
Surroundings
Patras , the next largest city, is about 30 km west of Egio and is also the administrative center of the Achaia prefecture. Since 2004, the Rio-Andirrio Bridge between Patras and Egio has made it possible to cross the Gulf of Corinth and thus to connect with the central Greek mainland.
history
As archaeological finds show, Egio is a very old place, although there is no continuity in settlement. The first written mention of the ancient Aigion can be found in Homer's Iliad (Hom. Il. 2,574), where Aigion is mentioned in the ship catalog and is counted to the domain of Agamemnon . Archaeological finds also show that there was already a settlement in the area of today's Egio in Mycenaean times . According to Strabo (Strabo. 8,3,2 and 8,7,5), this emerged from seven or eight communities, whereby the polis area still included the city of Rhypes and later also Keryneia. The latter was incorporated into the area of Aigion when Helike , the most important place of Achaia up to that point, in 373 BC. Was destroyed by an earthquake.
Aigion has always been one of the twelve cities of the Achaean League and replaced Helike as their headquarters. However, Aigion's position declined from 146 BC. BC, since in Roman times Patras became the central place in the northern Peloponnese. Nevertheless, the Federal Assembly of the Achaeans met here at the time of the travel writer Pausanias Periegetes and it was probably the ritual seat of the Provincial Parliament. Another major turning point for the city was a severe earthquake in 23 BC. BC, which however had no noteworthy effects for Pausanias, who describes Aigion in his Periegese . The last ancient evidence of Aigion are coin finds from the early 3rd century AD. After that, all trace is lost, and the city does not appear until the High Middle Ages under the Slavic name Vostitsa. The reason for this blatant turning point can only be speculated, although a natural disaster, such as another earthquake or a tidal wave, is very likely. Based on the topography, it can be assumed that ancient Aigion had a lower town by the sea and an upper town on the plateau above the Gulf of Corinth. The latter in particular was therefore better protected from tidal waves that were triggered by earthquakes.
In the 8th century, Slavs settled in the area of ancient Aigions and named their settlement Vostitsa. This was followed by the Venetians and finally the Turks, who occupied the city until Greece gained independence on March 26, 1821. With independence, the name was also changed to Αίγιο (Egio) , based on the ancient name. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Egio flourished as a center for the export of raisins, lemons and paper.
Administrative division
| District local community |
Greek name | code | Area (km²) | 2001 residents | Residents 2011 | Villages and settlements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egio | Δημοτική Κοινότητα Αιγίου | 37020101 | 19.299 | 21,255 | 20,664 | Egio, Agios Nikolaos, Sotiras, Foniskaria |
| Valimitika | Τοπική Κοινότητα Βαλιμιτίκων | 37020102 | 3.150 | 510 | 575 | Valimitika |
| Dafnes | Τοπική Κοινότητα Δαφνών | 37020103 | 5.826 | 372 | 307 | Dafnes, Agios Ilias |
| Digeliotics | Τοπική Κοινότητα Διγελιωτίκων | 37020104 | 1.925 | 419 | 442 | Digeliotics |
| Kouloura | Τοπική Κοινότητα Κουλούρας | 37020105 | 2,300 | 731 | 704 | Kouloura |
| Koumaris | Τοπική Κοινότητα Κούμαρη | 37020106 | 4,000 | 210 | 175 | Koumaris |
| Kounina | Τοπική Κοινότητα Κουνινάς | 37020107 | 19.005 | 687 | 479 | Kounina, Agia Anna, Moni Pepelenistis, Pelekistra, Petrovouni |
| Mavriki | Τοπική Κοινότητα Μαυρικίου | 37020108 | 19,398 | 504 | 403 | Agios Ioannis, Ano Mavriki, Kato Mavriki |
| Melissia | Τοπική Κοινότητα Μελισσίων | 37020109 | 19.823 | 427 | 343 | Melissia, Lakka, Moni Pammegiston Taxiarchon |
| Paraskevi | Τοπική Κοινότητα Παρασκευής | 37020110 | 11.603 | 230 | 251 | Paraskevi |
| Pteri | Τοπική Κοινότητα Πτέρης | 37020111 | 33,572 | 633 | 446 | Pteri, Agios Andreas, Agios Pandeleimon, Achladea, Kato Pteri, Boufouskia |
| Selinoundas | Τοπική Κοινότητα Σελινούντος | 37020112 | 3,750 | 634 | 449 | Selinoundas |
| Temeni | Τοπική Κοινότητα Τέμενης | 37020113 | 3.975 | 1,137 | 1,214 | Temeni |
| Chatzi | Τοπική Κοινότητα Χατζή | 37020114 | 3.475 | 63 | 51 | Chatzi |
| total | 370201 | 151.101 | 27,812 | 26,523 | ||
Culture and sights
- Dodeka Vryses ( Δώδεκα Βρύσες 'Twelve Fountains'): The ancient travel guide of Pausanias already reported on this source by the sea, over which a fountain system with twelve water-spouting lions was built.
- Panagia Trypiti : The church building is partly built into the rocks of the plateau.
- Faneromini Cathedral: A neoclassical cathedral in the city center.
- Archaeological Museum ( Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο ): In the former market hall from the 19th century, which was designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller , numerous archaeological finds from the city and region are exhibited.
Transport, business and media
The national road 8a , which leads from Athens to Patras, passes Egio, with two exits Egio-Ost and Egio-West and a rest area with a petrol station. In addition, Egio has a train station on the Athens-Patras railway line and a bus station where numerous bus lines from the surrounding towns converge. From the port there are also ferry connections mainly to the central Greek mainland, such as to Agios Nikolaos.
Economically today, Egio is predominantly shaped by the processing industry and there are, among other things, plastics processing companies.
In addition to the Filodimos newspaper ( Φιλόδημος ), which has been published weekly since 1998, there is also a separate radio station, Radio Egio 99.2 fm, which belongs to the same media group as the newspaper.
literature
- Lazaros Kolonas: Aigion Museum. Athens 1999.
- Athanasios J. Papadopoulos: Excavations at Aigion. Gothenburg 1970.
- A. Petropoulos: Nomos Achaias… gia óles tis epochés! Athens 2000.
- G. Pontos: Aigilaneia & Kalavrita. Athens 1998.
Web links
- Egialia Municipality website (in Greek)
- Aigialeia travel guide (in English)
- Archaeological Museum Egio (Engl.)
- History of Ancient Aigion - Term Paper
- Extensive private English language website about the city
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)