Everything about Gortyna Arcadia totally explained
For the Gortyna in Crete see Gortyn
Karytaina (
Greek: Καρύταινα, also written as
Karitena), is a town located in the western part of the prefecture of
Arcadia in the central
Peloponnese. It is the seat of the municipality of
Gortyna (Γορτυνα). Skorta was the Frankish domination name. The shortest length is about 200 ot 300 m. It is located about just 1 km NW from
GR-76 (Krestena - Andritsaina - Megalopoli), 1 km NW of the Karytaina - Stemnitsa - Dimitsana road, 25 km SW of
Dimitsana, about 50 km (old: 54 km) W of
Tripoli, 26 km NW of
Megalopoli, about 28 km (old: 25 km) from
GR-7/
E65, about 75 km (old: 80 km) N of
Kalamata, about 70 km SE of
Krestena and about 72 to 75 km SE of
GR-9/
E55 and 28 km E of
Andritsaina. The location is on a triangular-trapezoidal rocky hill with bushes and some forests which include a fortress on the top. The name of the municipality dates back to the
ancient times as an ancient region. The ancient settlement of
Gortys (modern: Γόρτυνος, Ancient.Katharevousa: Γόρτυς), modern Gortynos which Gortynia comes from is to the north. In the
Medieval times, Karytaina used to be known as the Toledo of Greece. It is bordered with the
prefecture of Ilia in the west along with its boundary over a steep cliff in the west where the highway passes.
Municipal districts and subdivisions
Historical population
| Year |
Communal population |
Change (town) |
Municipal population |
Change |
| 1920 |
881 |
- |
- |
- |
| 1961 |
487 |
-394/-44.72% |
- |
- |
| 1981 |
304 |
-183/-27.575 |
- |
- |
| 1991 |
248 |
-56/18.42% |
1,500 |
- |
| 2001 |
271 |
23/9.27% |
1,266 |
16.2667% |
The population lost 661 inhabitants or 71.85% of the total population between
1920 and
1991, which was the last time the region lost inhabitants. The population recovered in
1990 being one of the few places where the population didn't boom since the early to mid-20th century. The decline slowed every ten years until 1991. Karytaina has a school, a lyceum, a church, a post office, a gas station, and a square (
plateia). Karytaina is surrounded by mountains and a larger one to the north. The houses are about 50 m lower than the fortress and line straightly to the other side of the mountain. The groves are to the east and south and areas under 482 m. Much of the area are mountains and has a rocky landscape and bushes. The plain of Megalopolis is to the southeast. The forests are to the south and in the valleys where the
Alpheus River flows to the south. It includes an old bridge which was used until the
1960s.
The population was entirely consists of agriculture and the main production was
cereals and
silk. In the ancient times, an ancient highway linking
Patras and
Kalamata via
Sparta passed near the Alpheus river. Another river is the
Loussios (ancient: Lussius) which flows west of Karytaina which begins east of
Lagkadia. The length is about 40 km. The origin of the name comes from the ancient form of
loutra,
loussis meaning
bath in Ancient Greek. In the
Greek War of Independence in
1821,
Nikitas Stamatetopoulos,
Ilias Mavromichalis, the
Plaplouta brothers,
Kanellos Deligiannis and his army headed north fo Karytaina after the events in Kalamata.
Sites of interest
Castle of Karytaina - built on a steep rocky outcrop NW of Karytaina. It was first built in 1245 by Hugues De BruyereFurther Information
Get more info on 'Gortyna Arcadia'.
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