Tripoli (formerly known as Tripolitsa and Trompolitsa) is a city in the central Peloponnese, the largest city and capital of the Prefecture of Arcadia and the former province of Mantineia. Located in altitude 660 meters. It is also the seat of the Peloponnese Region. The population of the homonymous Municipality is 47,457 inhabitants.
Ottoman rule
Its original name was Dropolitsa or
Dropoltsa or Dorvoglitza, this name either comes from the Greek
"Hydropolitsa" (hydropolis) or possibly from a southern Slavic idiom
and translates as "the city with the oaks". In a Patriarchal
document of 1581 it is referred to as Hydropolitza, "Patriarchal and
Stavropegian Land", and with the same name in the first edition of
the Geography of the Bishop of Athens Meletios (1661-1714) in 1728.
In the second edition of the same work it is referred to as
"Tropolitza".
In the last years of the 17th century Tripoli
is a large city with a population of over 20,000 inhabitants, only
this time Turks and Albanian Muslims were in the majority. During
this period Tripoli became Pasaliki.
In 1770, after the
Orloff Revolution, the Ottomans punished the Christian inhabitants
of the city, exterminating three thousand people and burning their
homes on Holy Monday, March 29. Then Anthimos (Varvoglis) was
assassinated and five other clergymen were killed. Immediately after
the suppression of the revolution of 1770, hordes of Albanians
descended on the Peloponnese, who had originally called for help
from the Ottomans. They remained in Tripoli, and more generally in
Moria until 1779, looting and slaughtering the population, almost
deserting the Peloponnese. To restore order, the Sultan ordered an
Ottoman army to campaign in the Peloponnese under Admiral Hassan
Tzezairlis in 1779. In Tripoli, Hassan subdued the Albanians and
erected a pyramid of 4,000 to the east of the city as a trophy. The
Peloponnesians and especially the family of the Kolokotronians also
took part in the operation against the Albanian robbers.
Later
the Ottomans walled the city, erecting a low wall with 7 gates and
13 towers. In 1807 Velis Pasha, son of the legendary Ali Pasha of
Ioannina, came and settled in Tripolitsa. He brought with him 12,000
troops and made Tripolitsa the strongest military base of the Turks
in southern Greece.
Greek revolution
The Fall of Tripoli
The siege of Tripoli began in April 1821 and ended on September 23
of the same year, when the Greeks launched a general attack and
liberated the city. Theodoros Kolokotronis, who during the
revolution considered the occupation of Tripoli necessary for the
success of the revolution, states in his diary about its liberation:
"The askeri where he was inside, the Greek, cut and killed, from
Friday to "Sunday, women, children and men, thirty-two thousand. My
horse from the walls to the slums did not tread on the ground. One
hundred Greeks were killed."
The occupation of the Ottoman
administrative and military center was more than necessary for the
consolidation of the revolution in the Peloponnese. The siege of
Tripoli, in which more than twenty thousand Muslim civilians and
several thousand militants had gathered, lasted several months,
until the last days of September.
Especially in the last
month, when the siege had become suffocating and the city's supplies
were exhausted, many Christians had gathered in the Greek camp
looking forward to the loot they would gain from the conquest of the
city. The fall of Tripoli was followed by scenes of blind violence.
Thousands of Ottomans, mostly civilians, but also the Jews of the
city fell victim to an indescribable massacre that lasted three
days. The sources do not agree on the number of victims. It is most
likely that during the three days of the conquest, about 16,000
Turks, Jews and Albanians were slaughtered, as well as about a
hundred Greeks from the rebel army.
After the Fall
In 1825
it came under the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, who made it his
regional capital.
After the Battle of Navarino, Ibrahim
arrived in the city on February 9, 1827, leading an army of 12,000
men, coming from Messinia. In order not to let his opponents use
Tripolitsa as a base against his positions, but also as an act of
revenge, he blew up its walls and set fire to all the houses and
public buildings, mosques, boxes, churches, inns and fountains. . It
is even said that Ibrahim himself started the destruction in a rage,
while his characteristic action was that he ordered the Turkish
patronage inscription to be taken down above the Gate of Nafplio,
which he destroyed with his own hands. The chronicle of the
destruction of the city was recorded by Rigas Palamidis, an
eyewitness and fighter from Tripoli.
