Trip to Karytaina, the traditional settlement and the historic bridge
Two decades with the euro as a currency have passed, and we still use drachmas in our vocabulary. To this day there are not a few who make the cost ratio. Today you have 50 euros in your pocket and you feel like there’s not much you can do. Then, you had a five thousand dr. bill and you felt like a king. On the one face Theodoros Kolokotronis was depicted and on the other there was a bridge. A famous bridge in the Peloponneseaccompanied by a myth…
The bridge depicted on the favorite note worth 5,000 drachmas was the bridge in Karytaina. Karytaina is a village in Gortynia, in the prefecture of ArcadiaIt is located on the site of ancient Vrenthi. Built on the top of the hill, around the medieval castle. The houses have a medieval character and churches are Byzantine in style. The settlement has been recognized as traditional. Beneath Karytaina flows the Alfeios, the river of Orpheus (a mythological character who went to Hades to save his beloved). It is the largest river of Peloponnese, with a length of 110 km. On Affeios, near Karytaina, two traditional bridges are preserved. The bridge of Cuckoo and the bridge of Karytaina.
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In the past, the five-arched bridge was the only passage of the river. It connected the castle of Karytaina to Messinia perfecture. It was the passage from Arcadia perfecture to Messinia and Ilia perfectures. Today, of the five arcs, only three survive. The middle one blew up in the Civil War, and the missing piece of the old bridge has been filled with a wooden section. The crossing is made by the new modern bridge.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The bridge depicted on the 5000 drachma bill was the Karytaina bridge, located in the village of Karytaina in Gortynia, Arcadia prefecture in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
Karytaina bridge is located near the village of Karytaina in Gortynia, Arcadia prefecture, spanning the Alfeios River in the Peloponnese. The bridge connects the medieval castle of Karytaina to the Messinia prefecture.
The Karytaina bridge was built by the Franks in the 13th century, making it one of the oldest bridges in the Peloponnese.
According to legend, Karytaina bridge was built with a human sacrifice. The castle lord Godefrido De Briyer allegedly built his wife into the bridge's foundations to strengthen it. He later abandoned Karytaina with his lieutenant's wife, who then became the castle's new lord.
Karytaina bridge originally had five uneven arcs with the largest arch reaching almost 9 meters in opening. The arches rise about 12 meters above the Alfeios River, and the bridge exceeds 50 meters in length. Today, only three original arcs survive after damage during the Civil War.










