Anthochori, Arcadia
Encyclopedia
Anthochori was a settlement in Arcadia
, Greece
once located around 2.5 km south-southeast of the town of Megalopoli. Anthochori was demolished during 2006-8 in order to provide Megalopolis' Power Station with lignite (brown coal). A satellite picture of Anthochori before its demolition can be found here.
Anthchori was situated 3 km northwest from the nearest interchange with the GR-7
/E65
(Kalamata
- Megalopoli - Tripoli
), about 50 km (old: 47 km) northeast of Kalamata
, north-northwest of Leontari and about 39 km (old: 37 km) west-southwest of Tripoli
. Anthochori was formerly connected with a road linking the GR-7, Gefyra and the old GR-7. It was also formerly served by the road to Choremi
and Vastas (then separate), the road to Tripotamo and Choremi
and Megalopoli and Sparta
. Anthochori used to border Psathi 2 to 3 km north, a settlement which has been relocated 2 km to the east of its original location.
Railway Networks
Anthochori was a train stop between the Megalopolis' terminal and the Lefktron railway station (Greek: Λευκτρον, also known as 'Bilali'). Lefktron is a station on the Tripoli-Kalamata railway line, part of the narrow gauge Peloponnese network.. A photo of Anthochori's railway 'station' can be found here.
, a city founded in 371 BC, with Alpheus
river 1 km to its southwest and Mt Lykaion to its northwest, both of which are mentioned in the ancient Greek mythology. The local geo-topography consisted of farmlands covering its central, southern and western parts; grasslands, covering its eastern part; and forests, covering mostly its south-eastern parts. Since the 1970s the distant horizon northwest of Anthochori was dominated by the Megalopolis lignite (brown coal) opencast mine. The latter provides fuel for a 850MW thermo-electric plant, the so-called 'Megalopolis' Station', one of the largest electricity plants in Greece run by the Public Power Corporation (Greek: ΔΕΗ).
In terms of its administration, Karoumpali/Anthochori was established as an independent community (Greek: κοινότητα) in 1912. The legal basis for this comprised Law No 4057 of 10-2-1912 that enacted the institution of 'administratively independent communities' in Greece and the Royal Decree of 18-9-1912 that clarified specific arrangements for the Law's implementation in the prefecture of Arcadia . Anthochori continued to function as an independent community until the end of 1997 when the 'Kapodistrias' programme of reforms began to be implemented . Following the fate of the vast majority of other communities in Greece, Anthochori was abolished as an administratively independent community and since 1 January 1999 became an administrative district of the Municipality of Megalopolis.
The highest recorded population in Anthochori was in the early to mid-20th century. The population fell steadily since the mid-20th century, particularly after World War II
(1940–44) and the Greek Civil War
(1946-9) as people sought employment and a better standard of living elsewhere in Greece as well as other parts of the world, mainly in North America
. Between the censuses of 1981 and 2001 small increases in the population were recorded, making Anthochori one of the few places in Arcadia that saw population growth during this period. However, between 2002-07 the settlement was gradually abandoned as the mining activities expanded and the last few remaining residents moved to Megalopoli and probably some nearby settlements.
By 2006, after prolonged legal battles and court cases the vast majority of property owners of Anthochori were financially compensated by the Public Power Corporation. Financial compensation for the public property and amenities that belonged to the community was transferred to the Municipality of Megalopolis. This was because, as mentioned above, Anthochori became an administrative district of the Municipality of Megalopolis following the 'Kapodistrias' reforms. What happened to the financial compensation for Anthochori's public property is still a matter of dispute and allegations for the mismanagement of compensation funds (at least 280.000 €) were still being made as late as November 2008.
Until late 2008 the only remaining building of Anthochori left standing was its main church dedicated to 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου). None of the demolition workers was willing to take responsibility for its destruction and, thus, the church remained standing upon a tall 'column' of soil while the surrounding earth was being excavated. The 'last church standing' became internationally famous when its photograph appeared in the Time magazine on 17 September 2008
In 29 November 2008 the church collapsed upon itself and, with it, any visible evidence of Anthochori's material existence. By the mid 2009 all that once was the village of Anthochori was gone, its buildings leveled, and its earth scraped out to extract lignite. It is claimed that the demolition of Anthochori marks the final expansion of the lignite mine which, in turn, signals the beginning of the end for the Megalopolis thermo-electric power plant.
