Xylokastro () is a seaside town and a former municipality in Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xylokastro-Evrostina, of which it is a unit or component. The municipal unit has an area of 310.252 km2.
Geographic features include a long 2 km white pebbled beach and semi-arid forest on varied terrain, scattered with early churches and evidence of early settlements and religious sites. It has narrowly separated upper and lower coastal roads and forms a medium-sized touristic village on the Gulf of Corinth. It is a popular coastal weekend location for many people of Athens.
Subdivisions The municipal unit Xylokastro is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
Ano Trikala (Ano Trikala, Zireia) Dendro Geliniatika (Geliniatika, Spartinaaika) Kamari (Kamari, Kariotika) Karya (Karya, Kariotika) Kato Loutro (Kato Loutro, Ano Loutro) Kato Synoikia Trikalon Korfiotissa Lagkadaiika (Lagkadaiika, Amfithea) Manna Melissi Mesi Synoikia Trikalon Nees Vrysoules Panariti Pellini Pitsa (Ano Pitsa, Kato Pitsa) Rethi Riza (Riza, Valtos, Georgantaiika, Sigeritsa, Chartsianika) Sofiana Stylia Sykia Thalero Throfari Xanthochori Xylokastro (Xylokastro, Mertikaiika) Zemeno
Population Year Town population Municipality population 1700 65 - 1981 5,188 - 1991 5,821 16,802 2001 5,618 15,273 2011 5,715 13,277 2021 5,601 12,102
Geography
Xylokastro is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, 30 km northwest of Corinth , near the mouth of the river Trikalitikos. Apart from the narrow strip of land along the coast, where the town Xylokastro lies, the municipal unit is mountainous. The A8 motorway and EO8 road passes through both the town and municipality. The Xylokastro railway station is served by trains between Kiato and Aigio.
History
The town took its name from a wooden castle (), probably built in the 13th century. It was also known as Solo Castro. The village Stylia was known as Viladusa by the Venetians in the 18th century. It grew in size after the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, when Greek refugees from the region around the city of Nicomedia (known in Turkish as İzmit) in Anatolia settled there.Επιστημονικό Συμπόσιο, Ο ξεριζωμός και η άλλη πατρίδα. Οι προσφυγουπόλεις στην Ελλάδα (11 και 12 Απριλίου 1997), Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Γενικής Παιδείας, 1999, p. 174. (in Greek)
People Vlassis Bonatsos (1949–2004), Greek actor Panagis Tsaldaris (1868–1936), former prime minister Sotirios Krokidas (1852–1924), former prime minister
See also List of settlements in Corinthia
References
External links
Official website - Municipality of Xylokastro-Evrostina (in Greek)