Corinth Archaeological Site (Κόρινθος)

Corinth

 

Location: 7 km (4 mi) South- west of modern Corinth  Map

Tel. 27410 31207

Site/ Museum

Open: Apr- Oct: 8am- 7pm daily

Nov- Mar 8:30am- 3pm daily

Closed: Jan 1, 25 March, Good Friday, Easter, 1 May, 25, 26 Dec

 

Ancient City of Corinth is one of the most important settlements in Antiquity. Although it was destroyed several times its citizens managed to find strength to rebuild Corinth to its former glory. Corinth is adjacent to the Athens-Patras road, with easy access to the capital either via the modern motorway or the Suburban Railway, which started operating in 2005.

The modern city, as it was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century, has an excellent road plan with vertical roads that lead to the sea. The southern part of the city, the so-called Synoikismos or officially Ionia, has a relatively anarchic structure, as it was formed gradually and without an organized plan during the mass arrival of refugees that followed the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

The patron saint is the Apostle Paul. The homonymous metropolitan church dominates in a beautiful verdant courtyard, in the center of the city. The central church in the Settlement is considered to be the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

The center, largely pedestrianized, houses most of the shops. Noteworthy are the Courthouse and the building of the National Bank. The main avenue - Ethnikis Antistaseos - leads to Eleftherios Venizelos Square (known to the locals as Floisvos), where the statue of the winged Pegasus, the symbol of the city, is found.

Reference point is the beach "Kalamia", which had many dining and entertainment areas and a very well organized beach.

 

Acrocorinth (Corinth Archaeological Site)

 

Location: 4 km (2.5 mi) South of Ancient Corinth

Tel. 27410 31266

Open: 8am- 5pm daily

 

History

Corinth is a continuation of ancient Corinth. In 1858 the old city of Corinth, now known as Ancient Corinth, was leveled by an earthquake. This led to the construction of the new city SE of the ancient port of Lechaio, on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth.

The city was hit by a devastating earthquake on April 22, 1928, which left most of the houses uninhabited and left 5,000 families homeless. It was rebuilt with the most complete anti-seismic rules under the supervision of the AOSK (Autonomous Organization of Seismic Patients of Corinth), which was established by the government of Eleftherios Venizelos and endowed with 75 million drachmas, the revenues of the then Casino Loutrakios and Drachio.

The strong earthquake of 6.6 on the Richter scale on February 24, 1981 brought the city back to the center of pan-Hellenic interest, but the damage was limited thanks to the new seismic code.

Geography & Climate
The city of Corinth is by the sea, at an altitude of 10 meters. It is located on the edge of the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow strip of land that connects the Peloponnese with Central Greece, on the east side of the Gulf of Corinth. It is surrounded by the coastal area of ​​Lechaio and the areas of Examilia and Xylokeriza. He moved to this location in 1858, after the earthquake that leveled the old town located 8 km southwest, at the foot of Mount Akrokorinthos. In that place is Ancient Corinth.

The climate of the city is Mediterranean, with mild winters and hot and dry summers. The average annual temperature is 18 ° C, while rainfall is limited.

 

Museums

Historical - Folklore Museum of Corinth
The Historical - Folklore Museum of Corinth, Vassos Petropoulos - Univ. Gartagani, was founded with the aim of finding, preserving and promoting folklore material as well as disseminating in any way the relevant knowledge and information to the general public. His rich collections are placed from the beginning of the 19th century. until the middle of the 20th c. and include women's and men's costumes from many parts of Greece, embroidery, textiles, silversmithing, metalwork and wood carving as well as agricultural tools and household utensils.

Ecclesiastical Museum
The Ecclesiastical Museum of Corinth was founded in 1971 by the Metropolitan of Corinth Panteleimon to house icons and ecclesiastical relics that are part of the local ecclesiastical history. Since 2010 his collection is exhibited in the Krokideio hall.

Municipal Art Gallery
The Municipal Gallery of Corinth includes paintings by Sotiris Pylarinos, who donated his collection in order to establish a gallery in his hometown. The gallery was inaugurated on September 21, 1998 and houses both works from the painter's studio and a number of important works by famous artists from his personal collection. Among his works stand out the award-winning The Prayer of the Hungry, The Rich and the Poor and The Unknown Soldier. The gallery also hosts periodic exhibitions by other artists.

 

Transportation

Road transport
In Corinth there is a dense national road network, as it is the main gateway to the Peloponnese, the southernmost region of mainland Greece. The Moreas highway (A7) connects the city with Tripoli and Kalamata. This is a fork of the Olympia Road (A8) that passes a short distance from the city and connects Athens with Patras via Corinth.

Access to the above cities is via the respective highways (A7 to Tripoli and Kalamata and A8 to Athens and Patras) plus the national road 10 that connects the Isthmus with Epidaurus.

Rail transport
Corinth acquired a railway station for the first time in 1884 on the railway lines Piraeus - Patras and Corinth - Kalamata of SPAP. This Station is no longer operating. On September 27, 2005, a newer railway station was opened, served by the Athens suburb, which connects the city with Athens and its airport. On July 9, 2007, the suburban train began to connect Corinth with Kiato and the old station closed.

Shipping
The port of Corinth, located north of the city center and near the northwestern entrance of the Corinth Canal, serves the local needs of industry and agriculture. Used mainly by trucks.

It is an artificial harbor (about 9 meters (30 feet) deep, protected by a concrete pier (approximately 930 meters long, 100 meters wide, 93,000 m2) .A new pier completed in the late 1980s doubled the port's capacity. The reinforced mole protects moored boats from strong north winds.

Traffic in the port has increased rapidly since 1893, with the completion of the Corinth Canal, which connects the Corinthian Gulf with the Saronic Gulf.