The municipalities of the prefecture, following the previous relevant “Law on the Establishment of Municipalities” (Government Gazette A3/1834), are recorded, probably for the first time, in a table referred to as the “General Table of the Municipalities of the State” (Government Gazette A 80/1836 ), which included the municipalities with the headquarters, the villages and the then-appointed mayors, municipal collectors and policemen (in central administrative and sub-administrative points). In some sources of this table, the Sub-division of Olympia was not included, but it is included in another variant-source, which is also preserved as “General Table of the Municipalities of the State”, in the rare editions of the 16th-20th century, of the Central Library of the Academy of Athens.
Messinia is a prefecture of Greece located in the southwestern Peloponnese. Geographically, it is the area defined to the north by the river Neda and the Arcadian Mountains (Lykaios, Mainalos), to the east by Mount Taygetos, to the south by the Messinian Gulf and to the west by the Cyparissia Mountains and the Ionian Sea. It borders to the north with the Prefecture of Ilia, to the northeast with the Prefecture of Arcadia and to the east with the Prefecture of Laconia.
The highest mountain is Taygetos (2404 m., Prophet Elias peak), which Messinia shares with Laconia and whose chain continues with other high peaks to the northwest. On the northeastern border with Arcadia and a short distance from Andritsaina of Ilia is Lykaio (1420 m.). On the northern border with Ilia is Tetrazio. To the west and towards the Ionian Sea stretch from north to south the mountains of Kyparissia (Mount Aigaleo, 1224 m), in the extension of which is, on the western Messinian peninsula, Mount Lykodimos (960 m). In the center of the prefecture and from north to south stretches the fertile plain of Messinia.
The largest river is the Pamisos, which crosses the Messinian plain and flows into the Messinian Gulf. On the border with Ilia is the river Neda. Smaller rivers are Velikas and Nedonas, which cross the city of Kalamata.
Messinia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, mainly because of its fertile plains. There is a continuum of finds from the Neolithic Age. Near Chora is the remains of the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor, the mythical king mentioned in the Homeric Epics. The descent of the Dorians in the 12th century BC. put an end to the Mycenaean Civilization. From the 8th to the 5th century BC. the Spartans enslaved Messinia with the Messinian Wars. The Thebans liberated it in 369 BC, but it was finally conquered by the Romans in 183 BC.
The Byzantine Era followed and in the 13th century it was conquered by the Franks, only to pass in 1498 completely into the hands of the Ottomans.
The area of Messinia during the period of the Second Venetian Empire (1683/84-1715), i.e. the period of thirty years (1683/84-1715), during which the Venetians re-occupied the Peloponnese, through their possession (Stato da Mar ), which is also known as the Kingdom of the Mores (1688-1715), was referred to as the Theme of Messinia or Province of Messenia (Provincia di Messenia) and was one of the 4 Themes or 4 Provinces (Provincie) into which the Venetian Senate (per ordine dell’Eccellentissimo Senato), according to the Venetian census of 1704, then the Peloponnese (Romania, Achaia, Laconia and Messinia with capitals Nafplio, Patras, Monemvasia and Neo Navarinon respectively). In Messinia, as in each of the other provinces (themes), a Proveptis (Preveduros) was also appointed for the civil and military administration, a director of justice and a financial commissar.
The Venetians, who had seized the Peloponnese from the Ottoman Empire during the early stages of the Morean War (1684-1699), tried with great success to develop the war-ravaged region of the Morea and revive agriculture and its economy, but they were unable to win the allegiance of the greater part of the population, nor to secure their new possession militarily. Thus, the Peloponnese was soon recaptured by the Ottomans after a short campaign of theirs that took place between June and September 1715.
Grigorios Papaflessas declared the revolution against the Turks on March 23, 1821, and after the devastation caused by Ibrahim’s Turkish-Egyptian army, the Battle of Navarino (October 20, 1827) led to the liberation of the Peloponnese and the creation of the new Greek state.
