Pyrgos Πύργος | |
|---|---|
     Clockwise from top right: Municipal Market turned into the Archaeological Museum, Latseio town hall, Pyrgos railway station, Akrovatis cafe restaurant (former Rex Cinema), Skafidia Beach | |
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  Pyrgos | |
| Coordinates:37°40′N21°26′E / 37.667°N 21.433°E /37.667; 21.433 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Geographic region | Peloponnese |
| Administrative region | West Greece |
| Regional unit | Elis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Efstathios Kannis[1] (since 2023) |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 456.6 km2 (176.3 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 170.9 km2 (66.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Municipality | 45,365 |
| • Density | 99.35/km2 (257.3/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 35,062 |
| • Municipal unit density | 205.2/km2 (531.4/sq mi) |
| • Community | 26,052 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 271 xx |
| Area code | 26210 |
| Vehicle registration | HA |
| Website | cityofpyrgos |
Pyrgos (Greek:Πύργος,romanized: Pýrgos,lit. 'tower') is a city in the northwesternPeloponnese,Greece, the capital of the regional unit ofElis and the seat of the Municipality of Pyrgos. The city is located in the middle of a plain, 4 kilometres (2 miles) from theIonian Sea. The riverAlfeios flows into sea about 7 km (4 mi) south of Pyrgos. The population of the town Pyrgos is 26,052, and of the municipality 45,365 (2021). Pyrgos is 16 km (10 mi) west ofOlympia, 16 km (10 mi) southeast ofAmaliada, 70 km (43 mi) southwest ofPatras and 85 km (53 mi) west ofTripoli.
| Year | Town population | Municipal unit population | Municipality population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 21,958 | - | - |
| 1991 | 28,465 | 39,183 | - |
| 2001 | 23,791 | 34,902 | 51,777 |
| 2011 | 25,180 | 35,572 | 47,995 |
| 2021 | 26,052 | 35,062 | 45,365 |
The municipality Pyrgos was formed during the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[3]
The municipality has an area of 456.610 km2, the municipal unit 170.866 km2.[4]
The municipal unit of Pyrgos is divided into the following communities (settlements within the communities given in brackets):[3]
In the 1510s, duringOttoman rule over Greece, a villager fromKalavryta decided to move and reform the area of Pyrgos which up until then was uncultivated. During this reformation he found in a well a large amount of gold ancient coins which he delivered to the Sultan as the rightful owner. The Sultan,Selim I (1470-1520), in order to honor his integrity named him ruler of the region (1512) and gave him a great acreage expanding fromAlfeios river until the villageAgios Ioannis which is located nearKatakolo (the main port of theElis region). This area was encompassing today's Pyrgos and was uninhabited. According to the stories the new ruler built a great tower (Πύργος,pyrgos in Greek) on a hill in order to supervise his fields and his flocks. This was the first settlement of the area.[5][6][7]
Pyrgos has a hot-summerMediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csa) with hot and dry summers and rainy winters with generally mild temperatures. Annual precipitation is sizeable, like most ofWestern Greece, nearly 900 mm, while it peaks in late autumn.
| Climate data for Pyrgos (1975-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 20.0 (68.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 29.1 (84.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 32.2 (90.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 24.8 (76.6) | 19.5 (67.1) | 15.9 (60.6) | 22.8 (73.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.3 (54.1) | 15.3 (59.5) | 19.9 (67.8) | 24.1 (75.4) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.4 (79.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14.2 (57.6) | 11.0 (51.8) | 17.6 (63.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) | 5.3 (41.5) | 6.6 (43.9) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.4 (54.3) | 15.5 (59.9) | 17.5 (63.5) | 17.9 (64.2) | 15.7 (60.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 9.4 (48.9) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.2 (52.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 129.7 (5.11) | 104.4 (4.11) | 71.5 (2.81) | 52.9 (2.08) | 26.8 (1.06) | 7.7 (0.30) | 3.6 (0.14) | 10.8 (0.43) | 39.4 (1.55) | 102.1 (4.02) | 177.6 (6.99) | 164.0 (6.46) | 890.5 (35.06) |
| Average rainy days | 12.0 | 11.2 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 7.4 | 11.5 | 13.4 | 85.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73.6 | 71.9 | 69.0 | 70.3 | 67.7 | 62.3 | 58.7 | 62.0 | 66.7 | 71.2 | 74.9 | 75.3 | 68.6 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 143.2 | 147.4 | 193.4 | 227.2 | 285.3 | 332.3 | 360.4 | 333.9 | 263.6 | 215.2 | 152.5 | 124.9 | 2,779.3 |
| Source:HNMS,[8] Sunshine 1975-1997[9] | |||||||||||||
Pyrgos has a train station with regular trains to the port ofKatakolo andOlympia. Service on the line fromPatras toKalamata via Pyrgos has been suspended in 2011. Pyrgos has a bus terminal, served byKTEL Ileias, with regular buses for the regional routes to most places in Elis as well as for intercity routes to Athens and to larger cities such as Patras, Kalamata, Ioannina and Thessaloniki.[10] TheGreek National Road 9 connects Pyrgos with Patras andKyparissia, theGreek National Road 74 run from Pyrgos toTripoli via Olympia. The nearest airport is located in Andravida near the town of Amaliada but it is served for military operations only. However, there are plans to open passenger operations in the next years. The alternative airports for passenger operations are Araxos airport, located in the province of Aichaia about 60 km to the north-east or Kalamata Captain Vasilios Constatakopoulos airport, in Messinia province near Kalamata about 120 km south of the city.
Department of Museum Studies of theuniversity of Patras was based in the city.
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Places adjacent to Pyrgos, Elis | ||||||||||||||||
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| Regional unit ofAchaea |  | |
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| Regional unit ofAetolia-Acarnania | ||
| Regional unit ofElis | ||
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