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

Kalograion Monastery (or “Monastery of the Nuns”) was founded in 1796 and has been a female-only Greek Orthodox monastery, housing hundreds of nuns through the years. It is dedicated to Saints Constantine and Helen. The complex is situated among the foothills of Kalamata Castle in the narrow streets of the historical centre. The complex’s main building is rectangular and surrounds a central courtyard filled with orange trees. It has a church integrated into it and also houses the nuns’ living areas. The monastery was built on the ruins of an abandoned 13th-century church, and some of the remains can be seen near the main altar. Throughout its history, the monastery has also served as a local charity and as a place of refuge, coming to the aid of the local population during the Ottoman occupation, the German/Italian occupation, the Greek Civil War, and after the devastating earthquake of 1986. The monastery was well known for the production of the famous Kalamata silk scarves, known to be among the finest in the world. One still can visit the weaving room. (As far as I understand the nuns are no longer weaving these products.)

The castle of Kalamata is situated on a hilltop northwest of the modern city. It was originally constructed during the Byzantine times and even an ancient acropolis before the Trojan War. In the beginning of the 13th century Gottfried A Villard, Frank prince and founder of the Principality of Achaea, conducted a large reconstruction of the castle, which resulted to its present form of a typical Byzantine fort. A shelter-like tower with a vaulted cistern is situated on the wall’s steepest side. There are two fortification zones: the hilltop was protected by the inner fortificationline, while a second outer fortification zone surrounded the accessible and more vulnerable east side of the castle. The fortification walls were developed following the natural terrain and bore bastions, not preserved today. During the second Venetian occupation, which lasted from 1685 to 1715, new alterations and repairs took place. Among them stands out the reconstruction of the East Gate, where was immured a slab bearing a winged lion, landmark of Venice. In 1825 the castle suffered extended destructions caused by the Ottoman army. In the 6th century a chuch was built in the castle devoted to Virgin Mary. An icon of here in the church became famous as Kalomata (= “beautiful eyes”). This later evolved to “Kalamata”, which became the name of the church, castle and city.

The Church of the Holy Apostles ( Ιερός Ναός των Αγίων Αποστόλων ) is a small Byzantine church, probably dating back to the 12th century. During the years of the second Venetian occupation (1685-1715), a basilica dome was added to the west of the central building, in order to give more space to the church, as well as a bell tower at its northeast side. The church is decorated with frescoes which probably date from the 17th century and are preserved in a (poor) state. ( Doors were closed, so I could not visit the interor of the chuch .) The church suffered extended damages due to a strong earthquake in 1986. Since then a series of restoration projects were conducted in order to restore the temple. The small Church of the Holy Apostles - located in the historic center of Kalamata - is one of the most significant monuments in the history of the modern Greek state. It made history the morning of 23rd of March 1821. Kalamata has just got liberated from the Ottomans and after the final victory, the local population assembled in front of the church. There was held the first Greek Orthodox mass on free Greek territory in over 360 years. The Greeks then made a formal declaration of independence in front of the church and then took an oath of loyalty to the revolution. The Greeks continued with their efforts and eventually achieved full victory and independence in 1832.

The Ypapanti Cathedral was built between 1860 and 1873 in order to accommodate an icon of Virgin Mary, which was found under the remains of an older church build in the same area. The church is officialle named Ypapanti tou Sotiros (Presentation of the Savior). The church was consecrated in 1873. The church is a cross-in-square with a dome and represents an interesting example of the neoclassical style. On the location of the current church there was a Byzantine temple, which was destroyed by the Turkalbans in 1770. The later built churches were destroyed many times after that, either by intruders and a couple of times by earthquakes. The last time was by the big earthquake of Kalamata in 1986. Nowadays the Ypapanti cathedral is completely restored and accessible again, offering some uniquely beautiful icons - the most prominent of Virgin Mary - and an amazing iconostase.