Monemvasia
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Monemvasia Μονεμβασία |
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Monemvasia island
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 Monemvasia
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 36°41′N 23°3′E / 36.683°N 23.050°ECoordinates: 36°41′N 23°3′E / 36.683°N 23.050°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Peloponnese |
| Regional unit | Laconia |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 949.3 km2 (366.5 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 209.0 km2 (80.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality | 21,942 |
| • Municipality density | 23/km2 (60/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 4,041 |
| • Municipal unit density | 19/km2 (50/sq mi) |
| Community | |
| • Population | 1,418 (2011) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 230 70 |
| Area code(s) | 27320 |
| Vehicle registration | ΑΚ |
Monemvasia (Greek: Μονεμβασία) is a town and a municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The island is linked to the mainland by a short causeway 200m in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to 300 m wide and 1 km long, the site of a powerful medieval fortress. The town walls and many Byzantine churches remain from the medieval period. The seat of the municipality is the town Molaoi.
The town's name derives from two Greek words, mone and emvasia, meaning "single entrance". Its Italian form, Malvasia, gave its name to Malmsey wine. Monemvasia's nickname is the Gibraltar of the East or The Rock.
While uninhabited in antiquity, the rock 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 town and fortress were founded in 583 by inhabitants of the mainland seeking refuge from the Slavic and the Avaric invasion of Greece. A history of the invasion and occupation of the Peloponnese was recorded in the medieval Chronicle of Monemvasia.
From the 10th century AD, the town developed into an important trade and maritime centre. The fortress withstood the Arab and Norman invasions in 1147; farm fields that fed up to 30 men were tilled inside the fortress. William II of Villehardouin took it in 1248, on honourable terms, after three years of siege; in 1259 William was captured by the Greeks after the battle of Pelagonia and in 1262 it was retroceded to Michael VIII Palaiologos as part of William's ransom.
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Wikipedia