Elaionas, Achaea

Elaionas or Eleonas (Greek:, Modern: Ελαιώνας meaning 'the place where olives grow'), older form: -on, is a Greek village located in the north of the Peloponnese peninsula. West of Corinth and Athens, north-northwest of Kalavryta and east of Aigio and Patras. It is accessible through the old Greek National Road 8 (Patras - Corinth - Athens). Elaionas had a 2001 population of 767 (812 for the municipal district). It has the second largest population in the municipality of Diakopto. Its older name was Trypia or Tripia (Τρυπιά) meaning the place that has holes.

ubdivision

*Metochi
*Terpsithea

Nearest places

*Diakopto, southeast
*Rodia, northwest
*Metochi
*Terpsithea

Population

Geography

It consists of farmlands that dominate the central and northern portions consisting mainly of olive trees and vine. Further north Elaionas is enclosed by mountains made up of forests and grasslands. Large forest fires during July of 2007 have burned large chunks of the surrounding mountains. Α river flows east of the Village. It has a beach located 500 m north of the town center.

History

The village was ruled by the Ottoman Turks with some interruption by the Venetians in the mid to late-15th century and the mid to late-16th century. The region was liberated from Ottoman rule during the Greek War of Independence of 1821, right after the declaration of independence was signed. The village later changed its name to its current form from Trypia or Tripia.

After World War II and the Greek Civil War, much of the population left for larger towns and cities especially, nearby Patras.

Houses were stone-built until the 1950s but the 1960s onwards the village saw more non-traditional construction in the form of summer homes by the city dwellers. In the 1980s all the main roads were paved.

Information

Elaionas has approximately 6 to 8 km of paved road and 10 km of gravel roads. It also has approximately 6 to 8 km of hydro lines as well as phone lines. ADSL Internet access was introduced in 2007 through the national phone company OTE although dial up access had existed previously.

The mountains in the south feature a cave that in ancient times had a statue of Hercules who was worshipped as a god.

It has a football club called Doxa with a local football (soccer) field.

Economy

Its main production consists of olives and olive oil along with fruits including watermelon, melon, figs and vegetables including corn, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cucumbers and others as well as dairy, livestock and others, half of the farmlands are mainly groves and vines. The majority of the population is employed in agricultural activities as well as some other businesses.

Tourism

Although most visitors consist of weekenders and summer vacationists from Athens, Patra and Aigio, in the 90's a camp site was set up close to the beach on the east of the coast right before its border with neighboring village Diakopto, although it appears that, as of summer 2007, the campsite is no longer open. Several Rooms for rent are available on the beach that generally attract Greeks from the cities and are often leased on a yearly basis.

Other

Elaionas has a school, two churches, a square ("plateia") and a graveyard . Its nearest lyceum (middle school), a nearest school gymnasium (secondary school) are in Diakopto, its nearest hospital is in Aigio.

External links

* [http://www.gtp.gr/LocPage.asp?id=3264 Elaionas GTP Travel Pages]
* [http://www.ediakopto.gr/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=25 Elaionas in www.ediakopto.gr]
*Map and aerial photos:
**Street map information from: [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.197&longitude=22.1673&zoom=6 Mapquest] , [http://local.live.com/map.aspx?&lats1=38.197&longs=22.1673&alts1=35 LiveLocal] or [http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=38.198428,22.178178&spn=0.046272,0.080338&z=14&om=1 Google] or [http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?lat=38.197&lon=22.1673&mag=2 Yahoo! Maps]
**Satellite
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&ie=UTF8&ll=38.197652,22.176332&spn=0.024114,0.040169&z=15&om=1 Google] or [http://virtualearth.msn.com/default.aspx?cp=38.197|22.1376&5style=h&lvl=15&v=1 Microsoft Virtual Earth] - image now available
*Coordinates: coord|38|11|46|N|22|10|5|E|type:city(344)_region:GR

ee also

*List of settlements in the Achaea prefecture