Palaikastro
Palaikastro
Παλαίκαστρο | |
|---|---|
Settlement | |
 Panorama looking ENE into the Strait of Kasos over the town from some high ground to the west. | |
  Palaikastro | |
| Coordinates: 35°12′N 26°15′E / 35.200°N 26.250°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Crete |
| Regional unit | Lasithi |
| Municipality | Siteia |
| Municipal unit | Itanos |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Community | 1,227 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | Municipal Homepage |
Palaikastro or Palekastro (Template:Lang-el, officially Template:Lang-el), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric times, at the east end of the Mediterranean island Crete. The Kallikratis Programme implemented starting 2011 made the town into a local community (topiki koinoteta) under jurisdiction of the next-highest levels, chained as follows: municipal unit (demotike enoteta) Itanos, municipality (demos) Sitia, regional unit (periphereiakes enotetas) Lasithi, region (periphereia) Crete.[2]
Until 2017 Palaikastro shared Itanos with Karydi, Zakros, and Mitato (Μητάτο). The latter was located on an altiplano to the west. It had 6 villages, including Mitato ("hut"), named after an ancient stone shepherd's mitato of interest to visitors. However, subsequently the population on the plain diminished to the point where Mitato village had no permanent residents. Consequently by Presidential Decree No. 70/207, on recommendation of the Minister of the Interior, and approval by Sitia and Palaikastro, K. Mitato was phased out and its settlements were turned over to Palaikastro, which had been collecting the population, and providing the services, anyway.[3]
Etymology
At the coast of the town is a 65 m (213 ft) high promontory called Kastri (Latin castrum, "fort"), which received its name and gave it to the settlement below, Palaikastro ("old fort") in the Middle Ages, when Crete was ruled by the Republic of Venice. Flat land is totally absent from the promontory, but around the top ridge the Venetians constructed a walled and turreted fort. In the centuries after the Venetians left much of the stone was re-used by population. Sections of battlements and houses remain.
The fort was built before the age of cannon. It had been a defensible location in steep terrain and rough ground, with a view for some distance around. Whether or not the fort replaced an earlier one is unknown. By the time the Venetians abandoned it, the use of cannon had nullified most of its defensive value, as the bombardment of the Parthenon at Athens by Turkish ships had demonstrated. The Parthenon had been considered a secure location to store gunpowder. The Turks were not interested in occupying Kastri, and in general, fixed positions today are an easy target for persistent bombardment. They may hold out heroically for a time, but without supporting troops in the region are doomed to fall. Itanos to the north had been similarly abandoned centuries earlier.
The promontory is partly in the water. Its long dimension along the water is 423.83 m (463.51 yd). Its short dimension is 286.65 m (313.48 yd). It is flanked by Kouremenos beach on the north and Chiona beach on the south. The Minoan settlement at Rousolakkos is located behind Chiona beach. The center of Palaikastro is about 2 km (1.2 mi) due west from there.
Economy
The main economic activity of the approximately 1100 inhabitants continues to be agriculture. Olives and grape vines are cultivated and a few fishermen remain. Commercial fishing however is difficult these days because of the substantial overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea. Tourism is an important source of supplementary income and is likely to remain so.
Administrative substructure
The local community of Palaikastro comprises several settlements (oikismoi).
| Name[4] | Greek[5] | Location[6] | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agathia or Angathia | Αγκάθια[7] | 35°11′46″N 26°15′51″E / 35.195976°N 26.264244°E | Commercial village E of P. |
Chiona |
Χιώνα[8] | 35°11′52″N 26°16′37″E / 35.197708°N 26.277034°E | Chiona Beach N of Cape Plaka. Roussolakkos is located there, site of the ancient Minoan city forced inland to P. over the centuries. |
| Chochlakies | Χοχλακιές[9] | 35°08′50″N 26°14′48″E / 35.14728998233268°N 26.24653465027309°E | Village to the W of Chochlakies Gorge S of Cape Plaka |
| Kouremenos | Κουρεμένος | 35°12′43″N 26°16′00″E / 35.211975°N 26.266691°E | Kouremenos Beach is located to the NE of P. up to and including Tenda Point. |
| Kyriamadi | Κυριαμάδι | 35°17′51″N 26°18′09″E / 35.297588°N 26.302439°E | So structured as to make Kyriamadi Forward Naval Base a separate settlement, though not under local jurisdiction. |
| Lydia | Λύδια | 35°11′36″N 26°14′03″E / 35.193335°N 26.234302°E | One villa to the W of P. |
| Mertydia | Μερτύδια | 35°11′43″N 26°14′20″E / 35.195365°N 26.238951°E | Rural area W of the town. |
| Palaikastro | Παλαίκαστρον | 35°11′57″N 26°15′16″E / 35.19918457467764°N 26.254327683909917°E | The center of town itself without the other settlements. |
| Toplou | Τοπλού | So structured as to make Toplou Monastery and the lands on which it sits a separate settlement. The monastery owns lands elsewhere as well. | |
| Vigla | Βίγλα |
Historical significance
It is a historic site. Already in Minoan times the region was a centre of trade. The port of Itanos, today several meters below sea level, is mentioned in ancient times. The very extensive Minoan commercial settlement Roussolakkos close to the Chiona beach, excavated by English archaeologists, clearly shows that the region was one of the most important commercial centres of the Minoan culture in the extreme east of the island of Crete. The Minoan Moulds of Palaikastro were discovered in October 1899 by a farmer 150 metres (160 yd) northeast of the town of Palaikastro. The Palaikastro Kouros is a carved figure of a youth that was recovered in fragments between 1987 and 1990.[10]
Mount Petsofas above the town has the ruins of a Minoan peak sanctuary.
Gallery
-
Kastri hill -
Kastri Hill -
Remaining fortification -
The Minoan site of Roussolakkos -
Main street -
The church
Notes
- ^ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- ^ "Palekastro". buk.gr. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Συγχώνευση Τοπικών Κοινοτήτων Μητάτου και Παλαικάστρου Ιτάνου Σητείας ("Merger of Local Communities of Mitatos and Palekastro Itanos of Sitia")". Καλλικράτης. 27 July 2017.
- ^ Transliteration of the Greek name typically given in Internet translations of Greek texts. The name as used in the texts refers to an administrative area such that the sum of all areas is the area of Itanos. The name may also refer to a known smaller feature, which may be linked to another article.
- ^ The name is the one used by standard Greek-language Internet encyclopedias such as buk.gr, hellenecaworld.com, the .gov.gr sites, or others, such as worldcitydb.com, etc. These are noted with simple links. Translations if desired can usually be obtained from applications such as Google Translate.
- ^ A set of representative coordinates from the area referenced by the name.
- ^ buk.gr
- ^ buk.gr
- ^ buk.gr
- ^ "The Palaikastro Kouros". Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
References
- Ian Swindale. "Palaikastro". Retrieved 4 February 2006.
External links
