Methana

Methana municipality
Δημοτική Ενότητα Μεθάνων
(Μέθανα)

Basic data

State :

Greece

Region :

Attica

Islands

Geographic coordinates :

37 ° 35 ' N , 23 ° 23' E Coordinates: 37 ° 35 ' N , 23 ° 23' E

Height above d. M .:

0−741 m
above sea level

Area :

50.16 km²

Residents :

1,657 (2011)

Population density :

33.03 inhabitants / km²

Code No .:

520802

Structure:

4 local communities

Website:

www.methana.gr

Located in the Trizinia-Methana municipality and in the Islands regional unit

Methana ( Greek Μέθανα ( n. Pl. ), Ancient Greek ἡ Μεθάνα ) is a peninsula in the Argolis on the Saronic Gulf on the eastern tip of the Peloponnese ( Greek χερσόνησος των Μεθάνων , Methana peninsula ' ) and a municipality in the municipality of Trizinia-Methana . From 1912 to the end of 2010 it was an independent municipality ( Δήμος Μεθάνων ) in the Attica region . The main town of the municipality was the spa town of the same name, Methana, in the southern part . On January 1, 2011, the parish was combined with Trizina to form the new Trizinia-Methana parish, where it has since formed a parish.

Panoramic view of the main town of the Methana peninsula of the same name

The Methana Peninsula as seen from the neighboring island of Angistri

geography

Lava field on Methana

The Methana peninsula is the northwesternmost branch of the Cycladic Arc , on which the active volcanic areas Methana, Milos , Santorin and Nisyros lie. It is littered with over 30 volcanic domes and numerous sulphurous thermal springs of volcanic origin.

The historical eruption of the Kameno Vouno volcano probably took place between 277 and 239 BC. Near the village of Kameni Chora next to the older Malia Vgethi volcanic dome in the northwest of the peninsula. The ancient writers Ovid , Strabo and, most recently, Pausanias reported on the volcanic eruption and the healing springs on the coast near the settlement of Agios Nikolaos.

The submarine volcano Pafsanias was discovered off the northwest coast of Methana in 1987 and was still active in the 17th century. This eruption and the hot springs suggest that volcanism on Methana is not extinct and that further volcanic eruptions are to be expected in the future. ETH Zurich has been researching the peninsula geologically and cartographically since 1991 . This resulted in a geological and a topographical map of the peninsula on a scale of 1: 25,000. This data was also used to create a three-dimensional map that can be virtually wandered through on the Internet. The highest point is the Chelona ( Greek Χελώνα ) with 741 m .

Today's methaners belong to the Arvanites , a minority originally from southern Albania who immigrated to Greece in the Middle Ages. Even if methane gas comes out of the earth from Mofetten on the peninsula, the name Methanas is not due to it. While methana was called that in ancient times, the name of the gas is modern.

Methana Spa 2002

Ancient history

Neither the city nor the peninsula gained significant importance in ancient times , although settlement has been documented since the Mycenaean period . Ancient finds, first described by Michael Deffner , are scattered across the peninsula.

The discovery of a late Mycenaean settlement by Sofia Michalopoulou near the chapel of Agii Konstantinos ke Eleni in 1990 was sensational . A sanctuary with numerous offerings and a child's grave, possibly a human sacrifice, was discovered there. Famous is the acropolis Paliokastro of ancient Methana near the fishing village Vathy , from which remains of walls, towers and gates from the 5th century BC are found. Have received. Further castle fortresses are located near the village of Kypseli on the coast (Akropolis Oga) and at the main town on the Nisaki peninsula ( Greek Νησάκι , islet ' ).

In the Peloponnesian War , the entire peninsula was from 425 BC. Occupied by the Athenians until the Peace of Nicias , who used them as a bridgehead to attack cities allied with the Spartans . The Kastel Favieros and a barrier wall on the isthmus were built for defense . In the 4th century BC The city was independent until it came under the influence of the Ptolemies and served as a base. During this time (until about the middle of the 2nd century BC) it was called Arsinoe in the Peloponnese . The soldiers brought the cult of Isis and Serapis with them.

present

In the 19th century, Methana was a popular health resort that mainly attracted the wealthy middle class from Athens and Piraeus. There were a few hotels, a casino, open-air cinemas, and a small theater. Daily ship connections with Piraeus made Methana a “Mykonos” of the pre-war period. During the Second World War, Methana also suffered from the German occupation. The sea blockade of Piraeus caused a drop in visitor numbers. There are no known major crimes committed by the German occupiers in Methana.

