Monemvasia (, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located in mainland Greece on a tied island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. Monemvasia is connected to the rest of the mainland by a tombolo (sandy isthmus) in length.

In 1890, a small part of the natural tombolo was cut to create an artificial bridge for ships and boats. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some above sea level, up to wide and long.

Founded in the sixth century, and thus one of the oldest continually-inhabited fortified towns in Europe, the town is the site of a once-powerful medieval fortress, and was at one point one of the most important commercial centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. The town's walls and many Byzantine churches remain as testaments to the town's history. Today, the seat of the municipality of Monemvasia is the town of Molaoi.

Etymology

The town's name derives from two Greek words, (, 'single') and emvasis (, 'approach'), together meaning city of the "single approach, or entrance". Its Italian form, Malvasia, gave its name to the eponymous wine. Monemvasia has been nicknamed "the Gibraltar of the East" ().

History

Early history

The island on which the town of Monemvasia is situated may have been the site of a Minoan trading post. Pausanias, the renowned Greek traveler and geographer, referred to the site as Akra Minoa, which translates to "Minoan Promontory". The ancient settlement of Epidaurus Limera was located a little north of Monemvasia in ancient times. The region surrounding the two settlements has been inhabited since prehistoric times. During Roman times it flourished as the most important city on the eastern coast of the Malea peninsula.

Pausanias visited Epidaurus Limera and said that opposite the city there was a promontory which he referred to as the "extremity of Minos", which has been identified as Monemvasia. Strabo—a century earlier—mentions it as "Minoan fortress". The toponym "Minoa" indicates the existence of a port in antiquity, traces of which have been discovered underwater. However, it is not known if there was a significant settlement on the island. It is possible that a settlement was established there in the 4th century, around the time when the capital of the Roman Empire moved from Rome to Constantinople, which resulted in changes in maritime trade routes. Epidaurus Limera itself was abandoned in the 4th century.

Establishment

Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century from the relocation of the inhabitants of Ancient Sparta, which was then known as Lacedaemon. Sparta, unlike other cities that were abandoned, continued to be inhabited until the 6th century AD, despite earthquakes, Goth raids in 395 under Alaric I, Vandals in 468 under Gaiseric, and the plague epidemic of 541–543. Monemvasia itself retained the same privileges it previously had, along with an obligation to maintain the ships, and became the seat of a Latin bishop.

Post-Independence

According to the 1828 Census, Monemvasia was home to just 659 inhabitants, with most of the houses having been destroyed in the war. Konstantinos Kanaris was appointed as the new guardian of Monemvasia. Among the issues he faced were guarding the fortress and repairing the buildings, as they were not in sufficient shape to house necessary public services. For this reason the engineers Fotis Kesoglou and Theodoros Vallianos arrived in the town. At the same time, an effort was made to operate a school, which was housed in the church of Agios Nikolaos. Despite difficulties in financing it, it remained in operation in 1937. Ecclesiastically, Monemvasia remained the seat of the metropolis of Monemvasia, but after the death of Metropolitan Chrysantho Pagonis, the seat remained unoccupied and Gerasimos Pagonis was appointed as vicar.

The 1986 horror movie The Wind was filmed here.

Municipality

The municipality of Monemvasia was formed from the former province of Epidavros Limira during the 2011 administrative reform as a part of the Kallikratis Programme. It was formed through the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, which thereby became municipal units:

Historical population

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year !! Community !! Municipal unit !! Municipality

|-

| 1981 || 707 || - || -

|-

| 2001 || 1,405 || 4,660 || -

|-

| 2011 || 1,299 || 4,041 || 21,942

|-

| 2021 || 1,626 || 4,114 || 21,816

|}

Malvasia Wine

Monemvasia's trade in wine was so extensive throughout its history, especially under Venetian administration, that the name of the place became familiar throughout Europe in connotation with the variety of wine called Malvasia, 'Malmsey' in English. Though the wine was associated with Monemvasia through trade, it was not grown locally, coming for the most part from the Peloponnese region and islands in the Cyclades, especially Tinos. The variety of grape is believed by most ampelographers, however, to originate in Crete.

