Patras


Patras is Greece's third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.
As of the 2021 census, the municipality of Patras has a population of 215,922, while the urban population is 173,600. The core settlement has a history spanning four millennia. In the Roman period, it had become a cosmopolitan centre of the eastern Mediterranean whilst, according to the Christian tradition, it was also the place of Saint Andrew's martyrdom.
Dubbed as Greece's "Gate to the West", Patras is a commercial hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. The city has three public universities, hosting a large student population and rendering Patras an important scientific centre with a field of excellence in technological education. The Rio-Antirrio Bridge connects Patras's easternmost suburb of Rio to the town of Antirrio, connecting the Peloponnese peninsula with mainland Greece.
Every year, in February, the city hosts one of Europe's largest carnivals. Notable features of the Patras Carnival include its mammoth satirical floats and balls and parades, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors in a Mediterranean climate. Patras is also famous for supporting an indigenous cultural scene active mainly in the performing arts and modern urban literature. It was European Capital of Culture in 2006.

History

For the Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine history of Patras see: History of Patras.

Middle Ages and early modern

In 1205, the city was captured by William of Champlitte and Villehardouin, and became a part of the principality of Achaea. It became the seat of the Barony of Patras, and its Latin archbishop primate of the principality. In 1408, Patras became Venetian, until it was recaptured in 1430 by the Despotate of Morea and its despot Constantine Palaiologos, who thus succeeded in recovering for the Byzantine Empire the whole of the Morea, apart from Venetian possessions. The administration of Patras was given to George Sphrantzes, while Constantine was immediately contested by the Ottoman Empire and later, in 1449, became emperor of the Byzantine empire.
Patras remained a part of the Despotate of Morea until 1458, when it was conquered by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet II. Under the Ottomans, it was known as "Baliabadra", from the , as opposed to Νέα Πάτρα, the town of Ypati in Central Greece. Though Mehmet granted the city special privileges and tax reductions, it never became a major centre of commerce. Venice and Genoa attacked and captured it several times in the 15th and 16th centuries, but never re-established their rule effectively, except for a period of Venetian rule in 1687–1715 after the Morean War.
It has been noted that during and in the aftermath of the suppressed 1770 Orlov revolt "when the Greeks got the upper hand they settled old scores; when the Turks and Albanians reasserted themselves they were merciless: recapturing Patras, they left scarcely anyone alive."
In 1772, a naval battle took place off the city between the Russians and Ottomans.

Modern era

Patras was one of the first cities in which the Greek Revolution began in 1821; the Ottoman garrison, confined to the citadel, held out until 1828. After the war, most of the city and its buildings were completely destroyed.
Patras developed quickly into the second-largest urban centre in late-19th-century Greece. The city benefited from its role as the main export port for the agricultural produce of the Peloponnese.
In the early 20th century, Patras developed fast and became the first Greek city to introduce public streetlights and electrified tramways. In the Second World War, the city was a major target of Italian air raids. In the Axis occupation period, a German military command was established and German and Italian troops stationed in the city. After the liberation in 1944, the city recovered, but in later years was increasingly overshadowed by the urban pole of Athens. Since 2014, the city's mayor is Kostas Peletidis.

Urban landscape

The city is divided into the upper and the lower section, connected with roads and broad stairs. The upper section is the older and the more picturesque; however, the lower section is laid out according to the 1858 city plan, featuring a variety of squares. The most notable of these are the Psila Alonia and the Georgiou I Square. A number of notable neoclassical buildings are to be found, including the Apollon Theatre in Georgiou I Square, the City Hall, the headquarters of the Local Trade Association and the Court of Justice. A replica of Patras Lighthouse, the city's emblematic old lighthouse – which was at the dock of Ayios Nikolaos – rises at the end of Trion Navarchon street, near the temple of Saint Andreas.
In general, much of Patras's coastline is framed by roads and avenues running alongside; these include Dymaion Coast to the south and Iroon Polytechneiou Street to the north.