).
In 2008, Time magazine published a short article under the title 'Europe's changing places' which used a dramatic photo of Anthochori's main church - 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου) - taken by world famous British photographer Stuart Franklin in 2007. In this picture the church stands alone on a tall 'column' of soil, as the sole survivor of the demolished village at the time. This picture is included in Stuart Franklin's book 'Footprint: Our Landscape in Flux'.
The same picture was included in a presentation of Stuart Franklin's work in the Guardian newspaper, accompanied by the following note by the photographer:
The fact that Anthochori's church became international news was also commented upon in the blog KALIMERA ARCADIA on 3 October 2008 .
Views of Anthochori during its demolition
Views of Anthochori prior to its demolition
Churches, lanes, fields
Houses
Views of Anthochori railway 'station'
Views of Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station
Megalopolis
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
once located around 2.5 km south-southeast of the town of Megalopoli. Anthochori was demolished during 2006-8 in order to provide Megalopolis' Power Station with lignite (brown coal). A satellite picture of Anthochori before its demolition can be found here.
Position in relation to road and rail networks
Road NetworksAnthchori was situated 3 km northwest from the nearest interchange with the GR-7
Greek National Road 7
The Moreas Motorway is a motorway in Peloponnese, Greece. Locally it is known as the Moréas , which was the medieval name of the Peloponnese. The A7 begins just west of the Isthmus of Corinth, branching off from Greek National Road 8A...
/E65
European route E65
European route E 65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chaniá, Greece. The road is about in length.-Itinerary:* Sweden** E 65: Malmö – Ystad* Baltic sea, ferry Ystad-Świnoujście* Poland...
(Kalamata
Kalamata
Kalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf...
- Megalopoli - Tripoli
Tripoli, Greece
Tripoli is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the prefecture of Arcadia and the centre of the municipality of Tripolis, pop...
), about 50 km (old: 47 km) northeast of Kalamata
Kalamata
Kalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf...
, north-northwest of Leontari and about 39 km (old: 37 km) west-southwest of Tripoli
Tripoli, Greece
Tripoli is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the prefecture of Arcadia and the centre of the municipality of Tripolis, pop...
. Anthochori was formerly connected with a road linking the GR-7, Gefyra and the old GR-7. It was also formerly served by the road to Choremi
Choremi
Choremis is a Greek settlement located around 10 km souhtwest from Megalopoli and about 4 km northwest from the nearest interchange with the GR-7/E65 . Choremis is a community of the municipality of Megalopoli. Choremis is connected with a road linking The GR-7 west-northwest of...
and Vastas (then separate), the road to Tripotamo and Choremi
Choremi
Choremis is a Greek settlement located around 10 km souhtwest from Megalopoli and about 4 km northwest from the nearest interchange with the GR-7/E65 . Choremis is a community of the municipality of Megalopoli. Choremis is connected with a road linking The GR-7 west-northwest of...
and Megalopoli and Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
. Anthochori used to border Psathi 2 to 3 km north, a settlement which has been relocated 2 km to the east of its original location.
Railway Networks
Anthochori was a train stop between the Megalopolis' terminal and the Lefktron railway station (Greek: Λευκτρον, also known as 'Bilali'). Lefktron is a station on the Tripoli-Kalamata railway line, part of the narrow gauge Peloponnese network.. A photo of Anthochori's railway 'station' can be found here.
Nearest places
- Perivolia, northeast
- Vrysoules, east
- Gefyra, southeast
- Tripotamo, west
- Psathi, north
Geography
Anthochori was situated in the plain of MegalopolisMegalopolis, Greece
Megalópoli is a town in the western part of the peripheral unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis . "Megalopolis" is a Greek word for Great city. When it was founded, in 371 BC, it was the first urbanization in rustic and primitive Arcadia. In...
