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Greece Greece

Administrative Region : West Greece
Regional unit : Achaia

Akrata (Greek: Ακράτα) is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit.[1] The location is in a valley with two mountaintops. The river named Krathi flows near the center of Akrata. The river empties east of Cape Akrata.

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Akrata

The urban area is on both mountains. Akrata Beach, where the hotels are located, is about 4 km northeast and Cape Akrata is also to the northeast. The nearby interchange for Gr-8A/E65 is in Aigeira 4 km southwest and the old highway is to the northeast with two entrances. It is linked by a road to Kranidi and Galatas along with Poros. It is located 70 km southeast of Patras, southeast of Aigio, west-northwest of Corinth, north of Tripoli and northeast of Kalavryta.

The name is derived from the side of the Krathi. Next to the city are the ruins of the ancient city of Aigai and its ancient theatre.

The municipality was founded in 1879 but was dissolved in 1914. The municipality was refounded in 1986 along with Sylivainiotika, Porovitsa and Krathio. In 1998 under the Capodistrian Plan, the municipality was enlarged to include every village and town in the municipality.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Akrata is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):

Agia Varvara (Agia Varvara, Vounaki)
Akrata (Akrata, Palaiostafida, Pyrgos, Fournoi)
Ampelos
Kalamias (Kalamias, Kato Potamia, Potamitikos Gialos)
Krathio (Krathio, Goumaiika)
Mesorrougi (Mesorrougi, Ano Mesorrougi, Solos)
Paralia Platanou
Peristera (Peristera, Agridi, Chalkianika)
Platanos (Platanos, Ano Potamia, Korinthiako Balkoni, Tsivlos)
Porovitsa (Porovitsa, Paralia Porovitsis)
Sylivena or Sylivainiotika
Valimi
Voutsimos
Zarouchla

Historical population
Year Population village Population municipal district Population municipality
1991 1,508 - 5,492
2001 1,737 1,778 6,871

Historic mayors

Angelos Deloukas, first mayor of the municipality

Geography

Much of the area is grassy and forests are found to the north. Farmlands dominate the northeast near the Krathio area, while the buildings are to the northeast near the boundary with Aigeira. The municipality is also famous for its beaches, which lie near the Gulf of Corinth, and overlooks the gulf.

The mountains lie to the south and are mainly grassy and bushy. The forests are within the Gulf of Corinth to the north.

Lake Tsivlos is by the road linking Akrata and Zarouchla. In Peristera, it has the spring of Golfos which was filmed in Gkolfo.

History

In the mid-20th century, the roads were paved and the villages first received electricity.

Until the 1970s it was mostly a destination for the local population that had moved to Athens or Patras. Its took off as a tourist destination in the 1980s, especially for Greeks. Construction took off in the 1990s and the coast soon turned into a tightly built, concrete zone.
Main article: 2007 Greek forest fires

A wildfire that began in the midday hours of August 6, 2007 sparked a fire in the town's landfill, it extended to its beautiful pine, Greek Fir, and spruce trees and spread into the town and burnt a couple of houses. It spread into the forests northwest of town and northward enough to spread by the GR-8A/E65 northwest of its nearest interchange that caused traffic delays and slowdowns for several kilometres. Firefighters battled the blaze from its curvy roads and helicopters and planes sprayed to stop the fire. The fire lasted for several hours.

Media and books

Styx - Greek local and monthly newspaper

References

^ Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek)

Idrysi kai Exelixi tis Akratas (Ίδρυση και Εξέλιξη της Ακράτας) Anastasios Mich. Georgantopoulou
I Akrata stin teleftaia 10etia tou 20ou aiona (Η Ακράτα στην τελευταία 10ετία του 20ου αιώνα = Akrata In The Last Ten Decades Of The Twentieth Century) Anast. Mich. Georgantopoulou
Istoria Kai Laografika tis Anatolikis Periochis Aigialeias kai Kalavryton (Ιστορικά και Λαογραφικά της Ανατολικής Περιοχής Αιγιάλειας και Καλαβρύτων = Historic And Demographics Of The Eastern Area of Aigialeia And Kalavryta) Athanasios Th. Fotopoulos

Municipalities and communities of the Achaea Prefecture

Achaia