{"id":40120,"date":"2022-01-26T19:04:31","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T17:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/corfu-kerkyra\/"},"modified":"2022-01-26T19:04:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T17:04:33","slug":"corfu-kerkyra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/corfu-kerkyra\/","title":{"rendered":"Corfu (K\u00e9rkyra)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Corfu
View of the city and the harbour of Corfu, from E<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

There are different versions as from where the name of the island derived. According to mythology, the island was named K\u00e9rkyra<\/strong> when god Poseidon took the nymph K\u00e9rkyra and installed her on the island where she gave birth to Faiakas. Historically, the name is suspected to be of Illyrian origin, from the word \u201cKerkouros\u201d which means light ship. Other names of the island in antiquity were \u201cDrep\u00e1ni\u201d due to its shape (\u201cdrep\u00e1ni\u201d means \u201ccradle\u201d); \u201cM\u00e1kris\u201d due to is length (\u201cm\u00e1kris\u201d means \u201clong\u201d) and \u201cScher\u00eda\u201d as the goddess D\u00edmitra, asked Poseid\u00f3nas to stop (\u201csche\u00edn\u201d meaning \u201cstop\u201d) the mud from the opposite river Th\u00fdami in order to prevent the joining of the island to the mainland. <\/p>\n\n

In the Byzantine years, the island was named \u201cKoryf\u00f3\u201d<\/strong> due to the twin-peaked (\u201ckoryf\u00ed\u201d means \u201cpeak\u201d) citadel of the island\u2019s capital. From the Byzantine name, paraphrased, the Latin name of the island \u201cCorfu\u201d came to be.<\/p>\n\n

In mythology<\/strong>, I\u00e1sonas and Mideia came here hunted, during their return from the Quest of the Golden Fleece. They found shelter on the island and were married here (\u201cArgonautica\u201d by Apollon\u00edos). Later, the shipwrecked Odyss\u00e9as was welcomed to the island by Nafsik\u00e1, daughter of King Alk\u00ednoos (\u201cOd\u00fdsseia\u201d by Homer). <\/p>\n\n

Historically, the Illyrians were probably the first settlers<\/strong> and lived here up until the 8th century BC, when between 775 \u2013 750 BC the island was colonized by Er\u00e9trians (\u00c9vvoia) and subsequently (730 BC) by the Korinthians, who quickly developed it into an independent city-state with commercial and nautical might. <\/p>\n\n

However, this rapid development annoyed the parent state of K\u00f3rinthos, who sent its fleet in order to conquer K\u00e9rkyra. Another reason for the conflict between the two states was that K\u00e9rkyra wanted democracy and the Korinthians favoured oligarchy. The sea battle between them occurred in 664 BC <\/strong>(Thoukididis writes that it is the most ancient sea battle) and unfortunately, democracy lost.<\/p>\n\n

At the end of the 3rd century BC<\/strong>, Kerkyra turned to Rome for aid against the constant piratic raids. The aid came and together with it, the Roman legions, who conquered the island and held it up until mid 4th century AD.<\/p>\n\n

During the Byzantine years<\/strong>, the island was weakened by several raiders like the Vandals of Germany, the Goths of Italy and the Saracens of Arabia.<\/p>\n\n

In 11th century AD <\/strong>K\u00e9rkyra was conquered by the Norman Robert Wiscard however it was soon freed (1147) by the valiant emperor Emmanuel Komninos of which it is said, \u201cthe king fought like a plain soldier\u201d. In 1204 the island was occupied by the Venetians, but freed again by the Greeks 8 years later (at that time, Angel\u00f3kastro was founded). <\/p>\n\n

At the end of the 13th century<\/strong>, K\u00e9rkyra became part of the territories of the King of Naples in Italy and remained for over a 100 years. At the end of the 14th century, the Venetian rule was established for good and lasted for 4 centuries (up to the end of the 18th century). After the fall of the Constantinople to the Turks (1453 AD), the relics of Saint Spyr\u00eddonas and Saint Theod\u00f3ra were brought to the island.<\/p>\n\n

