Paleolithic and Mesolithic Age

There are no reliable traces preserved of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, i.e. the period before 7000 BC. Outdoor facilities of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, because people moved frequently to secure their food, have not been found, but the presence of people of this era must be considered certain, since traces of them have been found in all the areas surrounding the Kalavrita Province. The Paleolithic man, however, also used caves, as is known, for occasional accommodation and for protection, but at present no systematic investigation has been made of all the caves, which are found almost everywhere in the mountain range.

Neolithic Age

During the next period, the Neolithic Age (7,000-3,000 years BC), the most important site investigated so far, is located in the Cave of Kastria or Lakes.

Bronze Age

Archaeological sites proliferated during the Bronze Age period, which lasted from about 3000 to 1100 BC. During this period, the basic raw material for tools and weapons, which was the Stone in the previous Periods, is now replaced by Copper. During its early phase, 3rd millennium BC, which is called Early Helladic, because the first Greek tribes make their appearance, although the building remains are very few, however, it is clear that the massif is still a safe habitation area. The cave of Kastria, as well as other Neolithic sites, they are still inhabited. In comparison with other Early Helladic sites of ancient Arcadia, it seems that during this period the inhabitants prefer small and scattered installations in the area, while during the Middle and Late Bronze Age they choose places more fortified.

Middle Bronze Age (or Middle Helladic) period

During the Middle Bronze Age (or Middle Helladic Period, 1900-1570 B.C.), both the cave of Kastria and the Kalavrita plateau were still inhabited, but new sites were also developed, such as in the river valley between Kandalos and Kalavrita. The creation of a Middle Helladic settlement at the Buri site of Kandalos, i.e. in an inaccessible and unseen area, probably indicates political instability and movements of different tribes.

Mycenaean Age

During the Late Bronze Age, also called the Late Helladic, but better known as the Mycenaean Age, because the most important centre is Mycenae in Argolida, and lasts from 1570-1100 AD, some of the previous sites are still in operation, but no significant building remains of settlements or citadels have yet come to light, except for some shells, i.e. pieces of clay vessels, most of which were found near Kleitoria, in the cave of Kastria, in Kandalos and in the area of Kalavrita. However, organised cemeteries have already been found, even partially excavated. The most important ones were found at Vrysari, Mpontias and Manesi, i.e. on the unique natural passage from Arcadia to central Achaia. From the evidence so far it seems very likely that in our region there was no large and well-organized centre, as in the rest of Achaia, Korinthia and Arcadia, and that its entire area was divided into smaller districts with small settlements, which were probably parts of the territory of the large regional Mycenaean centres.

After the end of the Mycenaean Age, follows the conventionally called Geometric Period, ending around 700 B.C. which is called Geometric because people use geometric jewelry for the decoration of vases and other utilitarian objects. Now, the entire area is inhabited and for the first time a Greek sanctuary, such as that of Artemis Hemeras, at Lousoi in Kalavrita, has been located, while an important set of geometric objects, including the armour of a warrior, was revealed by the excavation of a cemetery at Kioupia in Kalavrita.

During this period is the beginning of the creation of the powerful cities of the Classical and Hellenistic times, such as Psofis, Paos, Lousoi, Kleitor, Kynaitha, Nonakridos, but also Feneos, which is located today in the prefecture of Korinthia. In the northernmost part of the Kalavrita Province, which belonged in ancient times to Achaia, there is an Achaean town, Leontion, which is identified with the small fortified ancient city in Kato Vlasia.

From the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (5th century B.C. -4th century AD) the best preserved ancient monuments survive, such as the cities mentioned above, and other ancient sites, known from ancient sources, belong to the same periods, which have either not yet been identified, or their identification is considered uncertain.

