Lavrio (known in the 19th century as Lavrio Laboratories) is a small town in the southeastern part of Attica and the seat of the Municipality of Lavreotiki. It is known since classical antiquity for the mining of silver, which was one of the main sources of income of the city-state of Athens, for the production of coins and the financing of the Athenian fleet. Part of the city has been characterized as a traditional settlement. Lavrio can be characterized as a place with great historical and monumental density.
Lavrio has a port. In recent years, significant
resources have been allocated for the regeneration and expansion of
the port. In this context, the road that connects it with the
airport and therefore with the capital was also modernized. Lavrio
was once a thriving industrial city with many industries, but after
the final closure of the mines (circa 1980) and most industries as a
result of the general deindustrialization of the country, it went
through a period of economic crisis and increased unemployment. The
main occupation of its inhabitants is work in small industries and
handicrafts. Due to its relatively short distance from the area of
Koropi (about 30 km), which is an industrial center, where a
significant number of residents work.
Lavrio is located 40 km
SE of Athens (60 km by road) and 7 km north of Cape Sounio.
The modern city is built around the port and faces east to the
island of Makronisos (formerly the island of Eleni).
Historical elements of the railway
From 1885
until 1957 there was a railway connection Athens - Lavrio, which
initially started at Lavriou Square (the first square on 3rd of
September Street after Omonia) of Athens (and later the Peloponnese
Railway Station) and ended in the center of Lavrio next to today's
Iroos, a total network length of 67.1 km, built by the "Hellenic
Company of Lavrio Metallurgy".
Future railway plans
There
are theoretical plans for reactivation of the railway line (with
small variations of the route) between Lavrio and Markopoulos and
its connection with the station "Koropi Junction" of the railway
line SKA. - Airport that continues to the center of Athens. However,
there is no work in progress, no secured resources, not even line
design. The reopening of Lavreotiko is planned by ERGOSE, as shown
in its project schedule.
Buses
The route of KTEL Athens
(Pedion Areos) - Peania - Koropi - Markopoulo - Keratea - Lavrio -
Sounio, runs every 30 minutes from 06.00 to 21.00 (approximately).
The route to Lavrio takes about 2 hours, as there are many stops,
although there are also express routes via Attiki Odos on weekdays.
The KTEL route Athens (Pedion Areos) - Glyfada - Saronida -
Anavyssos - Legrena - Sounio - Lavrio, runs every 60 minutes. The
total duration is about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
There are
also local public transport routes in the neighborhoods of the city.
Motorways
Lavrio is connected to Markopoulo via Lavriou
Avenue (GR-91). From there there are 3 connections:
Attiki
Odos (paying tolls - € 2.80 for passengers)
The continuation of
Lavrio Avenue that through Paiania, Agia Paraskevi and Cholargos
ends in the center of Athens.
Koropiou - Varis Avenue
The
Athens-Sounio coastal avenue connects southern and eastern Athens
with Sounio, through Glyfada, Saronida, Anavyssos, Legrenon.
In ancient times, the name Lavrio generally referred to the mining
area of Lavreotiki, but it also had a more specific meaning since it
also described the ancient Athenian village that was located on the site
of the current city. After all, the name Lavr(e)io comes from laura,
lauri which means the narrow, passage, the gallery, the underground
narrow corridor, the mining gallery or stone-paved street and, according
to Homer, corridor, lane. Lavrio has been mentioned by many ancient
authors including, in alphabetical order, Aeschines, Aeschylus,
Aristotle, Aristophanes, Demosthenes, Diodorus Sikeliotis, Thucydides,
Lysias, Xenophon, Pliny, Polyaenos, Strabo, Hyperides, etc.
Mining activity in the area of Lavrio and neighboring Thorikos began
before 3,000 BC. The exploitation of the mines continued unabated until
the 6th century BC. at which point systematic and intensive exploitation
of the silver-lead ores is mentioned. From the beginning of the 6th
century BC. Athens, using silver from the mines of Lavrio, minted silver
coins, the famous "laureotic glaukes". At the time of Peisistratos
special importance was given to the exploitation of the mines and the
revenues were allocated for public works. With Cleisthenes' reforms
carried out after the fall of the tyrant, the mines were nationalized.
