Magouliana

Magouliana Μαγούλιανα
Location
Magouliana
Coordinates	37°41′N 22°8′E / 37.683°N 22.133°E / 37.683; 22.133Coordinates: 37°41′N 22°8′E / 37.683°N 22.133°E / 37.683; 22.133
Government
Country:	Greece
Region:	Peloponnese
Regional unit:	Arcadia
Municipality:	Gortynia
Municipal unit:	Vytina
Population statistics (as of 2001)
Community
- Population:	256
Other
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)

Magouliana (Greek: Μαγούλιανα) is a settlement and an ancient city in the municipal unit of Vytina, Arcadia, Greece. As of 2001, it had a population of 238 for the village and 256 for the municipal district. It sits at 1,365 m above sea level.

Settlements

It was built around the source of a stream which is still there. Local legend has it that the location was discovered when the goat of a shepherd returned with its beard wet. The shepherd understood the animal must have found water and went looking for it.

• Magouliana, pop. 238
• Pan, pop. 18

Nearest places

• Lasta, north (distance: 5 km)
• Pan, SSE (distance: 5 km)
• Valtesiniko, northwest (distance: 7 km)
• Kourkalou, southwest
• Kaloneri, west

Population

Year	Population village	Population municipal district
1815	1,250	-
1851	2,342	-
1861	554	-
1896	902	-
1907	889	-
1920	635	-
1928	796	-
1940	844	-
1950	604	-
1961	471	-
1971	319	-
1981	335	-
1991	257	-
2001	238	256

Location

Maoguliana is 60 km northwest of Tripoli about 210 km (old: 255 km) west of Athens, 90 km south of Kalavryta, 60 km north of Megalopoli amd about 90 km east of Pyrgos.

Geography and history

The area are mainly made up of pine forests and partly barren grasslands. Farmlands are within the village. The Argyrokastro Castle is situated nearby and was first built by the Villehardouins.

According to several sources, the village was founded between 1530 and 1600 by five settlements, Agios Athanasios (Kastro), Agios Konstantinos (Leivadi), Agios Ioannis (Kabeas or Kampeas), Petrovouni and Megisti or Katsipodas, they were kicked out by the Turks from Lalaia. The name derives from a Slavic word Magila which means hill-elevation. By another version it derives from the Coranic Arabic psalm, "Allah Magouliana", or God in the highest. It was renamed to Argyrokastro in 1927 as well as many villages around the area that had Slavic and Latin names, the name changed back due to the opposition by the inhabitants. Magouliana was part of the old municipality of Mylaontos until 1912 and became a commune after the dissolution of the municipal system until 1997.

Fotios Chrysanthopoulos (Fotakos) was the first councillor of Theodoros Kolokotronis and other leaders during the revolution of 1821. In its first decades, most of the population loss was led by emigration in the 1850s and into the early 20th century. It was recovered until the Second World War.

After World War II and the Greek Civil War, its buildings were rebuilt and emigration occurred at a higher rate until 1951 through to 1981. Its population was briefly recovered in the late-1970s and the early-1980s but continued to plunge afterwards. Some of its residents reside in the city or own a house from a larger city. Dessino became connected with asphalt in the 1980s. Electricity, radio and automobiles were introduced in the mid-20th century, television in the late-20th century and computer and internet at the turn of the millennium. In 1997, the ex-community (now a village and a municipal district) joined to become the newly formed municipality of Vytina.

People

• Fotios Chrysanthopoulos (Fotakos), first councillor for Theodoros Kolokotronis
• Ilias Mariolopoulos, nature meteorologist at the University of Athens
• Konstantinos Gontikas, politician, minister
• Dimitrios Gontikas, politician, president of the parliament
• Andrew Jarvis,Greek-American politician

See also

• List of places in the Arcadia prefecture

References

External links

• The weather in Magouliana
• Magouliana at the GTP Travel Pages