Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Karpenisi

The Holy Church of the Virgin Mary (Ιερός Ναός της Παναγίας) is one of the five large churches in the the town of Karpenisi. The Virgin Mary Church was the cathedral during the Turkish occupation. In July 1821 all churches were destroyed and/or burned down. After the burning of the churches and the whole town of Karpenisi by the Turks in 1821, the people began to settle down again. Their primary goal was to rebuild their churches and school. Each parish was interested in its own hurch and was doing an enviable activity. The present Holy Church of the Virgin Mary was built in 1910 and it is the fourth time that the church has been built on the same site.

The valley of the Karpenisiotis river - about 30 km long - lies between Karpenisi and Prousos. Initially a wide green valley, slowly but surely the Helidona en Kaliakouda mountains on both sides of the valley with plane tree forests become higher and more impressive. The area is not called Greek Switzerland for nothing. A few kilometres after the village of Gavros, the scenery becomes spectacular and the natural beauty reaches it peak. The road along the river becomes narrower and the cliffs in the Kleidi Gorge (PiP1) almost touch. The road passes here with a rocky overhang. After this natural wonder, the valley widens and soon the Prousos Monastery comes into view.

The Agia Triada Church - just a few meters far from the central square - is dating back to the second half of the 16th century, when a smaller church was expanded.. The church is a listed historic monument. It was severly damaged by Turks and destroyed in 1684, but rebuilt in 1693. The church was then completely destroyed in 1756, in a attack known in history as the “Destruction of Karpenisi”. Subsequently, in 1821 it experienced the wrath of the Turks as it was set on fire along with the other churches of the town. The Agiada Triada Church took its current form in 1960 and since then stands tall and welcoming the faithful of the town.

Lake Kremasta (or Lake Kremaston) is the largest artificial lake in Greece. It was formed as a result of the construction of Kremaston hydroelectric dam between 1961 and 1965. The water that is accumulated in the lake is about 3.8 cubic kilometers. The creation affected the lives of the residents as 15 villages would be found under the lake and that forced them to leave their homes and properties. Unfortunately the same goes for many historical bridges and churches. The lake is continuously supplied by Acheloos, Agrafiotis, Tavropos and Trikeriotis rivers. The water of the lake penetrates along the beds of the four rivers and forms a lot of fjords and small islands. The artificial lake with its turquoise waters offers an incomparable Greek landscape.