After the battle of Marathon, Themistocles convinced the Athenians to
use the income from the mines to build ships. Thus, he established the
foundation of the Athenian navy and made possible the victory in the
Battle of Salamis.
The mines or mines of Lavrio, which belonged
to the state, and in which silver was mined, were given for their
exploitation to "contractors" for a certain fixed amount and a part of
the work. Slaves were hired exclusively. An important event in the
history of Lavrio was the revolt of the slaves of Lavreotiki, in 413 BC,
during the Spartan occupation of Deceleia. During this time the
Athenians were forced to mint copper coins.
The exploitation of
the mines was maintained until the 2nd century BC. so these too were
abandoned. Pausanias who passed through the area in the 2nd century AD.
he refers to them as something from the past.
The ancient way of
mining the ore was carried out by opening tunnels and shafts. The ore
was processed by beneficiation in flat and circular (spiral) "washers",
followed by calcination in brick furnaces. Due to a great lack of water,
tanks were built in which rainwater was collected. Porticos, wells,
water tanks, furnaces, traces of dwellings, pits and other facilities
are preserved in dozens of places in Lavreotiki, visible even today. In
particular, the areas of Souriza and Thorikos were important mining
centers of the ancient era and are believed to be the oldest industrial
cities in Europe.
In addition to the mines in the area of
Lavrion, ancient marble quarries also operated, from which material was
extracted both for the Temple of Poseidon Souni and for the ancient
theater of Thorikos.
Despite the important research that has been
done to establish the methods applied by the ancients, there are many
hidden secrets of ancient Lavrio that require targeted excavation
research followed by analyzes of the findings according to the
scientific tools of modern archeology and mining-metallurgical research.
As the researcher of Lavrio Petros Tzeferis points out, highlighting the
question marks regarding the findings of the ancient circular marble
kennels that have been excavated, instrumental scientific research,
chemical and other analyzes of the available materials-elements, the use
of modern techniques such as archaeometry and also the new possibilities
of modern microscopes for analyzing the structure of materials, etc.
Metallurgical activity restarted in the area of Lavreotiki in 1864
when the company of Franco-Italian interests Roux-Serpieri-Fressynet &
C.E. founded by the Italian Gianbattista Serpieri secured from the Greek
state the right to exploit the outcrops and reburn the ancient slag
scattered in the area . The company was acquired by the Lavrio
Metallurgical Company (Hellenic Company) founded by Andreas Syggros in
1873, after consultation with the Greek government, to resolve the
dispute between the Greek state and the Franco-Italian company, an issue
that became known as the Lavreotis or Winning Issue. In the following
years, mainly the Hellenic Company and the French Laurium Mining Company
(Compagnie Française des Mines du Laurium) were active in the area with
the aim of mining lead, magnesium, cadmium, zinc and silver. The French
Mining Company of Lavrio, which is also the longest-lived mining and
metallurgical industry in Greece, operated until 1992. The company's
factory in Kyprianos of Lavrio, after the shutdown, was bought by the
Greek government and granted to the then Ministry of Culture, which
declared the whole a preserved monument. It was then granted to the
National Technical University of Athens, which established the
Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio.
The development of the
area after 1864 was rapid and the new city of Lavrio gradually began to
be inhabited. A large number of Greek workers were attracted to the area
not only from Mesogeia, but also from the Cyclades (Milos, Santorini),
Crete, Laconia, Evia, Boeotia, Phocis and many foreign workers from
Cartagena, Spain, Malta . The population of the city of Lavrio exceeded
10,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the 20th century. According to
the 1907 census, the town had 10,007 inhabitants.
After the Asia
Minor Catastrophe, a large number of Asia Minor and Thracian refugees
settled in Lavrio and the wider area of Lavreotiki, during the period
1922-1924. The refugee families came from Eastern Thrace, Constantinople
and Asia Minor. In particular, many families came from Smyrna, Koutali,
Afisia, Aretsou (ancient Rysio) and other areas. After the settlement of
the refugees, the agriculture and fishing sectors developed. Also, trade
in the region was particularly developed by the Asia Minors, with the
creation of a market with commercial enterprises in Lavrio.