, a city founded in 371 BC, with Alpheus
Alfeios River
Alfeiós is the longest river in the Peloponnese, in Greece. The river is 110 km long, flowing through the prefectures of Arcadia and Ilia. Its source is near Megalopoli in the highlands of Arcadia. The river begins near Davia in central Arcadia, then flows between Leontari and Megalopoli through a...
river 1 km to its southwest and Mt Lykaion to its northwest, both of which are mentioned in the ancient Greek mythology. The local geo-topography consisted of farmlands covering its central, southern and western parts; grasslands, covering its eastern part; and forests, covering mostly its south-eastern parts. Since the 1970s the distant horizon northwest of Anthochori was dominated by the Megalopolis lignite (brown coal) opencast mine. The latter provides fuel for a 850MW thermo-electric plant, the so-called 'Megalopolis' Station', one of the largest electricity plants in Greece run by the Public Power Corporation (Greek: ΔΕΗ).
History
The old name of the village was Karoumpali. According to the History of Leontarion Province by Theodoros Katrivanos the village occupied the area that was the Karum Ali Estate (Καρούμ Αλή τσιφλίκι), itself part of the Leontario vilayet (Ottoman administrative division, in Greek: Βιλαέτι Λεονταρίου) in the 18th century. The village was re-named Anthochorion on 20/8/1927 (FEK 179/1927).In terms of its administration, Karoumpali/Anthochori was established as an independent community (Greek: κοινότητα) in 1912. The legal basis for this comprised Law No 4057 of 10-2-1912 that enacted the institution of 'administratively independent communities' in Greece and the Royal Decree of 18-9-1912 that clarified specific arrangements for the Law's implementation in the prefecture of Arcadia . Anthochori continued to function as an independent community until the end of 1997 when the 'Kapodistrias' programme of reforms began to be implemented . Following the fate of the vast majority of other communities in Greece, Anthochori was abolished as an administratively independent community and since 1 January 1999 became an administrative district of the Municipality of Megalopolis.
The highest recorded population in Anthochori was in the early to mid-20th century. The population fell steadily since the mid-20th century, particularly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(1940–44) and the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
(1946-9) as people sought employment and a better standard of living elsewhere in Greece as well as other parts of the world, mainly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Between the censuses of 1981 and 2001 small increases in the population were recorded, making Anthochori one of the few places in Arcadia that saw population growth during this period. However, between 2002-07 the settlement was gradually abandoned as the mining activities expanded and the last few remaining residents moved to Megalopoli and probably some nearby settlements.
By 2006, after prolonged legal battles and court cases the vast majority of property owners of Anthochori were financially compensated by the Public Power Corporation. Financial compensation for the public property and amenities that belonged to the community was transferred to the Municipality of Megalopolis. This was because, as mentioned above, Anthochori became an administrative district of the Municipality of Megalopolis following the 'Kapodistrias' reforms. What happened to the financial compensation for Anthochori's public property is still a matter of dispute and allegations for the mismanagement of compensation funds (at least 280.000 €) were still being made as late as November 2008.
Loss of a settlement
The lignite mining activity has been slowly extending towards Anthochori since the late-1970s. By 2002 mining machinery stood at 1 km to the northwest of Anthochori and the mine finally reached the first houses of the settlement in 2006. Village houses became a target for looters and the settlement was finally abandoned in 2007. Subsequently, starting from its northwestern part, the old village homes were demolished and their remains were dumped to the south while the roads, already closed for some years, were eventually removed. Most of the farmlands and forests also disappeared.Until late 2008 the only remaining building of Anthochori left standing was its main church dedicated to 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου). None of the demolition workers was willing to take responsibility for its destruction and, thus, the church remained standing upon a tall 'column' of soil while the surrounding earth was being excavated. The 'last church standing' became internationally famous when its photograph appeared in the Time magazine on 17 September 2008
In 29 November 2008 the church collapsed upon itself and, with it, any visible evidence of Anthochori's material existence. By the mid 2009 all that once was the village of Anthochori was gone, its buildings leveled, and its earth scraped out to extract lignite. It is claimed that the demolition of Anthochori marks the final expansion of the lignite mine which, in turn, signals the beginning of the end for the Megalopolis thermo-electric power plant.
