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Vryses

COUNTY: Messinia MUNICIPALITY: Trifylia

Clear
26.01ºC

Population

100 - 500

Distance from nearest city

0-10km

TL;DR

A beautiful, lush village with many small founts spread around its expanse, and a long, bloody history.

The village is built on an altitude of 58 metres, on the foot of Agios Vlasis mountain, on which is a chapel of the same name. It is 5 kilometres from Kyparissia and has 300 residents. The village is verdant, full with running waters, which give it its name. Vryses, meaning founts or faucets in Greek, has many small founts around, the biggest one by the village's entrance.

The village itself is very old, though there are no records of its founding, so no concrete date can be determined. In the village's northwest, there is a church of the patron saint Agios Panteleimonas, and in the village's centre are two churches, one dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Koimisis tis Theotokou) and one to Zoodochos Pigi. The first one was built in 700, according to its Byzantine architecture.

The village was completely destroyed by Ibrahim in the 7th of October 1825, with only a single family as survivors. According to the local legends, the gorge over the village is haunted with the souls of the residents killed by the Turks.

Near the village passes the Kartelas river and four stone bridges still survive. The village is also equipped with a Cultural Centre, founded by the association "To Lithari" (the boulder), and a Folklore Museum where old items related to local traditions.

The village's school was closed in 1993 due to a lack of students.