Stemnitsa

 

Stemnitsa, during Antiquity known as Ypsos, is a mountain village in the municipality of Gortynia in Arcadia. Built in Mainalo and at a height of 1083 meters, it is characterized as a traditional settlement. The distance from Athens is 220 km and 45 km from Tripoli. Its population according to the 2011 census is 191 inhabitants, while in 2001 it was 412 inhabitants.

 

Sights

Stemnitsa is a popular tourist destination throughout the year. In Stemnitsa there are several traditional guesthouses and a luxury hotel. Some of the attractions in the area are:
The holy Church of Ag. Georgiou in the center of Stemnitsa which contains original frescoes by Fotis Kontoglou
Panagia Bafero (12th century), a single-aisled basilica with a semi-cylindrical dome, with a portico on the north side which is a later addition (1910).
The Folklore Museum of Stemnitsa
The School of Silversmithing
From the square of Stemnitsa starts the Menalon Trail, the first certified with European specifications (LQT) path in Greece and the tenth in Europe, it was inaugurated on 31/5/2015 by the European Ramblers' Association, the Pan-European Confederation of Pedestrians which represents 55 federations from 34 countries and a total of 3,000,000 hikers. This 75 km long path crosses the ravine of Lousios, passes by I.M.Prodromos, the old and new I.M.Filosofou, hydrodynamic museum, Dimitsana, Zygovisti, Elati, Mylaonta gorge, Vytina, Nymphasia, I.M. Kernitsa, Magouliana, Valtesiniko, Lagadia and gathers hikers from all over the world.
The gorge of Lousios
The monasteries of Agios Ioannou Prodromos, one of the most important monasteries of the Peloponnese, the I.M. Panagia Filosofou and IM Zoodochos Pigi (15th century).
The 15th century Zoodochos Pigi Monastery, which is built on a rocky hill. In the two-story cell of the Monastery, which is preserved to this day, it was the seat of the First Peloponnesian Senate from May to June 1821. In the monastery, the temple of Zoodochos Pigis is also preserved, which is cruciform with a dome and is believed to have been built around 1443.
The fir forest of Mainalo and its ski resort.
The picturesque villages and traditional settlements of the area (Elliniko, Sirna, Psari Gortynias, Palamari, Pavlia etc.

School of Silversmithing
Since 1976, the well-known School of Silversmithing in Stemnitsa has been operating. Today the school operates as an afternoon Public IEK and a daytime Vocational High School (EPAL) of Silver and Goldsmithing. Those who have already finished high school are accepted. Since 1980 it has been under the Ministry of Education.

 

History

The area has been known as Ypsos since antiquity. According to mythology, ancient Ypsos was built by Ypsountas, one of the fifty sons of the king of Arcadia Lycaon. Reference to Ypsounta is also made by Pausanias in "Arkadika". It is unknown exactly when it was renamed Stemnitsa but it is speculated that it took place in the 7th century AD, after the settlement of the areas by Slavs, as Stemnitsa means wooded and shady place in Slavic. It experienced great prosperity during the Byzantine period, when the Stemnitsa bells were known.

In the revolution of '21 he played a leading role. The Alexandropoulos family of protesters and fighters came from Stemnitsa. Konstantinos Alexandropoulos, initiated in the Friendly Society, formed a corps of 175 people from Stemnitsa and on March 25, 1821 went down to the plain of Karytaina to besiege the Turks there. On April 25, he was appointed "general" with the name "Konstantinos Ypsilantis", according to a document where 41 clergymen and laity of the region are sworn in and signed. Fighters were also his brother, his son John who participated in the battles while he was still a teenager, his son Alexander who served on the ship of Kanaris, also his son Vassilios, born in 1809, who followed his father in the battles. John was killed in the battle of Trikorfos in the presence of his brother Vassilis. Christos Alexandropoulos was probably a relative of the previous ones, who was given as a hostage as a guarantee to the Turkalvans who decided to leave Ibrahim in 1827. From Stemnitsa also came the fighter Dimitrios Sfikas who had taken part in the famous Battle of 17 Skoulen 1821), a village in present-day Romania. His book "Memories" about the events of 1821 in Dacia is of great historical importance.

It served as the seat of Theodoros Kolokotronis who called it "Moria's space girl". Due to its role in the national liberation struggle, it was the seat of the first Peloponnesian Senate and the first informal capital of the revolutionary Greek nation for a month. It was proclaimed on May 27, 1821 - the date on which an assembly of the First Peloponnesian Senate took place in I.M. Chrysopigi in Stemnitsa.

Due to the inaccessible soil of the area, people turned to trade and silver and goldsmithing. In Stemnitsa there is also the School of Silver and Goldsmithing of DIEK Stemnitsa.

Stemnitsa was the seat of the Municipality of Trikolon that operated in the period 1835-1912 as well as the modern municipality of Trikolon that operated in the period 1999-2010. In the period 1912-1995 it was a separate community, while in the short period 1995-1998 it was the seat of the Municipality of Stemnitsa which was a continuation of the community. Since 2011 it belongs to the Municipality of Gortynia.

 

Individuals

From Stemnitsa come: the fighters of the Revolution of 1821 Dimitrios, Georgios and Lampros Roilos, Dimitrios Sfikas, Gennaios Kolokotronis, Rigas Palamidis; the well-known painter and professor at the University of Athens Georgios Roilos (teacher, among others, of the famous surrealist painter Giorgio de Kiriko), the rector of the University of Athens and distinguished professor of theology Athanasios Hastoupis, the professor of theology of the University of Athens Panagiotis Trembelas; the distinguished jurist Georgios Roilos; the judge of the Court of the European Communities (1983-1997), the Council of State and the Supreme of the Special Court Konstantinos Kakouris (descended from the Nikoletopoulos family); US MIT professor Elias Gyftopoulos; professor and former Minister of Education Dimitris Fatouros; Harvard University professor Panagiotis Roilos; Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (his grandfather's house is preserved in Stemnitsa), the professor of architecture at the University of Thessaloniki Nikolaos Moutsopoulos, the actor Krateros Katsoulis, the Olympic medalist Mimis Thanopoulos, the shipbuilding family of Martinou, Marika Mitsotakis, the President of the 4th Department of the Council of State for many years and an eminent public lawyer of law Christos Fatouros et al.

Also two great artists, heroes and people, the ones that Diogenes was looking for were Charalambos Katsoulis, awarded by the Academy of Athens for the art of silversmithing and Aristides Vlachogiannis for archerysmithing (church items, bells, icons, repousse art)