Anogeia
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Anogeia
Ανώγεια | |
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UTC+3 (EEST) | |
Vehicle registration | ΡΕ |
Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of 102.632 km2 (39.626 sq mi).[2] Population 2,240 (2021).
When exactly Anogeia was founded and by whom, is not accurately known. Many [
According to a legend, a shepherd from Axos found one day on one of the slopes of Psiloreitis an icon depicting Saint John the Baptist. Pious as he was, he picked it up carefully, wrapped it in a towel, took it to his home and placed it there alongside the other icons. On the following day he was astonished to find out that the icon had disappeared. Terrified, he returned to the place he had found it the previous day, where he was exhilarated to discover the icon in the exact same place. This inexplicable phenomenon was considered to be an order from the heavens, to build there a temple dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
The church of Saint John seems to be the first building of the settlement, which later came to be known as "Anogia". Within the temple of Saint John are remains of Byzantine drawings on the walls, which date to the 11th century.
The historian Stelios Spanakis, summarily provides geographical, as well as historical information about Anogia,: “Anogia is a town –municipality in the Mylopotamos Province of the Prefecture of Rethymno. In the 1981 census it numbered 2.449 citizens. It is in the northern reaches of Psiloreitis, at an altitude of 700-790 meters. When in 1182 Crete was divided among the 12 Young Princes of
The living conditions of the people of Anogia, as well as those of other mountain villages in Crete, were extremely difficult. Anogians of old times were mainly shepherds, goatherds and not so many of them were farmers. The barren soil, the harsh winters, the frequent revolts and the constant purges from the conquerors contributed to the primitive living conditions, to the great poverty and the lack of even the most basic of comforts. The French historian Victor Berard (1897) during his journeys in Crete, dedicated but a few lines for the village of Anogia, where with a raw and laconic way describes the hopeless living conditions of the time: “The village Anogia, resembles the outposts on the remote peaks of old, where men and animals live together in miserable hovels”. The Italian Vittorio Simonelli who visited Crete in 1893, was much more generous in his descriptions. First, he was put up at a “tolerable inn”. As for the villagers themselves, both men and women, made a great impression on him, when on a Sunday he saw them going to the church. He wrote: “Anogian women are beautiful, with red cheeks and faces that are lit up by eyes black and shiny, like agate. Their traditional clothing, accentuates the health and beauty that characterize the ancient Cretan archetype. The men are also handsome, being tall, lean, and easy in their movement, proud, but without even a trace of ferociousness”.
In recent years, the Yakinthia (Hyacinthia) cultural festival is held at an altitude of 1200m in the
Contribution to national liberation struggles
In 1941 in Anogia, the 'Liberation Action Committee' was founded. Anogia was the core of the Resistance in Crete and the
Between 1941 and 1944, during the fight against the German invaders, a total of 104 Anogians were killed .
In 1946, the state honored Anogia with the award of the War Cross first class for the disasters which affected and for their heroism. The following year, the community, honoris causa, was recognized as Anogeia.
Notable people
- Nikos Xylouris, aka Psaronikos (1936–1980), singer, cretan lyra player, composer
- Antonis Xylouris, aka Psarantonis (1939), singer, cretan lyra player, composer
- Giannis Xylouris, aka Psarogiannis (1943), singer, cretan lute player, composer
- Vassilis Skoulas, aka Kalathas (1946), singer, cretan lyra player, composer
- Aristeidis Chairetis, aka Gyalaftis (1946), lyricist, cretan mantinada expert, singer
- Giorgis Dramountanis aka Loudovikos ton Anogeion (1951), singer, cretan mandolin player, composer
- Giorgis Vrentzos, aka Katis (1973), singer, cretan mandolin player, composer
- Patrick Leigh Fermor
References
- ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana.
- ^ (Spanakis 1991)
- ^ Yakinthia Festivals