PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Chora

Χώρα
Chora Χώρα
Settlement
	Chora
	Coordinates: 37°24′45″N 24°25′50″E / 37.41250°N 24.43056°E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	South Aegean
Regional unit	Kea-Kythnos
Municipality	Kythnos
Population (2021)
• Total	621
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Chora (official name Kythnos Κύθνος, also called Mesaria Μεσαριά) is the capital of Kythnos and the seat of the Municipality of Kythnos. According to the 2021 Greek census it has 621 inhabitants.^[1]

Name

As is customary for many Aegean island capitals it is called Chora but is also known to locals as Mesaria. This name is attributed to the fact that it is built inland, so in the middle (mesi) of the island. Another explanation might be that the name derives from the Frankish word Missaria. The inhabitants are called Mesariotes.^[2]^[3]

Description

Chora is located in the central and northern part of the island. It used to be a small agricultural community but developed into a larger village in the 17th century and onwards. According to legend the inhabitants left their capital, The Castle of Oria or Katakefalo in 1537 A.D. after the pirate’s Barbarossa’s invasion and preferred to settle away from the coast in Messaria. According to the same legend the first houses were built around Agia Triada (Holy Trinity).^[4]

1791 saw the operation of the island’s first school, in the Monastery of the Virgin of Nikous, on the outskirts of Chora. The first teacher was the monk Parthenios Koulouris from Sifnos, who was then succeeded by a local monk, Makarios Filippaios, who taught successfully for several years.^[5] After the Greek Revolution, Chora was proclaimed the official capital of the island.

The first three classes of the Elementary School of Kythnos are housed in Chora. The other classes are in a different location, namely in Dryopida.^[6] There is also a regional medical center and various tourist businesses and restaurants.

Sightseeings

Chora has many churches and two monasteries, Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), the oldest church on the island, the Church of Saint Savvas dating from the 17th century, the Church of Metamorfosis Sotiros (Transfiguration of Christ) with an iconostasis dating to the 17th century, the church of Saint John Theologos, Saint Nicholas, Saint Barbara in Asteras, the Monastery of the Virgin of Nikous and the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Chordaki. Old destroyed windmills can be found in Chora. ^[7]^[8]^[9]

Chora is scheduled to acquire the new Archeological Museum of Kythnos, which will house many finds and artifacts from the ancient capital of the island, Vryokastro. It is also meant to house the open-air Archeological Collection of the Park of Katholiko of Chora where sculptures and architectural finds have been exhibited since 1973.^[10]^[11]

Gallery

A typical alley
The schoolyard of the Elementary School
A typical alley
A typical alley
Alley in Chora
An old public building

References

^ ^a ^b "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.
^ Χιλιαδάκης, pp. 32-3
^ Μενεΐδης, p. 237.
^ Γιώργης Βενετούλιας, Του νησιού μου: παραδόσεις της Κύθνου, Εν Πλω, Αθήνα 2018, pp. 41-42
^ Αναστασία Κορδατζή-Πρασσά, Η εκπαίδευση στις Κυκλάδες κατά την καποδιστριακή περίοδο (1828-1832), 1996, σελ. 28, Βάλληνδας, Αντώνιος Ν., Κυθνιακά ήτοι της νήσου Κύθνου χωρογραφία και ιστορία μετά του βίου των συγχρόνων Κυθνίων εν ω ήθη και έθη και γλώσσα και γένη κλπ. 1882, pp. 96-7.
^ "7/θέσιο Δημοτικό Σχολείο Κύθνου". 7/θέσιο Δημοτικό Σχολείο Κύθνου (in Greek). Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ "Messaria". KythnosInfo. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ "CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES". Κύθνος. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ "Traditional Settlements". Κύθνος. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ Α. ΜΑΖΑΡΑΚΗΣ ΑΙΝΙΑΝ, Αρχαία Κύθνος. Ιστοριογραφία και αρχαιολογικές έρευνες, στο Μενδώνη, Λ. Γ., Μαζαράκης Αινιάν, Α. Ι., επιμ. (1998). Κέα – Κύθνος: ιστορία και αρχαιολογία: πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Συμποσίου Κέα – Κύθνος, 22-25 Ιουνίου 1994. Αθήνα: Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών / Κέντρο Ελληνικής και Ρωμαϊκής Αρχαιότητος, pp. 52-54.
^ "Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Κύθνου: Για πρώτη φορά στεγάζεται η πολιτισμική ταυτότητα του νησιού | Ειδική Υπηρεσία Διαχείρισης Περιφέρειας Νοτίου Αιγαίου". pepna.gr. Retrieved 2022-06-19.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Bibliography

Stelios Hiliadakis, Κύθνος, Εκδόσεις Μαθιουδάκη.
A. Mazarakis Ainian, Αρχαία Κύθνος. Ιστοριογραφία και αρχαιολογικές έρευνες, στο Μενδώνη, Λ. Γ., Μαζαράκης Αινιάν, Α. Ι., επιμ. (1998). Κέα – Κύθνος: ιστορία και αρχαιολογία: πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Συμποσίου Κέα – Κύθνος, 22-25 Ιουνίου 1994. Αθήνα: Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών / Κέντρο Ελληνικής και Ρωμαϊκής Αρχαιότητος, σσ. 49-63.
Stathis I. Meneidis, Νησιώτικα, Έκδοση Συνδέσμου Κυθνίων, Αθήνα 1991.
Giorgis Venetoulias, Του νησιού μου: παραδόσεις της Κύθνου, Εν Πλω, Αθήνα 2018