Pinakates, Magnesia

Periphery: Thessaly
Prefecture : Magnesia

Part of Magnesia (except region around Alonissos)

Pinakates (Greek: Πινακάτες) is a Greek village located east of Volos in the Magnesia prefecture. Pinakates is located 25 km east of the city of Volos and 5 km from Agios Georgios Nileias.. Pinakates is in the municipality of a Milies. Its population in 2001 was 723 for the municipal district. It was an independent commune until 2001 when it became a part of the municipality of Milies. The village is built on the slopes of the Pelion mountains.

Etymology

The origin of thge name comes from one of the first inhabitants who named pinakas, a wooden plate wirker who in its dialect is known as pinakia (πινάκια). It may come from the Albanian language.

Geography

The mountains dominate the area, forests dominates the area some grasslands and bushes, farmlands and groves are within the village and it produces olives and other crops. The Pagasetic Gulf lies to the southwest and features its beaches.


History

The first in Pinakates happened in the Modern Geography About Greece (Γεωγραφία Νεωτερική περί της Ελλάδο = Geografia Neoteriki peri tis Ellados) of Daniil Filippidis and Grigoriou Konstantas (Vienna 1791). At that time it had around 100 houses where the town was founded a lot before.

In 1860 the town had 160 families and 800 residents, that time other than the population. The town did not have a school until Pinakates joined the rest of Greece when Thessaly was liberated in 1881, In the beginning of the 20th century, it opened its school which had 56 students.

The main industry in Pinakates later became oil and wine production. Olive production boosted the village's economy. The Pinakioti company manager Ioannis G. Sarafopoulos who moved to Egypt. In 1900, the first machine factory in the Pelio area was opened for olive and soap production. The factory had 300 employees.

Pinakates is considered to be one of the most original of the 24 villages in Pilion and therefore became a category one protected landmark. The village was so well preserved because until recently it was only accessible via one road which ended in the center of the village. All the other roads were only passable on foot or by mule. Electricity came finally to the village in 1973 and a few years later a connection by bus with Volos was established.

The isolated position on the mountain side kept the village well preserved but also almost meant its downfall. During the last decade of the previous century only five families lived in Pinakates during wintertime, whilst in 1828 the village had 1000 inhabitants. Presently it counts about 150 people, although on the registers of voters some 350 names are listed. A lot of them however have moved to neighbouring villages.

Pinakates was an independent commune until 2001 when it became a municipal district of the municipality of Milies. With the population loss, it no longer has a school.


Other

Pinakates has church and a square (plateia), its school, nearest lyceum (middle school) and gymnasium (high school) are in Milies.

Pinakates, Magnesia (Source)

Municipality YPES code Seat Postal code Area code ((0)30-)
Milies 3715 Milies 370 10 24230-

Literature

In Greek

Βαγγέλης Σκουβαράς, «Πινακιώτικα», Βίγλα (περιοδική έκδοση του Δημοτικού Μουσείου γλύπτη Νικόλα, Άγιος Γεώργιος Νηλείας Μαγνησίας), τεύχος 19, Ιούνιος 2005, σελ. 32–36.

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