Arachova is a mountainous town in the Regional Unit of Boeotia
built on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassos at an altitude of
950 meters. It was the seat of the homonymous municipality until the
end of 2010 while with the implementation of the Kallikratis program
it joined the new Municipality of Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, of
which it is a Municipal Unit. Its population according to the 2011
census is 2,657 inhabitants.
It is a popular winter resort,
thanks to the existence of a ski resort and its short distance from
Athens (153 km).
Built in 1860 as the bell tower of the Metropolitan Church of the
Assumption of the Virgin, it did not withstand the earthquake of 1870
and collapsed.
At the end of the 19th century, the abbot of the
Holy Monastery of Saint Loukas, Grigorios Kamvasinos, who was originally
from Arachova, undertook at his own expense its reconstruction, giving
it its current form.
As for the rock on which it is located, it
is called Tyrias and it served as a natural refrigerator for storing
cheeses, while during the Occupation the locals hid various items there.
According to the stories of the Arachovites, Delalis used to go up to
that point to announce the news of the village.
Holy Church of
Agios Georgios
The Holy Church of Agios Georgios is one of the two
parish churches of the village and is located in a prominent position at
the top of the village, at the foot of Mount Parnassos.
This
church always impressed foreigners. Written testimonies confirm that
there was already a temple in 1676. But it is unknown how many years
before it already existed in the same place.
The current church
was built in 1833, as shown by a relief plaque in the Sanctuary, in the
style of a cross-roofed three-aisled basilica with a dome. It is a
magnificent temple, recorded by modern frescoes, with huge bells in the
belfries that flank the entrance to the church (the old big bell weighs
a ton and is 1.2 meters in diameter). The courtyard area is decorated
with relief plaques with designs from Arachovite textiles, a work
carried out by Arachovite craftsmen.
The area around the church
has been linked to the history of the place as the headquarters of
Karaiskakis in the battle of Arachova in 1826, as well as to the events
of the Second World War and the period that followed, as shown by the
historical enclosure with battlements the old cannon, the north wall of
the church struck by bullets.
The Ministry of Culture on July 11,
2000 with the decision YPPO/ARCH/B1/Φ26/KIR/22508/680 has designated the
temple, the precinct and the chapel of Agios Spyridon as a historic
preserved monument.
From its construction to its current form,
all construction and decoration costs were covered by the Arachovites.
The Hero of Karaiskakis
At the western exit of Arachova, the
figure of Georgios Karaiskakis stands out on three hundred stones that
resemble the heads of the dead Turks that the commander-in-chief
Karaiskakis had requested, for the monument that was erected,
immediately after the end of the victorious Battle.
Events take
place in Iroos on the eve of national holidays with school parades and
wreath-laying by local bodies.
As a custom, it has reached our
days, a small student of the Arachova Primary School usually, at the end
of the deposition, takes one of the wreaths and climbs up to the bust
from the back to crown the great general of Greece with laurels and then
turn to him the mustaches with such simplicity, as the grandson plays
with his grandfather.
Parnassos Ski Center
The history of the Parnassos Ski Center
begins in 1967, when the French company Pechiney Aluminum of Greece,
based in Paralia Distomo (White Houses), installed the first lifts at
the Fterolakka location, creating a rudimentary ski center. In December
1974, in the presence of the then Prime Minister, Konstantinos
Karamanlis, the first privately-initiated (by some friends of the Ski
Club, the Athenian Friends of Ski Club) ski center was inaugurated in
Gerontobrachos. The construction of the center in Kellaria and
Fterolakka began in 1975. From 2007 to 2010 the Parnassos Ski Center was
managed by the joint venture Aktor ATE-Padrak SA, during which many
important upgrading projects were carried out. In 2011, ETA (Tourist
Development Company) took over the responsibility of its operation
again.
Delphi
Arachova was favored by its proximity to Delphi.
The groups of visitors to the archaeological site of Delphi led to the
tourist exploitation of the area, which became greater after the
creation of ski resorts and the development of winter tourism in Greece.
As a passage to Delphi, Arachova benefited from the great visitation of
the archaeological site.
