Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages

Lavrio

Lavrio is a town with interesting architecture and is one of Athens' ports.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )


    1864 The Italian-French company "Hilarion Roux et Cie" was founded by J.P. Serpieri, and the following year a factory opened with 18 furnaces, metalwork spaces, machine shops and a railway.

    1869 The company came into conflict with the state over rights to the remnants of ancient minerals. This conflict is known as the "Lavrio Issue". After some years, the negotiations resulted in the creation of two companies, one Greek and one French.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1821)


  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

Lavrio is a town of 10,700 inhabitants, located about 60km from Athens. It belongs to the most important harbours of Athens, and was built in 1865 from scratch. It is famous for its town hall, squares, neoclassical buildings around the central square, and the districts of Nihtohori and Agia Paraskevi. Of particular importance are the “Efterpis” building (from the eponymous philharmonic orchestra) and the iron scale (1888) of the French Metallurgical Company of Lavrion at the harbour. The 45,000 sqm facilities of this French company are being transformed into the Technological and Cultural Park of Lavrion, following a study by the National Technical University of Athens, which specifically examined the flotation and machining facilities, chemistry labs, carpentry workshops, warehouses and clock.

What I can't see

The name of the town comes from the word “lavra” or “lavri” which means a tunnel, a narrow passage. The area is full of underground tunnels because there had been mining activity since ancient times (3,000 BC). After many centuries of inactivity, Lavrio became a very important city in the 19th century after becoming the first working-class settlement of the new Greek state that was established for the exploitation of ores. The French Metallurgical Company employed 1,200 workers, which was considered a large number for that period of time. At the beginning of the 20th century, Lavrio was transformed from a labour compound to a city of 10,000 inhabitants. During the First World War, a great industrial crisis broke out, and by the mid-1920s the population had dropped by 50%. Starting in 1922, refugees were settled in the area, and the population increased again. After 1980, however, it declined once again by 20% due to deindustrialization, which also led to a significant increase of unemployment.

Bibliography

Salliora- Oikonomakou Μ., (2010), Λαυρεωτική, το Μουσείο του Λαυρίου, [Lavreotiki, Museum of Lavrio], Ministry of Culture and Tourism, TAPA

 

Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio (d.u.), History, NTUA,

http://www.ltp.ntua.gr/lavrion_park/history

Last visit 24/5/2018

 

Filippidis D., (2006), Αρχιτεκτονικές μεταμορφώσεις, μητροπολιτικά κέντρα, [Architectural Transformations, metropolitan centres], v.1, Athens: Melissa