Frankish rule: 1204 - 1566

During the Frankish rule, the province of Kalavrita was the smallest administrative and fiscal unit of Peloponnese. When Constantinople was occupied by the Crusaders (1204) and the Principality of Morea was created (1205), Kalavrita became the seat of one of its twenty baronies and was divided into twelve knightly fiefdoms. The first baron was Otto de Tourne, who was succeeded first by John and then by Godfrey. In those years the city was given the name 'Kalavrita' and the castle (1208) was built east of the city and several smaller fortresses in the wider area.

In 1263 the Frankish barony was overthrown by the Greeks, who became the rulers of the region. Later, the rulers of Kalavrita became the De la Tremouille, barons of Chalandritsa, which from 1257 was an independent barony, having under its control a part of the previously unified barony of Patras. The second phase of Frankish rule lasted until 1330, when the Byzantine despots of Mistras, with Kantakouzinos and then Palaiologos Asan as their generals, occupied the area. A part of Franks remained in the province of Kalavrita, converted to Orthodoxy and Hellenized.

When Theodore I Palaiologos was defeated by the Turks, he rented Kalavrita to the Order of Saint John of Rhodes (1404). Four years later, however, Kalavrita passed again to Palaiologos. Theodore Palaiologos brought (1392) from Albania several families to reinforce the Peloponnesian population decimated by the plague epidemic. From them were founded the two Albanian-speaking villages of Kalavrita, Lycouria and Gkermbesi.

The Turks would become the rulers of the region in 1460, after overcoming the strong resistance put up by the last foreman of Kalavrita, Doxas.

The castle of Kalavrita, with that of Salmenikos (1461), were the last two castles occupied in the Peloponnese by the forces of Mohammed II the Conqueror.

Turkish rule

When Kalavrita was again under Turkish rule (1715), none of the privileges granted to them were taken away. In fact, during these years, the operation of schools in Kalavrita, Agios Pavlos, Daphne, Kertezi, Kerpini and Aroania is attested. The 18th century will be marked by the remarkable commercial movement of local agricultural products and the development of European interconnections with several countries. During this period, the road network of the area will develop and powerful families will emerge, such as Petimezeos family, Zaimis family, Lontos family, Chondrogiannis family, Fotilas family, Charalambis family, Theocharopoulos family, Sofianos family, etc., who played a leading role in the 1821 Revolution.

The revolutionary events of 1821 and the liberation of Kalavrita

The Province of Kalavrita played a leading role in the beginning of the Greek Revolution against the Turkish conquerors in March 1821. After meetings of chiefs and senior clergymen of Achaia, Kalavrita and Vostitsa, it was decided to begin preparations in the various regions, while the strongest voices were for the immediate start of the Revolution by 17 March, the feast of the patron saint of Kalavrita, St. Alexios, at the meeting held in AgiaLavra on March 10 or 13. However, the Province of Kalavrita appears earlier prepared and receptive to Papaflessas' ideas for the struggle. Thus, in the area ofKalavrita, during mid-March 1821, important revolutionary events would take place, which were the spark for the beginning of the Revolution.

First was Nikolaos Soliotis, ignoring the endless assemblies of the village headmen, together with Anagnostis Kordis and other klephts (social bandits or brigands) on March 14, 1821, ambushed and beat at a location near Agridi of Nonakrida, three tax collectors and three postmen who were carried letters from the kâim-makâm Mehmet Selih to Hursit Pasha in Ioannina, at the urging of Sotiris Charalambis.

This was followed on March 18, 1821, by the attack of Chondrogiannis at the site of Chelonospilia of Katsana (Lycouria), against the Turkish-Albanian collector Lalaios Seidis, who, together with the moneychanger Nikolaos Tampakopoulos, a native from Vytina, carried securities from Kerpini of Kalavrita to Tripolitsa.

After Chelonospilia, is also recorded the hostile action in Leivartzi of Nikolaos Soliotis and Andreas Petimezas, at the behest of Asimakis Fotilas, against Tsipougleos family, two sipahiyin from Tripolitsa. Revolutionary actions are also considered the attack by Nikolaos Soliotis against seven Turks in the villages of Arfaras in Chassia and 19 Albanians in Versova or Bertzova, the insult and murder of some of the 18 Turks, who, on their way from Salona to Tripolitsa, fell into the ambush of Petmezeos at Akrata, as well as the murder of the Turkish owners of the villages Mostitsi and Kasteli, in Anargyros in the chapel of St. Athanasios (Sopoto).