Initially, Lavrio was called Workshops (this name can be found since
ancient times) and it belonged administratively to the municipality of
Lavrio (founded in 1835), whose seat was Keratea. In 1890, Lavrio (still
referred to as Workshops) was designated as the seat of the newly
established municipality of Sounios, which was renamed a year later to
the municipality of Lavreotiki, which continues its operation to this
day. Based on the administrative reform of the country (Kallikratis
program), on 1/1/2011 the municipality of Lavreotiki was united with the
municipality of Kerateas and the community of Ag. Konstantinou (known as
Kamariza).
The economic development of the region had significant
environmental consequences for the region in the 19th and 20th
centuries. Due to the complete lack of measures for the environment, a
massive environmental disaster occurred, the results and consequences of
which are still visible today. Millions of tons of processed material
are piled up on the city's shores, and there is extensive accumulation
of heavy elements (eg, arsenic) in the soil, which prohibit the
cultivation of the land.
The modern city
The city of Lavrio, built entirely from scratch
since 1865, based on an even plan, is adorned with large squares,
groves, free spaces and a number of important neoclassical buildings.
Characteristic is the multitude of palm trees that adorn the avenues,
the squares and above all the famous grove of Kyprianos known to the
locals as "Perivolakia", now as "Palm Forest". Sights are several
neoclassical buildings, such as the offices of the first mining company
in the port which today house the Town Hall, the building of the old
Town Hall (now KEP and Historical Archive), the building of the Filomous
association (now Cultural Center), the building of the old 1st Primary
School, the "Euterpi" building that housed the eponymous Philharmonic,
the Fish Market, as well as many other private buildings. Its temples
are also noteworthy, as well as the restored historical industrial
buildings that today mainly house cultural activities, such as the
Machine Shop and the Foundry of the Metallurgical Company of Lavrio and
of course the Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio (TPPL) of the
National Technical University of Athens housed in the facilities of the
once mighty French Laurium Mining Company (Compagnie Française des Mines
du Laurium).
Districts
Thoric
Kavodocano
Cyprian (Old
and New)
Santorini or Theraica
Green Fox
St. Friday
Night
town
Naples
Romanian
Panormos
Workhouses of Lavrio
I was
pouting
Kato Poseidonia or Passa Port
St. Old man
Agrileza
Lower Sounion
Legraine
St. Andrew
Many services are based in Lavrio, including the police department, port authority, fire station, customs, forest authority, IKA, Lavrio Port Authority, Maritime Station, Mariner's House annex, security department, foreigners' department, KEP, health center, refugee camp, mortgage office, post office , 4 bank branches (Alpha Bank, National Bank, Eurobank and Piraeus Bank), as well as many shops of all kinds. Also in the city there are 2 kindergartens, 4 elementary schools, a special elementary school, 2 high schools, a technical high school and a general high school.
The city of Lavrio today is adorned with the Archaeological Museum of Lavrio, the Mineralogical Museum of Lavrio which was founded in 1984 by the Lavreotiki Research Society, while there is also the Mineralogical - Mining Museum of Kamariza (Agios Konstantinos), right next to the Serpieri Well No1 in Kamariza , while in the declared facilities of the former French Mining Company of Lavrio, today's "Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio" the "Museum of Mining and Metallurgy of Lavrio" owned by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is to be installed. There are still proposals for the inclusion of the Lavreotiki Geopark in the UNESCO geoparks as well as a themed mining park.
Ecclesiastically, Lavrio belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Mesogaia
and Lavreotiki, which founded (2014) a spiritual center and diocese in
the town.
Parishes
Orthodox (4): Saint Paraskevi, Saint
Andrew, Evangelistria and Saint John the Russian
Catholic (1): Saint
Barbara
Archaeological monuments and natural beauty
The wider
area of Lavrio has a number of important archaeological monuments, such
as
In Sounio: the famous Temple of Poseidon and the ruins of the
Temple of Athena Sounias at Cape Sounio, the ancient market at the
location of Limani Passa or Poseidonia, etc.
In Thorikos: the ancient
theater, the mining arcades and installations and the vaulted tombs
In the National Park of Souni: the facilities of the ancient mining
laundries, mining galleries and other mining facilities. In addition to
the archaeological monuments of the forest, the attraction is the
"Egoilon Chaos", a natural chasm as well as the valuable flora and fauna
of the forest.
