Aigialeia

Aigialeia (Greek: Αιγιαλεία) is a province and a region covering the northeastern part of the Achaea prefecture. Several parts don't recognizes it as a province and are not used in addresses but as a region. The main places includes Aigio, Akrata and Diakopto. The mountains dominate the central, the southern and the western part, farmlands dominate the northern part especially within the coastling and in the hills. Its main rivers are the Selinos and the Vouraikos, the rack rail lies to the central part. Its largest city is Aigio, the second largest is Aigeira.

The name Aigialeia dates back to the ancient times.

Municipalities

*Aigeira
*Aigio
*Akrata
*Diakopto
*Sympoliteia

History

Ancient to Revolution periods

The area was known in the ancient times during the Homeric times. It was later to include the entire Achaean League. It was bounded with Arcadia to the south at the time. It was later annexed to the Roman Empire in 187 and much of the cities were destroyed after the Roman Army invaded the area. The area remained Roman until the split of the Empire into the East and the West, Aigialeia along with the rest of Greece became a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was later known as the Byzantine Empire and was ruled for the next 900 years. In the 1200s, all of Aigialeia became a part of the Frankish Empire and ruled until 1457 when the Turks invaded the area and joined the Ottoman Empire. For a brief time in the 1460s and the 1470s, it was ruled by the Venetians before being ruled by the Turks again, the Venetians did not rule again until the 1680s and the rule was ended in the 1730s and reinvaded and restored to the Turks again for the next 90 years, it was affected by the Orlov Revolt from the 1760s until the 1770s, the Turkish rule went to the end during the Greek War of Independence and immediately, Aigio was the first city to be liberated on March 26 and the entire parts of Aigialeia finally ended its Ottoman rule later on. Aigialeia finally joined the rest of Greece.

Pre-modern times

Its population of Aigio grew from that was a small town. Its economy boomed and its roads were linked. Its municipalities including Aigio, Diakopto and Akrata were created. Years later, its railway services with the OSE's SPAP line was created in the 1850s and a rack railway to Kalavryta later on. The highway linking Athens, Corinth and Patras was marked and ran into Aigieira, Diakopto and Aigio. Also in the 1910s during the Balkan Wars, its municipalities were dissolved and its low-level administration became around tens of communities.

Modern times

After World War II and the Greek Civil War, most of its buildings were rebuilt as late as the 1950s and the economy boomed again but its residents from the villages left for larger cities and outside the country. In 1969, the two-lane highway linking Corinth and Patras opened in all directions and contains several interchanges, the Aigio Bypass did not opened until the 1972, its tolls were removed later on.

Aigio was struck by an earthquake in 1995 damaging several buildings. Its communities were dissolved in 1997 under the Capodistria Plan and its municipalities were recreated.

Recently Aigieira was struck by a forest fire (see 2007 Wildfires in Greece) that began on July 24 and continued through July 27 and consumed almost one-third of the area or about 200 km². Its flames were as high as 30 m and smoke as high as 400 to 600 m and also damaged properties and farmlands in the villages of Mavriki, Stachthi, Mamoussia, Pteri, Kato Pteri, Ano Diakopto and Zachloritika, about 80% of the area were contained. It took around hundreds of fire trucks, helicopters and planes including firefighters and some residents to put out the fire. Cattle were destroyed, several cars were ruined and electricity and hydro were blacked out. Several residents were evacuated. It burnt around 100 km² in its first day and later expanded to about 200 km² in the fourth. The fire ended in Kounina and Chatzi in the northwestern part on July 28 and did not the farmlands to its west. The fire disintegrated in the central portion on July 29 and finally ended on July 20. The cause of that tremendous fire was arson which was growing in the 2000s across the country especially by housing expansion in the Athens area which was rare, they have been imprisoned.

Transportation

*GR-8/E65
*GR-33
*Kalavryta-Diakopto Road

Media

Newspapers, fanzines and others

*Filodimos - Aigio
*Frourio tis Anatolikis Aigialeias
*Proti tis Aigaleias - Aigio and Aigaleia
*Styx - Akrata

Radio

*Radio Aigio - 99.2 FM

Television

*AXION - Aigio

porting clubs

*Anagennisi/Aias Sympoliteias - Rododafni
*Aris Valimitika
*Asteras Temenis
*Diakopto AC - Diakopto - fourth division
*Egieas Egion
*Olympiakos Aigio - Aigio, fourth division
*Panaigialeios - fourth division
*Thyella Aigio - Aigio
*A.O. Vouraikos Diakopto
*A.O. Ziria

ee also

*Provinces of Greece