Рет қаралды 6,898
Karytaina | The medieval village of Arcadia
The historic mountain village of Karytaina is 54 km from Tripoli, 20 km from Megalopolis and 17 from Stemnitsa and is located at an altitude of 550 meters. It stands out for its medieval character due mainly to the traditional houses, the castle and the Byzantine style churches. It has even been recognized as a traditional settlement.
During the Frankish rule, it was the capital of the homonymous barony and its castle (1245) was built by Hugues de Bruyeres. It was then named "Toledo of Greece" and was considered one of the most important places in the Peloponnese thanks to its strategic location.
Karytaina has historical, cultural and economic value and for this reason was depicted on one side of the five thousand, and more specifically one of the top attractions of the traditional settlement which is none other than the historic stone bridge 50 m long with the small Byzantine church , on its west side, dedicated to the Genesis of the Virgin and in the background is the castle of Moria. The castle of Karytaina was chosen as his base by the Elder of Moria Theodoros Kolokotronis in his fight against Ibrahim.
Karytaina experienced a period of prosperity during the Frankish occupation and its Frankish castle, on the south side of the settlement, was one of the most important fortresses of the Peloponnese, during the Frankish occupation, the Turkish occupation and the revolution of 1821.
During the Turkish occupation, Karytaina was a shopping center with the main products tobacco, silk and wine while at the same time it was an important administrative center until 1830 when Dimitsana took its place, a fact that contributed to its decline.
On March 25, 1821, rebels from Zygovisti under Theodosios Kardaras and from Stemnitsa and Dimitsana under Konstantinos Alexandropoulos, went to capture the Turks there but they were caught and locked in the fortress of the city where they were besieged.
Its liberation marks the first great victory of the Greeks under Theodoros Kolokotronis, who defeated the Turks in the famous Battle of Karytaina on March 27, 1821. This is the reason, after all, that her castle is depicted along with the portrait of Kolokotronis in the old banknotes of five thousand drachmas.
The great Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis, in "Traveling to Moria", had described Karytaina as "Toledo of Greece":
"Karytaina is truly the Toledo of Greece... the castles are deserted, ash-black like a hawk, it rises to the top and screams. Or ..the clouds had multiplied and passed quickly, casting huge shadows over the mountains and down into the plain. And when we saw over the hill the famous castle of Karytaina, we felt that today, in such restless lighting and with such modern worries, this castle, wild, warlike, steep, expresses more faithfully than any Greek temple the landscape around us and in us".
'Frankincense and Myrrh' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
- Subscribe to the channel by clicking here: bit.ly/3mDSXwF
- Instagram: bit.ly/32S0YWC
#karytaina #arkadiaguide #arkadia #karitaina #discover.gortynia #gortynia