Recent history
In 1830 the population of Tripoli was only
3,380 souls and the houses, along with the workshops, about 750,
most of them single-storey. Between 1842-57 several Cretans settled
in Tripoli. The first school was inaugurated in 1831, while the
first High School in 1850. The first Mayor of Tripoli was Giannakos
Petrinos in 1835.
Geography and climate
Tripoli has a
Mediterranean climate, classified as category C in the Kepen climate
classification. The city stretches on an extensive plateau, in the
center of the Peloponnese, which is located at an altitude of 650
meters. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains with dense
vegetation, of which the highest and closest is Mainalo to the
northeast. The southwestern part of the plateau consisted of
wetlands, which were gradually drained and used as arable land. Due
to its continental location and high altitude, the climate of
Tripoli is variable between the Mediterranean and the mainland, with
hot dry summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can exceed 38
degrees, while in winter temperatures have been observed even below
-10 degrees Celsius. Snow or sleet can appear several times from
late October to early April, as well as many foggy or frosty
mornings during the same time period.
The detailed climatic
data are summarized in the following table:
Metropolitan Church of St. Basil of Tripoli. Dedicated to St.
Basil, it was built on the site of the Bekir Pasha Mosque. The
inauguration of the church took place on 06-11-1855 and the
construction of the whole building lasted several decades with
various modifications of the original plan. It was deemed
appropriate to maintain several shops and workshops below and around
the temple in order to contribute through their rental to the
completion of the temple.
Areos Square. It was formed in the
place where the serai was located. Its formation began in 1858 on
the initiative of Sotirios D. Lagopatis and was completed after 1862
after the expropriation of properties. It got its name from the high
schools of the infantry battalion, which were held in that area.
There is also the marble column with the names of the heroes who
played a leading role in the liberation of Tripoli and Greece from
the Turks in 1821. Among the first class heroes was the last
Moragianis (representative of all the representatives of the
Peloponnese) of Peloponnese, Peloponnese Deligiannis, who, being
held hostage by the Turks, was sacrificed in favor of the Greek
Struggle and executed by the Turks before the Fall of Tripoli by the
Greeks, because his brother General Kanellos Papagiannopoulos -
Deligiannis did not end the siege of Tripoli but its fall.
Central Square of Tripoli or Agios Vassilios Square. It was formed
during the period 1847-1848. The construction and tree planting of
the central square is estimated to have been the work of the first
mayor of Tripoli, Ioannis Petrinou (1835-1841).
Archaeological
Museum of Tripoli. It is housed in the old "Evangelistria" hospital,
founded by the nun Anastasia Demestiha, in a neoclassical building
by the architect Ernest Ziller. The building operated as a hospital
from 1913 to 1951. The establishment of the archaeological museum
was decided in 1980 under the ministry of A. Andrianopoulos and was
inaugurated in September 1986 by Melina Mercouri, under the
mayorship of Theodoros Sechiotis.
The Malliaropoulio Municipal Theater of Tripoli
The Museum of
Alexandros Papanastasiou
The Kapsia Cave
The Grove of Agios
Georgios Tripoli extends to 185 acres, is located one kilometer from
the center of Tripoli Arcadia and has trails for visitors. The
church of Agios Georgios is located in the Grove, as well as the
stone horseshoe of the exemplary theater. Performances take place in
the theater in the summers under the auspices of the Municipality of
Tripoli and there are musical evenings. The zoo, within the Grove,
hosts a representative specimen of local fauna. There are also shops
inside the wooded area.
The archeological site of ancient
Mantineia includes an ancient theater, which is utilized by the
Archaeological Service of the Prefecture.
The modern church of
Agia Fotini in the area of ancient Mantineia stands out for its
peculiar architecture.
The Grand Cafe, located in the central
square of Agios Vassilios and is one of the oldest and most historic
buildings of the Municipality of Tripoli.
Important buildings
Villa Tourkovasili, home of the politician Theodoros Tourkovasili.
The Synadinou House is the house where the playwright Theodoros
Synadinos was born. It is a remarkable neoclassical, mansion, since
his family was very prosperous. The house has two floors. The ground
floor used to house shops and the house itself was on the 1st floor.
This is a classic example of the old, Tripoli mansion.
The Court
House of Tripoli is a historic building in Areos Square. The mansion
was founded in 1914 and inaugurated in 1934. It still has excellent
stonework, elegant columns, its gable and red windows, while its
interior decoration is rich. The building is two-storey outside,
with another basement. On its ground floor, the engraved messages
from the future deaths of the resistance exist and are preserved.
