Ypati is a town of the enlarged Municipality of Lamia in the
Prefecture of Fthiotida, while it was the seat of the former
homonymous municipality from 1999 to the end of 2010. According to
the 2011 Census it had a population of 496 inhabitants. It is
located 22 kilometers west of Lamia, on the northern slopes of Mount
Oiti.
In the Middle Ages it was referred to as New Patras.
From 1268 it was the capital of the autonomous hegemony of Thessaly
and, between the years 1318 and 1390, it was the seat of the
crusading Duchy of New Patras.
It was later referred to as
Patratziki, a name that is also recorded in the minutes of the
Revolution of 1821, such as in the Minutes of the Assembly of
Salons, as the place of origin of George Ainian.
Ypati hosts,
among others, the Byzantine Museum of Fthiotida and the Kakogianni
Observatory of Ypati. Of interest is the church of Hagia Sophia,
which has been built on the site of an older church dating back to
the early Christian period. In the present church, which was
adjacent to a 5th century Baptistery on its south side, fragments of
the first complex can be seen. The church of Agios Nikolaos is also
interesting, also built on the site of an early Christian basilica
of the 4th to 6th century. Important is the Castle of Ypati, built
on a hill above the settlement, in which restoration and fixing
works are being carried out. The Castle was rebuilt or strengthened
in various phases by Greeks, as well as Frankish and Catalan
conquerors.
In May 1821, the chiefs of the Municipality of
Skaltsas (or Skaltsodimos), Giannis Gouras and Andritsos Safakas
took the position of Aetos in order to strike the Turks in Ypati,
but were surrounded by their men of 1500 Turkalvans and forced to
retreat. On April 2, 1822, Skaltsodimos together with Safakas,
Diovouniotis and Mitsos Kontogiannis defeated Dramalis in a battle
that took place in the wider area of Ypati.
The city
suffered during the occupation of the Axis: 16 inhabitants were
killed in retaliation for the sabotage of Gorgopotamos in 1942,
while on Saturday, June 17, 1944, the Germans surrounded it and then
28 people were executed and 375 of 400 buildings burned. A relevant
monument has been erected at the entrance of the village from the
side of Lamia, while it has been declared a Martyr City.