Litochoro

Litochoro parish
Δημοτική Ενότητα Λιτοχώρου
(Λιτόχωρο)

Basic data

State :

Greece

Region :

Pieria

Geographic coordinates :

40 ° 7 ′ N , 22 ° 30 ′ E Coordinates: 40 ° 7 ′ N , 22 ° 30 ′ E

Height above d. M .:

290 m

Area :

169.632 km²

Residents :

7,259 (2011)

Population density :

42.8 inhabitants / km²

Code No .:

110201

Structure:

1 municipality

Located in the municipality of Dion-Olymbos and in the regional district of Pieria

View of Litochoro

The Greek Orthodox Church of Agios Nikolaos in Litochoro

The central square in Litochoro

The town hall (Dimarchio) of Litochoro

Litochoro ( Greek Λιτόχωρο ( n. Sg. ), Older also Litochoron ancient Greek Λιτόχωρον ) is a small town in the Greek region of Central Macedonia and the administrative seat of the municipality of Dion-Olymbos .

geography

Litochoro is located at the foot of Mount Olympus , about 7 km from the sea coast inland. The municipality of Litochoro consists of the town of the same name with a few small residential areas in its neighborhood.

history

middle Ages

In the 9th century, the area of Litochoro, especially the slopes of Mount Olympus, was very densely and species-richly forested. In the middle to the end of the 9th century the forest vegetation declined - arable farming increased. Litochoro belonged to the Ottoman Empire from the second half of the 14th century .

Modern times

When Thessaly was ceded to the Kingdom of Greece at the end of 1881, Litochoro remained in the Ottoman Empire as part of the Vilayet Selanik (Ottoman administrative district of Thessaloniki). In 1897 the Greek fleet bombarded the port of Litochoro in the Turkish-Greek War of 1897 after the brief capture of Katerini and Platamonas shortly after the outbreak of war in April 1897. As part of the First Balkan War , Greek troops landed on the coast of Litochoro and on October 22, 1912 subsequently took the village. After the end of the Second Balkan War in the summer of 1913, Litochoro became part of Greece through the Treaty of Bucharest. In 1918 Litochoro became a rural community (kinotita) .

On the night of March 30th to March 31st, 1946, Litochoro acquired a special historical significance: the attack by the rebels of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) on the police station of Litochoro on the night before the parliamentary elections is considered to be the outbreak of the Greek civil war of 1946 until 1949.

In 1964 Litochoro became a municipality (dimos) . Since merging with Dion and Anatolikos Olymbos in 2010, it has formed one of three parishes in the municipality of Dion-Olymbos , which is also located in Litochoro.

A famous son of the city is the mountain guide Christos Kakkalos . On August 2, 1913, he managed the first ascent of Mytikas, the highest peak on Olympus.

Litochoro is one of the venues of the Olympos Festival .

traffic

The most important north-south transport axes in Greece between Thessaloniki and Athens run between the town and the sea coast : the motorway 1 and the Piraeus – Thessaloniki railway . The Litochoro station is located on this railway line , about 5 km from the town center. There are several daily bus connections between Litochoro and the prefecture capital Katerini. Litochoro has a small port.

Infrastructure

Litochoro is the location of the 24th Panzer Brigade of the Greek Army .

Attractions

The Städtische Galerie has shown works by the painter Philopoemen Constantinides (1909–1992) as a permanent exhibition since 2012. The collection was bequeathed to the community by his widow, since the mother of Constantinidis came from Litochoro.

The Nautical Museum in the new town hall (Odos Agiou Nikolaou 15) presents exhibits that were made available by the professional association of local seafarers and by the ship model builders Dimitris Maras and Asterios Parlitsis.

The Olymp National Park Information Center provides information about Mount Olympus. Topics are: hiking and mountaineering, archaeological sites, mythology, monasteries, plants, animals and others. It is about a kilometer outside the village in the direction of the summit, opposite the sports facilities.

The Alexandrion is located directly above the A1 / E75 motorway. It is an imposing building dedicated to Alexander the Great. Visitors are informed about the life of Alexander and his campaigns.

The monastery of Agios Dionysios , which is currently being reconstructed, is located at an altitude of 850 m on the European long-distance hiking trail E4. It is about 15 km above Litochoro. The monastery was bombed by German troops and blown up in April 1943.

Sports

Due to its location, Litochoro serves as a starting point for hikes and mountain tours to the nearby Olympus and into the Enipeas Gorge (locally called "Enipeas Canyon").

The second IAAF World Championships in the marathon relay took place in Litochoro in 1994 .
In 1999 the European Youth Chess Championships were held there in different age groups.

Web links

Commons : Litochoro - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

↑ Not identical to today's police station. The police station at that time was near the Platia Antistasis.

Individual evidence

↑ National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) according to 2001 census , p. 116 (PDF, 793 kB)

↑ 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)

^ Bernard Geyer: Physical Factors in the Evolution of the Landscape and Land Use. In: Angeliki E. Laiou (Ed.): The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1 (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 39, 1, ISSN 0070-7554 ). Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, Washington DC 2002, pp. 31–45, here p. 42.

^ Bernard Geyer: Physical Factors in the Evolution of the Landscape and Land Use. In: Angeliki E. Laiou (Ed.): The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1 (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 39, 1). Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, Washington DC 2002, pp. 31–45, here p. 44.

^ New York Times newspaper article . Edition of April 24, 1897, page 1.

^ New York Times newspaper article . Edition of October 24, 1912, page 1.

↑ Christopher M. Woodhouse: The Struggle for Greece, 1941-1949. Reprinted edition. With a new Introduction by Richard Clogg . Hurst & Co. Publishers, Chicago IL 2002, ISBN 1-85065-487-5 , pp. 169-170.

↑ Most on Dimitris Maras' website ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The models shown are in the Litochoro Nautical Museum. @1@ 2

↑ Alexandreion

↑ Agios Dionysios

[7] Not identical to today's police station. The police station at that time was near the Platia Antistasis.

[ESYE2001-1] National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) according to 2001 census , p. 116 (PDF, 793 kB)

[VZ2011-2] 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)

[GEYER-PHYFACLAND-2002-042-3] Bernard Geyer: Physical Factors in the Evolution of the Landscape and Land Use. In: Angeliki E. Laiou (Ed.): The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1 (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 39, 1, ISSN 0070-7554 ). Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, Washington DC 2002, pp. 31–45, here p. 42.

[GEYER-PHYFACLAND-2002-044-4] Bernard Geyer: Physical Factors in the Evolution of the Landscape and Land Use. In: Angeliki E. Laiou (Ed.): The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1 (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 39, 1). Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, Washington DC 2002, pp. 31–45, here p. 44.

[NYT-18970424-01-5] New York Times newspaper article . Edition of April 24, 1897, page 1.

[NYT-19121024-01-6] New York Times newspaper article . Edition of October 24, 1912, page 1.

[WOODHOUSE-STRUGGRE-169-170-8] Christopher M. Woodhouse: The Struggle for Greece, 1941-1949. Reprinted edition. With a new Introduction by Richard Clogg . Hurst & Co. Publishers, Chicago IL 2002, ISBN 1-85065-487-5 , pp. 169-170.