During the first administrative division of the Greek State, in 1828, carried out by the governor Ioannis Kapodistrias with the 1st resolution of April 13, 1828, 13 Themes or Departments or Commissions were created, for the administration of which Extraordinary Commissioners were appointed for each of that’s all. In the area of Messinia, in the time period between 1828 and 1833, villages – settlements and areas mainly corresponded to 2 sections with their provinces and 2 (1+1) more provinces from another 2 sections. The Department of Upper Messinia and the Department of Lower Messinia
The formal establishment of the Prefecture of Messinia was made in 1833 by the Government of Mavrokordatus, in the first months of the country’s governance by the Regency after the arrival of King Otto in Greece, who was still a minor. The newly established Greek State, then the Kingdom, was much smaller than today’s and only included the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and the Cyclades. By royal decree of 1833, therefore, the area of Greece at that time was divided into 10 Prefectures and 47 Provinces. These 10 first prefectures of Greece also included the Prefecture of Messinia, in which Cyparissia, then also called Arcadia or Arkadia, was designated as its seat and original capital (metropolis). The head of the prefecture, i.e. the prefecture, was the prefect, a higher administrative body in the administrative direction of the prefecture, with subordinate provinces and municipalities, whose duties were defined by a newer Royal Decree of 1833. With article 5, of the B.D. of April 3/15, 1833, it was also determined that: “The Prefecture of Messinia includes the places on the left bank of the Alpheus of the province of Pyrgos, and the provinces of Fanario, Arkadia, Methoni, Neokastro, Koroni, Kalamata, Nissi, Androussi up to that point , Iblakikon and Mikromani. The border of Messinia, on the one hand towards Elis, is formed by Alpheios, and on the western side of Laconia by the ridge Verga, which originates from Taygetus, rather than Armyron. The Prefecture of Messinia was then divided into the following 5 provinces: Olympia Province, Triphylia Province, Methoni Province, Messina Province and Kalamon Province
With the Administrative Division of Greece in 1836, the prefecture of Messinia was temporarily abolished, as the government abolished the positions of prefects, law directors and prefects and Greece was divided into 30 administrations and 10 sub-administrations with corresponding positions of governors and sub-commanders. This administrative division remained in force for 12 years, until 1845, when it was replaced by the Administrative Division of Greece of 1845. The following Directorates and Sub-Divisions were formed within the borders of Messinia:
1. The Administration of Triphyllia (headquarters: Kyparisia), which included the District of Triphyllia and 1.1 The Sub-Administration of Olympia, which included the District of Olympia.
2. The Administration of Pylias (headquarters: Pylos), which included the District of Pylias and the District of Methoni.
3. The Administration of Messinia (headquarters: Kalamata), which included the District of Kalamon and 3.1 The Sub-Administration of Messinia, which included the District of Messina.
The municipalities of the prefecture, following the previous relevant “Law on the Establishment of Municipalities” (Government Gazette A3/1834), are recorded, probably for the first time, in a table referred to as the “General Table of the Municipalities of the State” (Government Gazette A 80/1836 ), which included the municipalities with the headquarters, the villages and the then-appointed mayors, municipal collectors and policemen (in central administrative and sub-administrative points). In some sources of this table, the Sub-division of Olympia was not included, but it is included in another variant-source, which is also preserved as “General Table of the Municipalities of the State”, in the rare editions of the 16th-20th century, of the Central Library of the Academy of Athens.
Messinia is a prefecture of Greece located in the southwestern Peloponnese. Geographically, it is the area defined to the north by the river Neda and the Arcadian Mountains (Lykaios, Mainalos), to the east by Mount Taygetos, to the south by the Messinian Gulf and to the west by the Cyparissia Mountains and the Ionian Sea. It borders to the north with the Prefecture of Ilia, to the northeast with the Prefecture of Arcadia and to the east with the Prefecture of Laconia.
The highest mountain is Taygetos (2404 m., Prophet Elias peak), which Messinia shares with Laconia and whose chain continues with other high peaks to the northwest. On the northeastern border with Arcadia and a short distance from Andritsaina of Ilia is Lykaio (1420 m.). On the northern border with Ilia is Tetrazio. To the west and towards the Ionian Sea stretch from north to south the mountains of Kyparissia (Mount Aigaleo, 1224 m), in the extension of which is, on the western Messinian peninsula, Mount Lykodimos (960 m). In the center of the prefecture and from north to south stretches the fertile plain of Messinia.
The largest river is the Pamisos, which crosses the Messinian plain and flows into the Messinian Gulf. On the border with Ilia is the river Neda. Smaller rivers are Velikas and Nedonas, which cross the city of Kalamata.
Messinia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, mainly because of its fertile plains. There is a continuum of finds from the Neolithic Age. Near Chora is the remains of the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor, the mythical king mentioned in the Homeric Epics. The descent of the Dorians in the 12th century BC. put an end to the Mycenaean Civilization. From the 8th to the 5th century BC. the Spartans enslaved Messinia with the Messinian Wars. The Thebans liberated it in 369 BC, but it was finally conquered by the Romans in 183 BC.
The Byzantine Era followed and in the 13th century it was conquered by the Franks, only to pass in 1498 completely into the hands of the Ottomans.
