The history - Aliveri - Petries - Agioi Apostoloi - Krieza - Agios Giannis

Aliveri - Petries - Agioi Apostoloi Krieza - Agios Giannis - Agios Loukas

History

Agioi Apostoloi

There is evidence that Aliveri has been inhabited sine the Late Stone Age and Bronze Age. At Disto, a late stone Age settlement has been found and a late Katakolou a domed «beehive» Mikinaikos tomb, which many consider to be a miniature of the tomb of Agamemnon. During the ancient times, there was a temple of Apollon in the borough of Tamina, where many contests took place in honour of the «god of light».

Spas have been unearthed in the area of Karavo from the Greek - Roman times. The church of the «Assumption of the Virgin Mary» dates from Byzantium although the exact date in unknown. Of interest are the ancient marble sculptures which have been used in the construction of the church and the fact that the eyes of nearly all the saints in the murals have been destroyed by the Turks. The «Red church», built in the Byzantine period, was given this name because of the red stone used in its construction. In the area of Milaki, the ruins of a medieval castle have been preserved and you can still see the remains of an underground passage which started from there.

During the Greek revolution of 1821, Aliveri and Karisto became the centre of the rebellion in South Evia. It was at Karistos, that the Bishop Neophytos disembarked with troops from the islands, mainly Andros, and organised an army camp for the local leaders. The Turks, however, got wind of these activities, and with their leader, Omer Pasa mobolized large forces with the result that the rebels were forced to Abandon Aliveri. It was reoccupied temporarily by Odysseus Androutsos in 1822 and thanks to the efforts of Nicholas Kriezotis it remained in the hards of the Greeks until 1823. It was eventually accupied by the Turks and remained under Turkish rule until the incorporation of Evia into the Free Greek state.

Castle at Milaki

At the beginning of this century the area of Aliveri was well know for the systematic mining of Lignitte. It's worth noting that the mineral deposits of Aliveri were well - know from the ancient times and the inhabitants of the area opened small passageways where they dug out lignite for household use. Later on the inhabitants from the surrounding areas used the surface layers for the same purpose.

The coal mines of Aliveri were mined until the 2nd World war, when their exploitation was undertaken by the occupation forces. Systematic research was carried out by the scientists of the occupation army, to evaluate the lignite deposits. This formed the basis for later research by the Greek state using up - to date methods.

The geological structure of the lignite mines in the plain of Aliveri bears evidence of the cosmogonies geological upheavals which had taken place in this area in the prehistoric times. The lignite deposits of Aliveri can be classified as charcoal which had been formed from coniferous forests millions of years ago.

The exploitation of the lignite mines and the functioning of the Thermoelectric station of the Public Power Corporation (P.P.C.) resulted in the rapid economic development in the area of Aliveri.