Photos from the picturesque City of Kalavrita and the surrounding area
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 The Holocaust of Kalavrita
is considered one of the worst atrocities of World War II on European soil.
In October 1943, Greek partisans forces beat back the Nazi troops at the battle that raged around the villages of Kerpini and Rogi and captured 80 German troops as prisoners. The Nazi forces demanded the freeing of the prisoners and warned that they would execute 10 Greeks for every German soldier killed by the resistance. Despite the intermediation of the
Church, the resistance leadership refused to capitulate.
On 8 December, reinforced German forces, in a massive counter attack, retake Kerpini and Rogi villages and drive their defenders away, driving Greek partisans
to execute all but one German prisoners.
On 9 December Nazi troops enter Kalavrita and on the morning of the 13 they order all male residents, aged 14 years and up, to gather in a field just outside the village. There, they machine-gun down almost all 700 of them. Only about 13 survived.
The women and children were locked up in the school building, which was set on fire, but they managed to break some windows and escape. A version of this story says that one of the guards, an Austrian anti-Nazi, opened one of the doors and let the women and children out.
The monument of the Holocaust of Kalavrita was built on the site of the execution to commemorate the tragic events of 13 December 1943. |
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Travelling from Diakofto to Kalavrita in the cog railway
The northern side of Kalavrita valley is the origin of the Vouraikos gorge that was formed by the efforts of the homonymous river (called Erasinos in the ancient times) to end up in the Corinthian bay. It is perhaps the most beautiful natural monument in the area of Kalavrita.
In 1896, the construction of the project was assigned by Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis and his government to the French contractor Aton. The route passes through the gorge next to the river, thus the cog railway connected the wider area of Kalavrita to
Patras and Athens covering for the lack of road access. The first locomotives were steam-driven using coal, while today the train consists of two wagons and is driven by a diesel locomotive located in between. Even now, the track includes rails marked with the date of its construction. All facilities (stations, stops, etc.), and a 20m zone on both sides of the railway track have been characterized as historical monuments according to a resolution of the Ministry of Culture.
The distance from the Diakofto railway station to Kalavrita is 22km, and the route lasts approx. 1 hour. Due to the very steep inclination of the track (maximum 145%), no conventional train could travel on it. Therefore, at the construction stage, a cog straightedge was fitted in three parts for a total length of 3.5km between the rails, that interlocks with a mechanism in the locomotive. Thus, the train can ascend to 750m from sea level, to the Kalavrita station where the route ends. The cog railway features the smallest track gauge (0.75m) in Europe.
At the beginning, the route is smooth and after the fields of the coast it enters the first narrowing of the gorge consisting of impressive reddish walls eroded by water. After the first tunnel, it reaches the first station, Niamata, at a platform among the mountains. Subsequently, it reaches the first part where the "cog" starts interlocking and the train moves at a low speed. After passing through many tunnels, the train passes the Triklion station and reaches Portes, an impressive point of the route. This is the narrowest point of the gorge, and the track is routed through a tunnel. One can still find heavy iron doors at two portals of the tunnel, that are now rusted, which were opened only for the train to pass, and remained closed at all other times to prevent pedestrians from crossing it, so that the passing of the gorge was possible only by means of the railway.
After traveling along the last ascending part using the cog mechanism, the train reaches the Zahlorou station, which is of the greatest significance. The area is ideal during summer, where the large number of plane trees combined with the water that flows in the river create a fresh and pleasant atmosphere. Furthermore, from this station one can visit the Mega Spileon monastery on foot.
The route proceeds smoothly, passes from Kerpini station and ends up to the last station of Kalavrita.
Furthermore, the visitor can organise an excursion by combining a journey by cog railway and hiking. He/She can take the cog railway from Diakofto to Zahlorou and then descend easily on foot to Niamata. This part of the route is the most interesting. Subsequently, the visitor can take the cog railway to Diakofto. After all, we should not miss out visiting it and protecting it, since such places are rare on earth.
The Holy Cave of Mega Spileo
Mega Spileo is a short drive (10 km from Kalavrita). It is considered to be the eldest monastery in Greece, founded by saints Theodoros and Simeon in 362 AD led to the discovery of the icon in the cave behind the site of the later
church. It has been destroyed and looted several times due to war incidents and fire. The view is the most beautiful gift of the monastery since it is located at a height of 1000
m, while a huge building like castle, rises up to 8 floors inside the physical hole of an enormous rock. The church of the monastery, built during the 17th century, has beautiful frescoes, although old and blur, a floor with mosaic and a bronze door with stinted draw. Inside the Mega Spileo is saved the picture of Holy Mother, made of gum and wax, which is one of the three the Evangelist Lukas had made. A path that starts from the monastery leads at the top of the rock where there are left pieces of a castle and some cannons.
Phone: +30 26920 23130, +30 26920 22401
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