Vordonia

Vordonia (Greek: Βορδόνια) is a small village in the base of Taygetos mountain. The village is divided into three communities (Campos, Kato Hora and Pano Hora) and is part of the municipality of Pellana. Most of the population left the village after the WWII war and moved to Athens, many migrated to other countries, primarily the USA and Australia. The origin of the name Vordonia is believed to be Villehardouin, a Frankish lord who became master of the Morea after the 4th Crusade sacked Constantinople and divided up the Byzantine Empire. Villehardouin located his capital at the town of Mystra some 10 km SW of Vordonia. The Crusader Castle located above the village lends credibility to this view. The American crime fiction author George Pelecanos traces his origins to his eponymous grandfather who migrated from Vordonia to Washington DC in the 1940's.

Geography

*Location:
**Longitude: 22.384 (22°20'5") E
**Latitude: 37.133 (37°8'26") N
*Postal code: 230 59
*Elevation:
**Centre: about 447 m
*Dialing code: 030-27310

Historical population

Other

Vordonia has a small school, Vordonia has no gymnasion (middle school), the nearest is in Kastorio, seat of the municipality, as well as its secondary school. Vordonia has a post office and a small square ("plateia").

Vordonia and the surrounding areas are also renown for their olive tree groves. The oil produced from the region is famous for its low acidity, organic cultivations, and care that the locals put into harvesting and pressing the olives.

External links

*Map and aerial photos:
**Street
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=22.3846&longitude=36.133&zoom=6 Street map from Mapquest] , [http://maps.msn.com/map.aspx?&lats1=22.384&lons1=36.133&alts1=35 MapPoint] or [http://maps.google.com/maps?||=36.133,22.384 Google]
**Satellite
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.133,22.384&spn=0.11,0.18&t=k Google] - image not yet available
*Coordinates: coord|22|30|5|N|36|8|26|W|region:GR

See also

*List of communities of Laconia