Main sights

Patras and its region is home to various Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Monuments, including the Roman Odeon of Patras, the Fortress of Rio and the Fortress of Patras. More specifically, the main sights of the city are:
  • The Patras Archaeological Museum focuses on the exhibition of various archaeological finds, from the Mycenaean to the Late Roman era, discovered in Patras and the wider Achaea region. The museum is housed in a modern and special architectural building designed by the architect Theophanis Bobotis.
  • The Mycenaean cemetery of Voudeni, from the center of Patras, is one of the most important sites of the Mycenaean world, showing active use for nearly five hundred years. The site itself appears to have been inhabited from the Bronze Age until middle Roman times.
  • The Roman Odeon, the most significant ancient monument, is in the upper town and was built around 160 AD, in the reign of either Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius. It has been restored and partially reconstructed, and is used as an open-air theatre for performances and concerts in the summer.
  • The Roman Amphitheatre, near the Roman Odeon, in Ifestou street, dating from the 1st century AD, at a period of the biggest development of Roman Patras. Its area has been only partially excavated.
  • The Roman aqueduct that led from the springs of Romanos to the acropolis. The aqueduct measured from the water cistern to the castle. For the greater part of this distance, the water passed through an underground channel, passing over valleys and gorges on carefully constructed archways, parts of which still stand, in the area of Aroi.
Other Roman monuments include the ruins of the Roman stadium, remains of the Roman wall and a preserved bridge over the river Kallinaos.
  • The medieval Patras Castle, in the ancient acropolis overlooking the city, was initially built in the 6th century AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, having many additions from the period of the Frankish and Venetian rule of the city, up to as far as the time of the Despotate of Morea and later the Ottoman Empire. Its current outline dates back to the second Venetian rule of the town. Today, is visiting and its interior is used as a public garden.
  • The orthodox church of Saint Andrew of Patras was founded in 1908 by King George I and was inaugurated in 1974. It is dedicated to Saint Andrew, the patron of the city, and contains relics of the saint at the location of his crucifixion. It is the second-largest temple of Byzantine style in the Balkans. The central cupola is tall and is the base for a gold-plated cross and twelve smaller ones, symbolising Christ and the twelve apostles. A congregation of at least 5,000 can attend a sermon within the church.
  • The municipal Theatre Apollon, built in 1872 designed by architect Ernst Ziller. The building is characteristic of the 19th-century neoclassical style and is in the central square of the city.
  • The Achaia Clauss wine industry and tasting center, which is on the outskirts in Petroto village. It was founded in 1861 by the Bavarian Gustav Clauss and is most famous for its Mavrodaphne.This place also houses the oldest wine of Greece, the old mavrodaphne of 1873.
  • Residence of Kostis Palamas, a preserved neoclassical building on 241 Corinthou Street in the city center, where poet Kostis Palamas and the Italian painter Matilde Serao were born.
  • Old Patras Hospital, a neoclassical building on Ano Poli, near Castle, designed by architect Christian Hansen.
  • The Ottoman baths, still retain their initial use, and are one of the oldest Ottoman baths surviving in Europe.
  • The Patras Lighthouse, a reconstructed "Faros", a landmark of the city.
  • The Agiou Nikolaou Stairs, Gerokostopoulou Stairs, Patreos Stairs and Trion Navarchon Stairs, outdoor grand staircases all over the centre of the city dividing the upper town from downtown.
  • Rio-Antirrio Bridge, is a modern landmark of place and one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type.

    Parks and squares

  • Georgiou I Square, the central square and the heart of the city. It was named after King George I. The square's fountains were installed in 1875 at a cost of 70,000 drachmas each, a huge amount for the finances of Greece and Patra at the time. It was and continues to be the center of political and cultural life in the city, hosting all significant activities, political gatherings, rallies, cultural events and, most importantly for some, its carnival.
  • Ethnikis Antistaseos
  • Kapodistria Square in the district of Markato.
  • Trion Symmachon Square bears the name of the three Allied Powers who fought in the Battle of Navarino; Britain, France and Russia. The square features a flower clock and links the Agiou Nikolaou pedestrian way with the seaside front and the dock of Agios Nikolaos.
  • Psilalonia Square is one of Patras's most popular squares. It is from downtown Patras, next to the city's main north–south street, Gounari Street. It features a fountain, many sidewalks, palm trees and playgrounds. It is surrounded by several shops, restaurants and cafes and a number of modernist buildings. It was completed in the mid-to-late 19th century, when trees were added, along with neoclassical buildings. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, however, and through the 1960s and 1970s, most neoclassical buildings were replaced by eight-storey residential buildings. In the west end, a cliff overlooks the pedestrian Trion Navarchon Street, and offers a wide vista across the western Gulf of Patras, including the mountains of Aitoloakarnania.
  • Saint George Square. There is the monument to the fighters of 1821 on which is engraved the "declaration of the revolutionaries of Patras to the states of Europe".
  • The Spinney of Patras, is in a pine-tree-covered hill, which is dubbed "the Gulf of Patras's veranda" because of the panoramic view it offers. The spinney is ideal for recreational walks and jogging, with its specially formed paths and the shade offered by the tall trees.
  • South Park of Patras