Kastelli
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Kastelli municipality Δημοτική Ενότητα Καστελλίου (Καστέλλι) |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : |
Crete
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| Regional District : | Heraklion | ||
| Municipality : | Minoa Pediada | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 35 ° 13 ' N , 25 ° 20' E | ||
| Height above d. M .: | m (average) |
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| Area : | 123.325 km² | ||
| Residents : | 4,753 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 38.5 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Code No .: | 710601 | ||
| Structure: | 19 localities | ||
| Located in Minoa Pediada Parish and Heraklion Regional Unit | |||
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Kastelli ( Greek Καστέλλι ( n. Sg. ), From Italian castello , 'Kastell', 'castle') is a small town in the municipality of the same name in the municipality of Minoa Pediada on the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete . The Kastelli settlement itself has 1,438 inhabitants and the municipality has a total of 4,753.
Kastelli was an independent municipality until 2010, and since 1994 as a municipality (dimos). On January 1, 2011, the municipality of Kastelli was merged into the newly created municipality of Minoa Pediada, where it has since been one of three municipal districts.
geography
Geographical location
Kastelli is located in central Crete about 36 kilometers southeast of Heraklion. The place Kastelli lies on a hill at 340 altitude on the edge of a wide fertile plain, the rest of the landscape in the municipality is hilly and merges in the east into the Dikti Mountains, in which the Lasithi plateau lies. The community is named after the Venetian castle that was located on the site of today's town hall. The name addition Pediadas, which Kastelli occasionally bears to distinguish it from the place Kastelli Kissamou in western Crete, means 'plain' and refers to the name of the former province in which the place is located.
Villages in the municipality
The place Kastelli was until 1994 the administrative seat of the province Pediada. Since the municipal reform in 1998, the Kastelli area has included 25 villages and the archaeological site of the Doric Lyktos:
- Agia Paraskevi Αγία Παρασκευή
- Amariano Αμαριανό
- Apostoli Αποστόλοι
- Archangelus Αρχάγγελος
- Armacha Αρμάχα
- Aski Ασκοί
- Bitzariano Μπιτζαριανό
- Diavaide Διαβαϊδέ
- Epano Karouzana Επάνω Καρουζανά
- Evangelismos Ευαγγελισμός
- Galeniano Γαλενιανώ
- Geraki Γεράκι
- Kardouliano Καρδουλιανώ
- Kastelli Καστέλλι
- Kastmonitsa Κασταμονίτσα
- Kato Karouzana Κάτω Καρουζανά
- Lagou Λαγού
- Liliano Λιλιανό
- Lyttos (also Lyktos) Αρχαία Λύττος ή Λύκτος
- Mathia Μαθιά
- Polythea Πολυθέα
- Sklaverochori Σκλαβεροχώρι
- Smari Σμάρι
- Tichos Τοίχος
- Tzigkounas Τζίγκουνας
history
The hill on which the town of Kastelli is located was already inhabited in the Neolithic period. The settlement was destroyed by fire around 1700 BC. Chr. Destroyed. At the beginning of the New Palace period, a new settlement was built on the site of today's location, the center of which was a large two-storey building, the remains of which can be seen today on Agios Georgios square. This settlement was until about 1500-1460 BC. Inhabited and was later destroyed.
The ancient city of Lyktos , located at an altitude of 656 meters about one kilometer northeast of today's village of the same name, is already mentioned in a list of place names of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenophis III. mentioned. A mention by Homer and finds from Doric times are proven. The city was considered one of the most influential in Crete. Lyttos and possibly also a Hellenistic settlement near Kastelli were founded around 220 BC. Destroyed from Knossos. The remains of a residence were found and a Roman cemetery near Kastelli.
The castle, after which the place and municipality are named, was originally the seat of the Venetian ruler of this region (Italian: Kastellanos ). It was located on the site of the current town hall of Kastelli. During the battles of the Cretans against the Venetian rulers, the castle does not seem to have had any military importance, as it was used as a warehouse for the agricultural products from the Lasithi plain, which were intended for sale in the capital Kandia (now Heraklion).
The report of the castle occupation from 1583 gives 543 inhabitants. The Ottoman census of 1671 names 150 taxable residents ( haratsi ). Because of the fertility of the plain, Kastelli had a significant number of Turkish residents, most of whom left the area after the revolution of 1821. The castle was destroyed, the census of 1834 gives a population of 18 Christian and 15 Turkish families, a report from 1845 describes Kastelli as a mountain of ruins.
The last Cretan uprising against the Ottoman rulers began on July 26, 1896 with the murder of residents of the village of Anopolis in the Pediada province. Antonios Trifitsos, also called Trichopoulos, organized the resistance in the province from Agkarathos Monastery. He was wounded while fighting in Episkopi Pediada and died on the way to the monastery. His grave is next to the Agios Antonios church in Kastelli.
In 1900 Kastelli had 777 inhabitants, in 1920 the place was the seat of the municipal administration to which 821 inhabitants belonged. A grammar school was opened around 1920 and the population continued to grow to 930 in 1928 and 1,092 in 1940.
Kastelli under German occupation
In November 1940, Allied troops set up defensive positions in Crete against a possible German attack. They began to build an airport on the plain near Kastelli. This work was continued by the German occupiers after May 1941, with thousands of Cretans being used for forced labor. The village chiefs were threatened with severe penalties if the residents failed to fulfill their work obligations.
A German commandant's office was set up in the Kastelli grammar school, today's town hall. Strong occupation troops were stationed in the village. The surrounding villages had to provide food and wood, whereby the stock of old oaks was clearly decimated.
The airport has been the target of Allied bombings and acts of sabotage by Allied agents and Cretan resistance fighters. This was supposed to prevent the supply of the German troops who fought in North Africa. The Germans responded to the sabotage by shooting hostages in Heraklion and arresting and torturing residents of the community.
Economy and Infrastructure
Between 1951 and 2001 the population of the place grew from 1380 to 1692 inhabitants. The main industries are olive and oil production, the cultivation and processing of wine and cheese production.
The Kastelli military airfield takes up a large part of the plain. After the Germans withdrew, the Greek military continued to operate the airport. Around 1970 it served as a civil airport during renovation work at Heraklion Airport . This airport is to replace Heraklion Airport by 2025. In preparation, the access roads to the community have already been expanded.
Kastelli is on the European long-distance hiking trail E4.
See also
- Kissamos , Cretan place in the west, which is also called Kastelli.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ^ History of Kastelli on the community website ( Memento of the original from February 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ All information about the history up to 1940 from the website of the municipality
- ^ Instruction of the fortress commander of Crete to provide 1,405 workers for work at Kastelli airport from March 6, 1942
Web links
- History of Kastelli (English)
- Interkriti Kastelli engl.