The annual pre-war dance given by the Laureotic Society in Lavrio was one of the most famous at the time and was even considered third in social value - promotion after the dance of the Palaces and the School of Hope. Manos Hadjidakis also commemorated this dance in his work "Who is the lucky one tonight, there is a dance in Lavrio..."
The soil of Lavrio is unsuitable for any cultivation as the levels of
heavy metals are many times the permissible limits.[citation needed]
Pollution
Mining
The natural environment of Lavrio is very
burdened. In the previous century, mining activities and the processing
of their products led to the accumulation of heavy metals in the soil of
Lavreotiki. Molybdiasis is a frequent phenomenon in animals, and since
the beginning of the last century, livestock farming has been absent
from the area.
Battery acids
In the last decades, a "Lampro"
(ALAKO) battery manufacturing factory operated adjacent to the cemetery
(in the "Neraki" area) whose fumes (acids) made the atmosphere
suffocating. Its waste has accumulated on the ground, will remain there,
and of course has polluted the water table of the area.
PPC
Just three kilometers from the center of the city of Lavrio is a PPC
factory. This factory is a serious source of contamination for the city
of Lavrio and the surrounding area, due to the operation of the
electricity generating units. After the installation and operation of
the gas-fired power plants and the shutdown of the oil plants around
2010, air pollution has at least theoretically decreased.
Solvents
The accident at the chemical factory of HYMA (July 26, 2006)
released many tons of solvents into the environment of Lavrio. For
several days the burning of the chemicals made the atmosphere stifling.
These gases fell to the ground and will remain there for many years to
come.
Due to its location on the Athenian Riviera, Lavrio has a warm semi-arid climate with mild winters and hot summers. According to the meteorological station of the National Observatory of Athens, Lavrio has never recorded a temperature below zero.
Lavrio has the following sports fields:
The Lavrio Indoor Gym (37°43′00″N 24°03′00″E) is located in the city
center (formerly AKEL). It is mainly used by the professional men's
basketball team, by children's and teenage girls as well as the veteran
basketball team. It has a wooden floor and can be used for basketball,
volleyball, badminton and handball games. In addition to the main hall,
there is also an auxiliary one used for wrestling sports, etc.
Football courts
APEL Stadium (near the 1st primary school),
headquarters of the football team of Lavreotiki. It has a plastic
carpet, a small number of stands (about 300 seats), a tartan track. Open
to the public.
Neapolis Stadium, home of the Olympiakos Lavrio
football team. It has a plastic carpet, a small number of stands (about
200 seats). Open to the public.
Heraklis Lavrio Stadium (near the 3rd
primary school), home of the soccer team of Heraklis Lavrio. It does not
have permanent platforms. Clay. Access: free.
Passas Field: In the
area of the same name. Clay. Access: free.
Kamariza Field: In the
Chaos area, next to the forest. Clay. Access: free.
Field of Workers'
Housing: Clay. Access: free.
5x5 soccer fields
Plastic carpet
stadium, adjacent to the indoor gym (open to the public).
Private
field, near the Lavrio Housing Project, accessible from the Lavrio -
Kamariza road.
Tennis courts
2 outdoor tennis courts (concrete)
next to the municipal indoor gym. They are closed to the public, used
exclusively by the private club.
Quote: there is a private organized
tennis court in Anavyssos.
Open basketball courts
AKEL Stadium:
Next to the indoor gym. Cement. Access: free.
Kamariza Field: Next to
the church of Ag. Konstantinou. Cement. Access: free.
Evangelistria
Stadium. Above the homonymous church. Cement. Access: free.
Passas
Field: In a park with Alykes, next to the sea. Cement. Access: free.
Kyprianou Stadium. Cement. Access: free.
Field of Workers' Housing:
Cement. Access: free.
All elementary, middle, and high schools have
basketball courts, but public access is prohibited.
Kart tracks
Private go-kart track, relatively small, next to 5x5, near Lavrio
Housing Project, accessible from the Lavrio - Kamariza road
Track
APEL Stadium: Tartan track. Open to the public.