Undoubtedly, a large part of the history of Tripoli has been written
in the courthouse
Zacharopoulos House. Zacharopoulos house is one
of the oldest neoclassical buildings in Tripoli and is located on
Ethnomartyron Street. It was built in 1843 by the architect Stamatis
Cleanthis. It is a two-storey marble building that has lion heads on
its balcony.
Mantzounio Foundation. The Matzounio or Mantzounio
foundation was built on the ruins of the catholic church of the
Virgin. It is located on Georgiou AD Street and it is a building
that originally belonged to the Diocese of Hydropolitsa and Amyklon.
It was built during the four years 1854-1856 during the mayoralty of
D. Galanopoulos, on the site of the ruins of the katholikon of the
old Hydropolitza and Amykla. In 1859 the girls' school operated
there and in 1860 it housed the 2nd Primary School of Tripoli.
Later, in 1927, the building was bought by brothers Andreas and
Dimitrios Mantzounis, who were originally merchants in Tripoli, but
from 1899 had moved their professional activities to Athens, where
they developed into large industrialists. In 1929 the Mantzounio
Foundation was inaugurated and operated, which until then was known
as the Catholic. The library of the Panos Association was housed in
the extreme western part of the building, while in the following
years it housed the Public Library of the city and the Philharmonic
Orchestra of the Municipality of Tripoli.
Costa Karyotaki House.
The elegant two-storey building, located at the junction of Erythrou
Stavrou and Kostas Karyotakis streets, was the paternal home of the
poet Kostas Karyotakis. Konstantinos Karyotakis, grandson of
Athanasios Skagiannis, was born in Tripoli on October 30, 1896. The
house is a representative example of the neoclassical style. The
building belonged to Karyotakis's mother, Aikaterini Skagianni. His
mother's family was one of the most prominent families in Tripoli.
Karyotakis followed his family to the many relocations, due to the
transfer of his father, who was a civil engineer. The purchase of
Karyotakis' house from the Peloponnese Region took place in 1994. In
1998 the building was renovated by the Ministry of Environment,
Physical Planning and Public Works. The plans envisaged the building
to become the seat of services of the Region or a modern folklore
museum or house of poetry. Finally, in 1999 it housed the Rector's
Office of the University of Peloponnese based in Tripoli.
The Theological School of Tripoli is located in Tripoli, Arcadia.
The building that is housed belonged to the Galinos couple and was
built in 1857, while the establishment of the historical theological
school took place in 1858. The ecclesiastical education during the
Ottoman period was a requirement of the clergy to the palace. The
conditions of the revolution had deprived the church of educated
clergy and this gap had to be filled quickly. So, after persistent
consultations, it was decided in 1833 to establish the first three
hierarchical schools. But we had to reach 1858 to fulfill this
dream. As we read in the newspaper "Veltiosis" of January 1858:
"Every Greek heart, and orthodox Christian rejoiced for the
establishment of the Theological Schools in the free state of
Greece. Three Hierarchical Schools were decided by the Kingdom as
currently being established in the Mainland, the Islands and the
Peloponnese. And by Royal Decree each seat was appointed. The
Peloponnese is defined as the most central, most populous and
healthiest Mediterranean city, Tripoli… »
Tripoli Railway Station
is a traditional station, a typical example of the 19th century. The
film adaptation of Antonis Samarakis' short story "At a border
station" was shot in this space, due to its completely preserved
character. It has a stone overlay as well as a central gate. The
railway union with Athens gave a great impetus to trade. The old
company "Railways Piraeus - Athens - Peloponnese" inaugurated the
train in 1892 and became a landmark for all of Arcadia. After the
delivery of the line to Kalamata, Tripoli was a station throughout
the southern axis of Greece. It became a commercial center of the
Peloponnese and experienced a rapid rise. The train station is
located at an altitude of 665 meters. It is kept in excellent
condition, although nowadays it is inactive.
The building of the
former Prefecture of Arcadia is located in Independence Square of
Tripoli and is a building of neoclassical architecture that formerly
housed the National Bank of Greece. It has two floors, like most
19th century buildings and has a tiled roof. The circular square
seems to be an extension of the building and creates a harmonious
ensemble with the Theological School of Tripoli. Independence Square
is one of the corners of Tripoli that have kept the character of the
old city.
The 11th Infantry Regiment, which is one of the most
historic regiments in Greece, with a decisive contribution to the
modern struggles of modern Greece.