Outline of town

thumb|upright|The western wall of the lower town.

Monemvasia consists of the upper town, which is located on the plateau of the hill, and the lower town, which is built on the southern coast of the peninsula. The upper town is no longer inhabited, as it was abandoned after the second Venetian occupation. The entrance to the upper town today is through a fortified gate to which a winding path ascends from the lower town. A second entrance used to be on the north side, but was sealed during the first occupation by the Ottoman Empire. In the upper town was the acropolis of Monemvasia, a rectangular fortress with four towers, which was built in the 6th century, houses and public buildings, such as churches, cisterns and administrative buildings. The church of Hagia Sophia stands out among them. The layout of the settlement is no longer distinct.

The lower town is located under the southern wall of the upper town. It is walled on three sides: east, south, and west. Entry is through the west gate, which is connected by a road to the bridge over the causeway. The street continues inside the city and forms the main street of the lower town, which was known as the Middle Street (Μέση Οδός) in the Byzantine period. slates, marble, and tiles, while the floors are made of wood. Wood is also used in interior walls, roofs and frames, but its use is generally limited due to its limited availability.

Geography

The rock of Monemvasia was separated from the rest of the mainland by an earthquake in 375 AD leaving only a narrow tombolo connecting the two. The majority of the rock's area is a plateau about above sea level, and the town of the same name is built on the slope to the south-east of the rock, overlooking Palaia Monemvasia bay. Many of the streets are narrow and fit only for pedestrian and donkey traffic. A small hamlet of about ten houses lies to the northwest.

Climate

Monemvasia has a very hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification) with mild winters and very hot summers. The highest temperature ever recorded was on 26 June 2007 and the lowest on 17 February 2008. The World Meteorological Organization station of the National Observatory of Athens is located in mainland Greece, just off the tied island of Monemvasia. Monemvasia falls in 11a plant hardiness zone and is the only area in mainland Greece that belongs to 11a zone. During that night Monemvasia did not drop below 36.3 °C.

Monemvasia has never recorded a temperature below 1.5 °C in its entire recorded meteorological history. Moreover, Monemvasia records 133 tropical nights per year which is unique for a location in mainland Europe. Monemvasia has never recorded snow accumulation the past 80 years.

Notable people

  • Isidore of Kiev (c. 1385–1463), Eastern (Greek) Catholic cardinal
  • Loukas Notaras (d. 1453), the last Byzantine Megas Doux member of Notaras family
  • Yiannis Ritsos (1909–1990), poet
  • George Sphrantzes (1401–c. 1478), Byzantine historian

<gallery class="center">

File:Monemvasia - Rock and Old Town.jpg|alt=|Island of Monemvasia from the sea

File:Monemvasia (photo 4).jpg|alt=|View of the lower town from inland

File:Μονεμβασιά- Νέα πόλη.jpg|alt=|Panorama over Monemvasia lower town

File:20090729 monemvassia30.jpg|alt=View of the port|View of the port across the causeway

File:Monemvasia Peloponnese revived.jpg|Old house

File:20090729 monemvassia36.jpg|alt=Entrance to the fortress|Western entrance to the town

File:Άγιος Νικόλας - Κάστρο Μονεμβασιάς.jpg|alt=St Nicholas|The church of Agios Nikolaos

File:Monem7.jpg|Watchtower on the walls

File:Monem8.jpg|Bell tower

File:Monemvasia (photo 5).jpg|alt=|A view of the plateau from the west

File:20190510 031 monemvasia.jpg|alt=|The streets of Monemvasia

</gallery>

See also

  • List of settlements in Laconia

References

Further reading

  • Kalligas, Harry (2009), Monemvasia: A Byzantine City State, Routledge
  • Klaus, Rainer W., Steinmüller, Ulrich. Monemvasia: The Town and its History. English version by Lawrence P. Buck. 9th, revised edition. Athens 2007
  • Monemvasia | The official Tourism Website
  • Monemvassia
  • The rock of Monemvasia at YouTube