Gargaliani

Gargaliani
Parish Δημοτική Ενότητα Γαργαλιάνων
(Γαργαλιάνοι)

Basic data

State :

Greece

Region :

Geographic coordinates :

37 ° 4 ′ N , 21 ° 38 ′ E Coordinates: 37 ° 4 ′ N , 21 ° 38 ′ E

Height above d. M .:

52 to 600 m

Area :

122.680 km²

Residents :

7,940 (2011)

Population density :

64.7 inhabitants / km²

Code No .:

440604

Structure:

1 city district
6 local communities

Located in the municipality of Trifylia and in the Messenia region

Gargaliani ( Greek Γαργαλιάνοι [ ɣarɣaˈljani ] ( m. Pl. )) Is a small Greek town in Messenia on the Peloponnese peninsula . From 1912 to 2010 it was an independent municipality, from 1944 as a municipal municipality (dimos). With the administrative reform in 2010 , this municipality was integrated into the newly created municipality of Trifylia , where it has since formed one of six municipal districts.

location

Gargaliani is located on the west coast of the Messenian Peninsula on the Ionian Sea . The terrain rises to the northeast up to a southern foothill of Mount Egaleo , which here reaches a height of almost 1000 meters. To the north, Gargaliani borders the municipality of Filiatra , to the east of the ridge and to the south the municipality of Pylos-Nestoras connects . 1.2 km west of the coast is the uninhabited island of Proti , which also belongs to the Gargaliani area.

The mostly hilly landscape is characterized by olive groves and viticulture, in the higher parts there are also forest areas.

For the structure of the Gargaliani municipality, see Trifylia # Verwaltungsgliederung .

history

Neither the founding of the Gargaliani village nor the etymology of its name is known. Gurgulia appears as the oldest name in Venetian maps , later the place had the Italian name Gargaliano . Different traces of settlement in the municipality can be found continuously since the Bronze Age . During antiquity there was a town south of today's village, and there is also a certain settlement in the municipality from the late antique to the Byzantine period, which is documented by grave finds.

During the Greek uprisings against Ottoman rule, Gargaliani was crossed by Ottoman troops twice: During the suppression of the Orlov revolt in 1770, the Ottoman army under Pasha Mustafa camped here on his way to Pylos, in 1825 Ibrahim Pasha stormed with his Egyptian army through the municipality, destroyed the village and forced many residents to flee, partly to the Ionian Islands . After the independence of Greece, the population of the place had decreased from around a thousand to 250 people. In the 19th century the community was first called Platamodas (Δήμος Πλαταμώδους).

During the 19th century, the village was rebuilt and initially lived mainly from traditional raisin production, which stagnated at the end of the century, which caused many residents to emigrate overseas. One of the descendants of these emigrants, Dimitrios V. Briskas, later enabled the community to build a library and a sports hall.

Culture and sights

cathedral

In Gargaliani there is the cathedral for the birth of St. Mary, completed around 1715. In addition to some remains from ancient times, natural beauties such as the Valta waterfall or the sulfur springs of Vromoneri are particularly worth visiting.

In addition to the festival of the city's patron saint, St. Dionysius Areopagita, on October 3, the community commemorates Sarandis Agapinos, born in 1880 as a citizen of the city, who fought for Greece in Macedonia under his battle name Telos Agras and hanged in 1907 by Bulgarian partisans, with various cultural events has been.

Gargaliani has five primary schools as well as one middle and one high school.

Individual evidence

↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)

[1] Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)