An internet 'ghost'
At least until the end of 2009 Anthochori was still mentioned in some maps, including Mapquest, while satellite images have yet to show the expansion of the lignite mine over the area that used to be Anthochori. For example, when accessed on 15 November 2009, GoogleEarth still used a detailed satellite photo taken on 26 August 2003, where Anthochori's buildings and original geo-topography are clearly visible. This satellite picture can be found here.Anthochori's demolition in the media
Megalopolis' mine expansion was featured on a TV documentary on April 7, 2006. This documentary was produced by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERTElliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
).
In 2008, Time magazine published a short article under the title 'Europe's changing places' which used a dramatic photo of Anthochori's main church - 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου) - taken by world famous British photographer Stuart Franklin in 2007. In this picture the church stands alone on a tall 'column' of soil, as the sole survivor of the demolished village at the time. This picture is included in Stuart Franklin's book 'Footprint: Our Landscape in Flux'.
The same picture was included in a presentation of Stuart Franklin's work in the Guardian newspaper, accompanied by the following note by the photographer:
To the ancient Greeks, Arcadia was a rural idyll. Instead of a lush, bucolic landscape, I found one devastated by the hunt for fossil fuels. Sixty per cent of Greece’s electricity is derived from lignite (brown coal). This involves bulldozing whole landscapes to feed the nearby power station. In Megalopolis I found Greece’s second largest lignite mine. The village of Anthohori in Arcadia was wiped off the map - the church of Santa Maria was all that remained'.
The fact that Anthochori's church became international news was also commented upon in the blog KALIMERA ARCADIA on 3 October 2008 .
Photos of Anthochori and its surroundings
Satellite Views of AnthochoriViews of Anthochori during its demolition
- TIME PHOTOS: Last Church Standing - 'The church of Santa Maria (sic) is the last building left standing in Anthochori, Greece, after the rest of the village was demolished for lignite mining.'
- Anthochori's main church - 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου) - 1 , date unknown
- Anthochori's main church - 'The Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple' (Greek: Τα Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου) - 2, date unknown
Views of Anthochori prior to its demolition
Churches, lanes, fields
- View of Anthochori - 1 (taken from the main road entry to the village), date unknown
- View of Anthochori - 2 (taken from the church's bell tower), date unknown
- View of Anthochori - 3 (taken from fields with the church's bell tower in the background), date unknown
- View of Anthochori - 4 (taken from fields with Holly Trinity Church of Anthochori in the background), date unknown
- View of Anthochori - 5 - Holly Trinity Church of Anthochori (Greek: Αγία Τριάδα Ανθοχωρίου), date unknown
Houses
- House in Anthochori -1 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 1), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -2 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 2), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -3 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 3), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -4 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 4), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -5 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 5), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -6 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 6), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -7 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 7), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -8 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 8), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -9 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 9), date unknown
- House in Anthochori -10 (Greek: Σπίτι στο Ανθοχώρι Μεγαλοπόλεως - 10), date unknown
Views of Anthochori railway 'station'
- Anthochori railway 'station' (Greek: Σταθμαρχείο Ανθοχωρίου - 1), date unknown)
- Anthochori railway 'station' (Greek: Σταθμαρχείο Ανθοχωρίου - 2), date unknown)
Views of Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station
- Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station - 1 (date unknown)
- Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station - 2 (date unknown)
- Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station - 3 (date unknown)
- Lefktron/'Bilali' railway station - 4 (date unknown)
Population
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 66 |
| 1991 | 72 |
| 2001 | 78 |
External links
Anthochori- Anthochori on GTP Travel Pages
- Anthochori entry in The Arcadia Website
- Reference to Anthochori in What should you know about the lignite thermo-electric power plant - Τι πρέπει να γνωρίζεις για την λιθανθρακική μονάδα Συλλογος Περιβάλλον και Πολιτισμός του Δήμου Κηρέως, accessed 16 November 2009
Megalopolis