Of particular importance is the attack against the people of the Turkish commander of Kalavrita, Ibrahim Pasha Arnaoutoglou, who, worried by the situation, set off with his entire garrison for Tripolitsa (mid-March 1821). At the position Paleopyrgos or Froxylia, Sotiris Papadeos, Thanasis Fefes and Thanasis Kostopoulos from Mazi, GiannakisViras from Krinofyta and Galanis from Vrosthaina, killed in an ambushArnaoutoglou'sEthiopian slave. In the afternoon of the same day, Arnaoutoglou's guardswere also ambushed bythe aforementioned together with others, at the location Platania. Arnaoutoglou, when he was informed of what had happened, was frightened and rushed to close himself and the Turks in the three fortified towers of Kalavrita.

The role of the Monastery of Agia Lavra was also decisive, because there, Germanos of Old Patras blessed the weapons of the fighters and raised the flag of the Revolution, the banner of the Struggle for independence and the falloff of the Turkish rule, which was the curtain of the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. On March 21, 1821, 600 armed fighters gathered and besieged Kalavrita, led by Sotiris Charalambis, Fotilas, Sotiris Theocharopoulos, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Nikolaos Soliotis and the Petimezeos family, and attacked the Turks who had taken refuge in the towers. After five days of resistance (21-25 March) Arnaoutoglou surrendered. After the liberation of the city, an official doxology was held in the Historical Monastery of AgiaLavra. Almost simultaneously, Kalamata was liberated by Greek fighters led by Petrombeis Mavromichalis, Theodoros Kolokotronis and Papaflessas, while Andreas Lontos preached the revolution in Vostitsa, which was abandoned by its Turkish inhabitants. On the 25th of March 400 fighters from Vostitsa, under Londos, will participated in the siege of the fortress of Patras, which the revolutionaries had entered since 22 March.

The 25th of March was designated as a day of national celebration by a decree issued by King Otto on the 27th of March 1838.

BANNER OF REVOLUTION 1821

The curtain of the Beautiful Gate of the Temble of AgiaLavra was the flag of the Greek Revolution, raised by the Paleon Patron Germanoswho sworn the fighters. According to sources, the banner was brought to the Monastery by priest monk Neophytos. Its shape is oblong, rectangular and on it is depictedthe Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Despite the fires and looting that took place in the Monastery, the banner did not sustain any damage. It was preserved in 1993 and is kept in a special case in the Monastery. Today it is the most valuable national treasure.

PANHELLENIC HEROON OF THE 1821 NATIONAL REGENERATION

On the dominant hill north of the Monastery of Agia Lavra, rises the brightest monument of the Nation. It is the Heroon of the fighters of the Revolution of 1821, who sacrificed themselves for the independence of the Hellenic nation from the Turkish yoke. The unveiling of the monument in its present form took place on 24 March 1971. The Monument consists of a composition of three statues representing the participation of the clergy and the fighters in the Revolution of 1821 and the freeing of the Hellenic Nation from the Turkish Conqueror. Every year, the commemorative events for the National Anniversary, organized by the Municipality of Kalavrita, begin at the Heroes' Memorial, where a trisagion is held, wreaths are laid, a minute's silence is observed in memory of the glorious heroes and the national anthem is played.

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German occupation

The occupation is one of the most shocking periods in modern Hellenic history. The wider region of Kalavrita, a place with a long historical background and a revolutionary past, suffered enormous losses in manpower during the period of occupation, with mass executions of civilians and total destruction.

The criminal acts of the German occupation troops culminated in December 1943, with an organized cleansing operation of the Kalavrita area, known as "Operation Kalavrita" (from 5 to 15 December 1943), one of the most brutal operations of the Wehrmacht, not only in Greece, but also in Europe in general.

