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Messolonghi City
Messolonghi Aitoliko Lake |
Welcome to Messolonghi!
Messolonghi (or Messolongi), capital of Aetoloakarnania Prefecture, was founded in the 16th century on three islets at the mouth of Acheloos and Evinos rivers, which were later united by silting to form three scenic lagoons. During the pre-Christian period, in this area there used to be three towns, Kaledon, which is nowaday’s Evinohori, Alikirna, now Hilia Spitia, built just below the historical monastery of St-Simeon and Plevron, now called the Castle of Kira -Rinis.
On entering the city one cannot help noticing the Exodus Gate and the "Garden of the Heroes". It is namely so that Messolonghi has had an immense role in the Greek War of Independence (1821-1828) when it was besieged twice by the Turkish army and its inhabitants resisted so successfully and so long that they were called by Greeks and Europeans “The Free Besieged Ones”. The final heroic Exodus, when all supplies were over and no further defense was possible, was a bright spot in modern Greek History and a source of inspiration for poets like Solomos and Lord Byron, and other great artists in Europe, creating a wave of supporters of the Greek Revolution in the world wide public opinion. Lord Byron himself died in Messolonghi short before its fall.
Past the “Exodus Gate”, behind the little park of the Memorial, the Heroon, one is startled by the low defense wall. Only a few meters of it remain standing. Traveling in Greece and coming across, every now and then, gigantic impregnable castles, one is really astonished by seeing this most humble fence, hardly three meters high, behind which the Greek defenders of the city could resist the whole of the Turkish Army (30,000 warriors) for so long (May 25 1825-April 26 1826).
Being by the lagoon, Messolonghi offers fresh fish and the base for a very interesting round of very important estuary habitats. There is also a Picture Gallery housed in the Town Hall at the Central Square of the town.
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