Stemnitsa
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Local community Stemnitsa Τοπική Κοινότητα Στεμνίτσης (Στεμνίτσα) |
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| Basic data | |||
| Country |
 Greece
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| region | Peloponnese | ||
| Regional district | Arcadia | ||
| local community | Gortynia | ||
| Parish | Tricolons | ||
| Geographic coordinates | 37 ° 33 ' N , 22 ° 5' E | ||
| Height above d. M. |
1069 m |
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| surface | 54.745 km² | ||
| Residents | 191 (2011) | ||
| Population density | 3.49 inhabitants / km² | ||
| LAU-1 code no. | 40030701 | ||
| Local division | 2 | ||
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Stemnitsa ( Greek Στεμνίτσα ( f. Sg. ), 1915-1976 officially Ύψους Ypsous , in ancient times Ὑψοῦς Hypsous ) is a mountain village with the status of a local community in the central highlands of Arcadia . It belongs to the Trikoloni parish of Gortynia parish . Together with the now uninhabited monastery of St. John the Baptist, it had been an independent rural community (kinotita) since 1912 , and a town community (dimos) from 1995 . In 1997 it was incorporated into Trikoloni, which in 2011 became part of the newly created municipality of Gortynia.
The small town is at just under 1100 m, surrounded by higher mountains and deep valleys, such as that of the Lousios River. In the south-western distance (approx. 20 km) you can see the large plain of Megalopoli at 400 m . The whole area, mountains and valleys and partly also the plain are densely forested. There is plenty of water - even in dry summer - from constantly flowing springs and streams.
Always a few degrees cooler in summer than lower-lying places, it has become a summer retreat and winter sports attraction. Arcadia, especially the highlands, is very green and densely forested, but the topology and climate have always allowed only shepherds and grazing. Arcadia was therefore always of little interest to occupiers from 'overseas' and the surrounding parts of the Peloponnese. All in all, Arcadia remained an idyll - for 3000 years and until today. Stemnitsa and Dimitsana , 7 km further north, are characteristic settlements in this area.
On the way from the west coast via Olympia , or from the two centers of Megalopoli and Tripoli , the villages of Stemnitsa and Dimitsana, which are typical for Arcadia, are still difficult to reach despite the well-developed roads.
After the Second World War there was a rural exodus (to Athens and abroad), so that of the once approx. 4,000 inhabitants, only a good 100 now live permanently in Stemnitsa. Many of the massive stone houses were empty afterwards; Uses as second homes, a modest summer and winter tourism, a gold and sibling school founded in 1978 with a craft and commercial environment ensure an intact, neat appearance of the place.
During the Greek struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule, Stemnitsa and Dimitsana were not only important places of refuge for their idol of freedom (cf. Theodoros Kolokotronis and Greek Revolution ). In the mountain villages and the monasteries down in the Lousios gorge, the Greek language persisted when it was hardly spoken in the Ottoman-occupied Peloponnese. Down in the gorge, in the Philosophou monastery (see Lousios Gorge ), which was inaccessible to the Turkish occupiers, the Greek language and culture were taught and handed down.
Stemnitsa was an important handicraft center for Arcadia from the 17th to the 20th century. The Stemnitsa Folk Museum, which opened in 1992, bears witness to the lost crafts of bell foundry, tin, copper, brass processing, leather processing, silver and goldsmithing .
Around the picturesque market square there are a few taverns, restaurants and places to stay.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) according to the 2001 census , p. 49 (PDF, 793 kB)
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)