Lavrio

Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (

It is located about 60 km SE of Athens city center, SE of

History

The modern town of Lavrio is at the site of the ancient village of

The earliest evidence for mining dates to the beginning of the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 BC.^[7]

Systematic exploitation of mineral resources seem to have begun in the 6th century BC under

Towards the end of the 5th century, the output fell, partly owing to the Spartan occupation of Decelea. But the mines continued to be worked, though Strabo records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, and Pausanias speaks of the mines as a thing of the past. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore, and washing tables for concentrating the ore, may still be seen at many locations. There were well engineered tanks and reservoirs to collect rainwater for washing the ore since abundant supplies from streams or rivers was impossible at the site.

The mines were reworked in the late 19th century by French and Greek companies, but mainly for lead, manganese and cadmium. In 1896 a strike from the miners was violently confronted by the mining company's guards resulting in the death of two workers. The miners responded by destroying the company's offices and killing the guards. The government then sent police forces to support the company's interests against the strikers. Further clashes between workers and the police occurred to which the government replied by sending the military against the striking workers resulting in more workers' deaths. The strike ended violently with most of the strikers' demands not being fulfilled and with a military force being permanently established to patrol the miners.^[9]

The Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion comprises samples of minerals from the region of Lavrion.

• 
  Panorama
• 
  Modern Lavrio
• 
  Clocktower
• 
  Technological park
• 
  Statue of 19th-century Italian industrialist Giovanni Battista Serpieri, active here in the mines (sculp. Georgios Vroutos)

Climate

Lavrio, owing to its location in the southern tip of the

Lavrio was the terminal station of the

The mining town of Laurium, Michigan was named after the famous Greek Laurium.

Sports

Laurium hosts the football club

• Aleksinac, Serbia
• Mangalia, Romania

See also

• List of municipalities of Attica

References

Sources

• Bibliothéque des Ecoles francaises d'Athênes et de Rome
  .
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Laurium (Greece)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 287.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lavrio.

• About the abandoned railway line Athens – Lavrio (in Greek)
• A video podcast made by the MoneyMuseum on the importance of Laurion's silver mines for Greek coinage.
• A Virtual tour of the town of Lavrio