The prevailing view of the origin of its name is that it comes from the South Slavic word Orechova which means walnut field. But there are two more versions of the origin of its name. According to the first, the area was known as "ta x" onia of the Revolution as "Rachova", a word of Greek root, which comes from the combination "rachis" and "ovas", and which was used to denote the residential association of inhabitants. living in smaller formations. However, according to the Arachovite author of the poem "My grandfather and I in Arachova" (published by "A. Pitsilos", Athens, 1998, p. 13) Georgios T. Syros, this name probably comes from the old village of Rachovo, Grevena , from which came inhabitants persecuted by the Turks during the Turkish occupation. The other version wants the word to come from the Greek "rachis" and the Slavic "ova" (place), so "Arachova" = "backyard".
Arachova is built on a slope of Mount Parnassos, which ends in a ravine, at the bottom of which flows the river Pleistos. The average altitude of the settlement is 950 meters. The settlement is located on the main road that connects from antiquity Delphi and Thebes and the plain of Amfissa with Boeotia. Its location on an important passage helped Arachova to develop to a greater extent than its neighbors. The settlement is 12 km from Delphi, located further west and 160 km from Athens.
The climate
of Arachova is dry in summer, with coolness and chill even in the
evening, while in winter it is cold with significant rains and
snowfall.
It snows heavily with NW or SW winds, several times
in the city, but its South orientation, which results in the
greatest exposure to the sun, does not favor the maintenance of snow
for several days.
The local NE wind (Katevatos), does not
favor Arachova in phenomena, but only prevails bitter cold with
intervals of sunshine, in contrast to other areas. This is because
Arachova is located on the southern slopes of Parnassos, so the
Parnassos massif greatly impedes the passage of systems from the
North.
The region of Arachova has an ancient history. Lykorea is an ancient
city during the time of the Flood. Then in Liakoura, on the highest peak
of the mountain (2,457 m) stood the ark of Deucalion and Pyrrha who gave
birth to Hellenes, progenitor of the Greeks. It is full of ancient
settlements dating back to 1200 BC. and scattered traces of antiquity
from Parnassos to Zemenos and down to the valley of Pleistos.
In
Korykeio Andros, the oldest traces go back to the Neolithic years
(around 3000 BC). On the western side of Arachova there was Anemoria or
Anemoleia, a Homeric city, mentioned by Homer, in the position between
the current cemetery and the location "Helen", under the Mirror rock.
In the Homeric Chronicles it was one of the eight official Phocian
cities (Arachova has always been considered a city of Phocis, however,
after the implementation of the BCH law (6-7-1899) it belongs to the
administrative boundaries of Boeotia with Livadia as its capital). It
had a long wall, a temple discovered in 1874 by the Arachovite historian
Georgios Kremos and an altar of the Winds. Few ruins of it exist today
on the western side of Arachova. Anemoria took part in the Trojan War
led by Epistrophos and Schedio.
From the testimony of the Byzantine grammarian Stefanos Byzantios, in
his geographical dictionary "Ethnika", regarding Anemoria, the existence
of this settlement is clearly demonstrated until the beginning of the
6th AD. century. After the devastating earthquakes of the year 551 AD,
which the Byzantine historian Procopius testifies to, according to which
many villages of the Chrissian Gulf were destroyed, then Anemoria was
also destroyed to such an extent that it could no longer be rebuilt and
since then the rescued inhabitants lived scattered in various suitable
places in its wider area, such as places in Eleonas, in Zemenos, etc.
The current village of Arachova was founded around 1300 AD, when the
Frankish rule in Phocis and Boeotia was at its zenith and the Eupatride
De Nesle was appointed local feudal lord, who better organized the
region and united its scattered nuclei of the area to one in the
location of Ai Giannis of today's Arachova, which is in a way the center
of gravity of the area, and also a suitable place for living (downwind,
with water and with natural protection from snow and frost) with the aim
of developing a significant settlement for the most effective control
and exploitation of its wider stock. The name of this settlement came
from the corresponding name that characterized the strategic castle or
even the settlement that existed until then in the area of today's
Zemenos. Then this village developed rapidly so that, after about 150
years, i.e. in 1436 AD, the traveler Kyriakos from Agona, Italy,
described it as a populous village.
Many historians had insisted
during their tours that in Arachova the Greek element had only slightly
changed. The existence of an Arachovite tradition, "Lamnias in Toumbri"
is in itself a very strong indication to convince us of the continuity
of the Greek race in this region of Parnassos and thus to accept that
the Arvanitovlach shepherds who once arrived here ( beginning of the 2nd
millennium) they did not find a place completely uninhabited, but they
met a native population base with strong ancient memories, which they
joined and with which they merged, as a result of which they discarded
their linguistic idiom, and the only legacy they left in the region of
Arachova for to remind the younger generations of their settlement were
some foreign language (of Vlach or Albanian origin) toponyms, which were
related to their special occupation, which was none other than grazing
their flock on the slopes of Parnassos.