The area of Messinia during the period of the Second Venetian Empire (1683/84-1715), i.e. the period of thirty years (1683/84-1715), during which the Venetians re-occupied the Peloponnese, through their possession (Stato da Mar ), which is also known as the Kingdom of the Mores (1688-1715), was referred to as the Theme of Messinia or Province of Messenia (Provincia di Messenia) and was one of the 4 Themes or 4 Provinces (Provincie) into which the Venetian Senate (per ordine dell’Eccellentissimo Senato), according to the Venetian census of 1704, then the Peloponnese (Romania, Achaia, Laconia and Messinia with capitals Nafplio, Patras, Monemvasia and Neo Navarinon respectively). In Messinia, as in each of the other provinces (themes), a Proveptis (Preveduros) was also appointed for the civil and military administration, a director of justice and a financial commissar.
The Venetians, who had seized the Peloponnese from the Ottoman Empire during the early stages of the Morean War (1684-1699), tried with great success to develop the war-ravaged region of the Morea and revive agriculture and its economy, but they were unable to win the allegiance of the greater part of the population, nor to secure their new possession militarily. Thus, the Peloponnese was soon recaptured by the Ottomans after a short campaign of theirs that took place between June and September 1715.
Grigorios Papaflessas declared the revolution against the Turks on March 23, 1821, and after the devastation caused by Ibrahim’s Turkish-Egyptian army, the Battle of Navarino (October 20, 1827) led to the liberation of the Peloponnese and the creation of the new Greek state.
During the first administrative division of the Greek State, in 1828, carried out by the governor Ioannis Kapodistrias with the 1st resolution of April 13, 1828, 13 Themes or Departments or Commissions were created, for the administration of which Extraordinary Commissioners were appointed for each of that’s all. In the area of Messinia, in the time period between 1828 and 1833, villages – settlements and areas mainly corresponded to 2 sections with their provinces and 2 (1+1) more provinces from another 2 sections. The Department of Upper Messinia and the Department of Lower Messinia
The formal establishment of the Prefecture of Messinia was made in 1833 by the Government of Mavrokordatus, in the first months of the country’s governance by the Regency after the arrival of King Otto in Greece, who was still a minor. The newly established Greek State, then the Kingdom, was much smaller than today’s and only included the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and the Cyclades. By royal decree of 1833, therefore, the area of Greece at that time was divided into 10 Prefectures and 47 Provinces. These 10 first prefectures of Greece also included the Prefecture of Messinia, in which Cyparissia, then also called Arcadia or Arkadia, was designated as its seat and original capital (metropolis). The head of the prefecture, i.e. the prefecture, was the prefect, a higher administrative body in the administrative direction of the prefecture, with subordinate provinces and municipalities, whose duties were defined by a newer Royal Decree of 1833. With article 5, of the B.D. of April 3/15, 1833, it was also determined that: “The Prefecture of Messinia includes the places on the left bank of the Alpheus of the province of Pyrgos, and the provinces of Fanario, Arkadia, Methoni, Neokastro, Koroni, Kalamata, Nissi, Androussi up to that point , Iblakikon and Mikromani. The border of Messinia, on the one hand towards Elis, is formed by Alpheios, and on the western side of Laconia by the ridge Verga, which originates from Taygetus, rather than Armyron. The Prefecture of Messinia was then divided into the following 5 provinces: Olympia Province, Triphylia Province, Methoni Province, Messina Province and Kalamon Province
With the Administrative Division of Greece in 1836, the prefecture of Messinia was temporarily abolished, as the government abolished the positions of prefects, law directors and prefects and Greece was divided into 30 administrations and 10 sub-administrations with corresponding positions of governors and sub-commanders. This administrative division remained in force for 12 years, until 1845, when it was replaced by the Administrative Division of Greece of 1845. The following Directorates and Sub-Divisions were formed within the borders of Messinia:
1. The Administration of Triphyllia (headquarters: Kyparisia), which included the District of Triphyllia and 1.1 The Sub-Administration of Olympia, which included the District of Olympia.
2. The Administration of Pylias (headquarters: Pylos), which included the District of Pylias and the District of Methoni.
3. The Administration of Messinia (headquarters: Kalamata), which included the District of Kalamon and 3.1 The Sub-Administration of Messinia, which included the District of Messina.
The municipalities of the prefecture, following the previous relevant “Law on the Establishment of Municipalities” (Government Gazette A3/1834), are recorded, probably for the first time, in a table referred to as the “General Table of the Municipalities of the State” (Government Gazette A 80/1836 ), which included the municipalities with the headquarters, the villages and the then-appointed mayors, municipal collectors and policemen (in central administrative and sub-administrative points). In some sources of this table, the Sub-division of Olympia was not included, but it is included in another variant-source, which is also preserved as “General Table of the Municipalities of the State”, in the rare editions of the 16th-20th century, of the Central Library of the Academy of Athens.
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