After the Second World War, Methana also received funds from the Marshall Plan and restored the Agios Nikolaos medicinal baths in the eastern part of the small spa town. In the 1960s Methana became a popular spa and summer resort again, and in the 1970s the lake promenade was modernized and the entertainment center was built on the islet of Nisaki. From 1990 the downturn began slowly. Methana had missed adapting to the times and creating new offers in tourism. The mainly older clientele who came to cures created a negative image that Methana was only suitable for old people. The spas were not modernized either. During this time, the competing spa towns of Loutraki and Ädipsos were developed and marketed. The privatization of the baths, which were previously under the control of the Greek tourist office EOT, was unsuccessful as investors were slowed down by local political differences and bureaucratic hurdles. The lack of experience in the SPA and wellness area, as well as the lack of certification of the medicinal thermal baths are still an obstacle today. There is no marketing plan and so the failure of the spas is dragging the entire village of Methana into crisis. New sustainable concepts for the development of soft tourism still meet with disinterest from the local administration.

The first international conference on the volcanism of Methana, which took place from June 10 to 12, 2016 and brought numerous geologists and volcanologists to Methana, did not meet with sustained interest from the population or the administration. To this day there is no concept for the development of geotourism or sustainable forms of tourism, although there are more than 60 km of hiking trails and numerous historical, geological and natural sights on Methana.

Structure of the municipality

Paliokastro of Methana

The four municipalities that existed until 1997 were merged into one municipality in the course of the Kapodistrias program and have had the status of local communities (topiki kinotita) since 2011 and elect a council or a single representative as local representative depending on the number of inhabitants. The population figures come from the results of the 2011 census.

Methana municipality - Δημοτική Ενότητα Μεθάνων - 1,657
- Local community Kounopitsa - Τοπική Κοινότητα Κουνουπίτσης - 178
  - Agios Georgios - Άγιος Γεώργιος - 46
  - Agios Nikolaos - Άγιος Νικόλαος - 8
  - Kounopitsa - Κουνουπίτσα - 75
  - Makrylongos - Μακρύλογγος - 24
  - Palea Loutra - Παλαιά Λουτρά - 25
- Local community Kypseli - Τοπική Κοινότητα Κυψέλης Μεθάνων - 92
  - Agii Theodori - Άγιοι Θεόδωροι - 45
  - Kypseli - Κυψέλη - 47
- Local community Methana - Τοπική Κοινότητα Λουτροπόλεως Μεθάνων - 1.097
  - Dritseika - Δριτσαίικα - 205
  - Methana - Μέθανα - 892
- Local community Megalochori - Τοπική Κοινότητα Μεγαλοχωρίου - 290
  - Vathy - Βαθύ - 129
  - Kaimeni Chora - Καημένη Χώρα - 21
  - Megalo Potami - Μεγάλο Ποτάμι - 25
  - Megalochori - Μεγαλοχώρι - 115

literature

Dieter Hennig : Methana . In: Siegfried Lauffer (Ed.): Greece. Lexicon of historical sites from the beginning to the present . Beck, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-33302-8 , pp. 427 f .
Richard Speicher: Peloponnese . 2nd Edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-17-010031-9 , pp. 204-206 .

Web links

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

Methana in the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b 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)
^ Ovid : Metamorphoses . 15, 293-305
^ Strabo : Geographica. 1, 3, 18 (p. 59)
^ Pausanias : Travels in Greece. 2, 34, 1
↑ Paraskevi Nomikou, Dimitrios Papanikolaou, Matina Alexandri, Dimitris Sakellariou, G. Rousakis: Submarine Volcanoes along the Aegean Volcanic Arc. In: Tectonophysics . 597−595 (2013), pp. 123–146 ( online )
^ August Wilhelm von Hofmann: On the action of trichloride of phosphorus on the salts of the aromatic monoamines in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London , Volume 15, pp. 55-62; Footnotes: pp. 57–58 ( online )

[VZ2011-1] 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)

[2] Ovid : Metamorphoses . 15, 293-305

[3] Strabo : Geographica. 1, 3, 18 (p. 59)

[4] Pausanias : Travels in Greece. 2, 34, 1

[5] Paraskevi Nomikou, Dimitrios Papanikolaou, Matina Alexandri, Dimitris Sakellariou, G. Rousakis: Submarine Volcanoes along the Aegean Volcanic Arc. In: Tectonophysics . 597−595 (2013), pp. 123–146 ( online )

[6] August Wilhelm von Hofmann: On the action of trichloride of phosphorus on the salts of the aromatic monoamines in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London , Volume 15, pp. 55-62; Footnotes: pp. 57–58 ( online )