The Holocaust of Kalavrita

The Germans entered Kalavrita on December, 9th. They created a suffocating cordon around the town so that no one could escape. The intense anxiety of the inhabitants was allayed by the German commander Ebersberger, who assured them that no one would be harmed and that their aim was to exterminate the guerrillas. They first proceeded to burn houses belonging to guerrillas and sought the fate of the German wounded from the Battle of Kerpini. On December 12th, the Germans began to prepare to withdraw the following day. On the morning of December 13th, Monday, before it was well dawn, the bells of the central church were rung and German officers and soldiers ordered all the inhabitants to assemble at the primary school, after taking with them a blanket and a day's food.

The separation and segregation took place in the school building. The women and children were locked up in the school and the men from 14 years old and over were led in columns to the nearby Ridge of Kappi (today's Place of Execution). The site was carefully selected. Its amphitheatrical configuration would not allow anyone to escape. The people of Kalavrita were forced to watch their property, their houses and the entire town burning, and with them their wives and minor children, who were confined to the school building and consigned to the fire, guarded by armoured soldiers.

The German commander, in order to reassure and mislead the assembled people, gave his word of military honour that they would not be killed. The whole town was given over to the flames.

At the same time, Odondotos was going downhill, overloaded with crops from the plundering of the Germans in houses, shops and warehouses, from which they had snatched everything of value. Along with the money and stocks of the Banks and Public Services, after having forced the Directors to hand them over. From the "Alexander the Great" Hotel, with a green and then a red flare, the signal for execution was given. The machine guns reaped the people of Kalavrita. Then came the coup de grâce that completed the crime.

At the primary school, the women and children experienced moments of anguish and terror as the flames engulfed the school building. Breaking doors and windows, they finally managed to escape by running away from the burning houses and began to search for their families, climbing uphill to the place where the men had been led and there were confronted with the most horrific and inhuman sight. Men, fathers, sons and brothers lay dead, awash in blood.

The great drama of Kalavrita had begun. The youth, the creative forces of the city, property and years of toil were wiped out at 2:34' on December 13, 1943, as the indicators of the stopped church clock showing.

In the secret radiogram of 117 Jager Division (No.1595/43), the final account of Operation Kalavrita is recorded: "The villages were completely destroyed: Rogoi, Kerpini, Stasi Kerpini, Ano Zachlorou, Kato Zachlorou, Souvardo, Vrachni, Kalavrita, Monasteries of Great Cave and Agia Lavra, AgiaKyriaki, Avles, Vysoka, Fteri, Plataniotissa, Pyrgaki, Valtsa, Melissia, Monastery of Omplos, Lapanagi, Mazi, Mazeika, Pagkrati, Morohova, Derveni, Valtos, Planitero, Kalyvia. 696 Greeks were executed..."

The rest of the drama found the women trying with what was left, even with their hands, to dig makeshift graves in the frozen earth of December to bury their dead. With the blankets they had nearby, they carried the dead to the cemetery while others were buried there on the hill, in a tragic scene that lasted for days. What followed was the struggle for survival in the rubble, which was to house the disappeared families for years to come. The Women of Kalavrita, the mothers of Kalavrita, heroic figures, struggling under difficult circumstances, managed to raise their children and rebuild the city from the ruins.

At the Place of Execution, the White Cross and the Mother of Kalavrita, eternal symbols of martyrdom, continue to send messages of peace, freedom and brotherhood among the peoples of the world.

In the context of paying tribute to the victims of the Nazi regime during the period of occupation, 1940-1945, a civil non-profit company was established on December 12th, 2000, under the name "Network of Martyr Cities & Villages of Greece, 1940-1945" and with the distinctive title "Greek Holocaust", which includes 50 towns and 4 communities, which are designated as "Martyrs", with the Martyr City of Kalavrita as its headquarter, due to the great destruction in human lives and material damage they suffered during the resistance against the occupation forces in 1941-1944.