According to testimonies, in 1435, "Arachova is a city full of
people". In the 16th century it flourished. Several years later, the
travelers Jacob Spohn and George Weller who arrived in the village in
1675-1676 report that Arachova was a large village with 200 or 300
families, while all its inhabitants were Greeks with few Arvanites and
only one Turk, who he was a sumbasis or voevoda of the region. The
metropolitan of Athens Meletios mentions that Arachova was, around 1728,
the most important town of Parnassos. For her, the traveler Clark also
mentions that in 1801 it had 250 houses and that no Turks lived there.
It is reported that Arachova was set on fire by the Turks in 1803 or
1804, because of the quarrels between the thieves and the charioteers.
During the Revolution of 1821, the inhabitants of Arachova took an
active part in the struggle and suffered great damage. In November 1826
the Battle of Arachova saved the Greek revolution from a great decline.
Georgios Karaiskakis victoriously faced 2000 Turkalvans, opposite the
church of Agios Georgios. The village was liberated on November 2, 1828
by Dimitrios Ypsilantis and immediately after the liberation a Greek
school was established. Moving forward in time, we always find
Arachovites present, fighting for the ideals of Greece, taking part in
all the National Games.
In 1833, the current Church of Agios Georgios was built, which
existed since 1676 in a different form, as shown by a relief plaque in
the Holy Altar. In 1870 a devastating earthquake cost the lives of
several Arachovites and many houses and public buildings such as the
famous Clock. On September 9-10, 1943, in the "Sfala" location of
Arachova, a battle took place between the Rebels and the Germans of the
area, the famous battle of A mistake in which several Arachovites
participated.
After World War II, the Community of Arachova
became a municipality under the name Dimos Arachova, in 1948. In 1959,
the Arachova High School was founded, while a few years later the
Arachova Unified High School was created. In 1957 the Sports Association
of Arachova "Parnassos" was founded and in 1985 the Educational,
Cultural & Recreational Association of Arachovites "Georgios
Karaiskakis". In 1870, the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Loukas,
Nektarios Kamvasinos, undertook at his own expense the reconstruction of
the damaged Clock, giving it its current form.
Arachova in the
mid-70s, a year before the construction of the Parnassos Ski Center was
completed, was a small village, while it was favored by its proximity to
Delphi. The groups of visitors to the archaeological site of Delphi led
to the tourist exploitation of the area, which became greater after the
creation of ski resorts and the development of winter tourism in Greece.
On July 11, 2000, with the decision YPPO/ARCH/B1/Φ26/KIR/22508/680, the
Ministry of Culture classified the Church of Agios Georgios, the
precinct and the chapel of Agios Spyridon as a historical monument.
The patron saint of Arachova is Saint George and every year there
are three-day events in honor of the saint, the famous Panigyraki which
has been classified as one of the hundred most beautiful experiences in
the world, with various local customs which have their roots in ancient
Greek customs . In 2004, the Arachovas Folklore Club was founded, while
in 2009 the Old Primary School was classified as a preserved monument
and restored to a Folklore Museum, which is used as a municipal
building. In 2010, with the reforms of the Kallikratis program, Arachova
became part of the expanded Municipality of Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra,
of which it is a Municipal Unit.
Anagnostis Lazaris, fighter of the Greek Revolution.
Loukas
Lazaris, fighter of the Greek Revolution.
Loukas Papaioannou (1831 -
1890), eminent doctor and politician.
Ioannis Farmakis, leader of
volunteers in the revolution of 1878.
Dimitrios Lazaris, politician.
Themistocles Konitsas, politician.
Athanasios Iatridis, painter
The Arachova Sports Club "o Parnassos" known simply as "Parnassos
Arachova" was officially founded on June 11, 1957 and is a sports club
active in football. Represents Arachova in the local championships of
the E.P.S. Boeotia and its seat is the Municipal Stadium of Arachova. In
the 2012-13 season, he competed in the 4th National Division.
The
Arachova Sports Club was founded in 2005 and is a sports club active in
the sports of basketball, volleyball, swimming, kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do,
aerobics and skiing, having sections for all the above sports