The Turks attempted on numerous occasions to subdue the island but failed<\/strong>. On 18th August 1537, the renowned pirate Barbarossa, who was already chief admiral of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, tried to take the stronghold of the city but failed. As he left the island, he took 20,000 people (almost half the population of the island) from the countryside as slaves. In 1716 the Turks once again seriously threatened the stronghold of the city. The brave German General von der Schulenburg, leader of the defense, fought desperately. The Turkish siege was broken by a strong storm that sank almost the entire Turkish fleet. The Kerkyrians ascribe the storm to a miracle performed by the protector of the island, St. Spyr\u00eddonas, and ever since they celebrate the event on the 11th of August every year.<\/p>\n\n

In the years 1800 to 1864<\/strong>, the island was occupied first by the French and then by the English, after which it was finally reunited with mother Greece.<\/p>\n\n

Today<\/strong>, Corfu is a most beautiful and green island, with immense touristic development. The island offers something for everybody, cosmopolitan life, nightlife, theatre, music, art, museums, castles, churches but also unparalleled natural beauty, endless sandy beaches, unique landscapes.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"Old
View of the old castle of Corfu, from N<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Corfu town: <\/strong>During the 7th century AD, the inhabitants of K\u00e9rkyra abandoned the old city which was located in the peninsula of An\u00e1lypsi, and built the Byzantine city where it lies today. The chosen location was on the fortified place of the two-peaked peninsula, where the Old Castle stands today (this location is called \u201cAkr\u00f3polis\u201d and is mentioned in the scripts of the historian Thoukyd\u00eddis). <\/p>\n\n

In the Venetian years<\/strong>, the defense works and fortification were enhanced significantly. Initially, the castle was reinforced and a canal (Contra-Fossa) was opened, so that the small two-peaked peninsula was transformed to an island that was joined with the rest of the island by a mobile bridge. Then, walls surrounding the city were built, which extended outside the castle (the northern part of these walls was called \u201cmouragia\u201d), as well as a new castle. The fortifications were concluded with the building of two more castles, one of which is used today as criminal prison. Last, the small harbour \u201cMandr\u00e1ki\u201d was built for the sheltering of warships. <\/p>\n\n

Most of the fortifications were destroyed by the English<\/strong>, before delivering the island to Greece in 1864. During the 2nd World War, the city suffered from continuous bombarding, from enemies and allies, which worsened the state of this city\u2019s historic legacy. Entire districts and many beautiful buildings, which used to decorate the city, were ruined. However, a fact indicative of the city\u2019s rich past, there are still quite a few monuments to be admired, in Corfu\u2019s streets and museums.<\/p>\n\n

The city displays the largest and most beautiful square of Greece, \u201cSpian\u00e1da\u201d<\/strong>. Impressive buildings of the 19th century and splendid arches under the buildings of Liston surround this square. It owes its existence to the need to have a clear space in front of the old castle so that the enemy would be unable to surprise the defenders and, upon attack, be exposed to the firepower of the castle.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"Lefkímmi\"
The channel that crosses the town of Lefk\u00edmmi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Lefk\u00edmmi:<\/strong> One of the largest villages of Corfu. What is unique in Lefk\u00edmmi is that it is untouched by tourism, has kept its traditional structure and colours and is occupied by locals all year round. It is a place that remained in the lifestyle of the old days and for that alone, it is worth visiting (no draught beer there).<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"Kassopeto\"
Kassi\u00f3pi, harbour and village, from NW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Kassi\u00f3pi:<\/strong> One of the most touristically developed villages of the northern part of Corfu. It was built initially in antiquity by fishermen. During the Roman times, it prospered as it lied on the sailing routes of that era\u2019s ships.<\/p>\n\n

Today it is a picturesque village with its own charm, 2 bays with their beaches to the east and west, separated by a peninsula with the ruins of a Byzantine castle. Lately, it has been under siege again, by the endless hordes of tourists coming from every quadrant.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"\"
A view of Ach\u00edlleio palace and the surrounding area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Ach\u00edlleio:<\/strong> The palace of Elisabeth (Sissy), Queen of Austria, also known as the sad queen. The sensitive queen was taken by K\u00e9rkyra and following the improvement in her health, due to its good climate, she decided to built this summer palace to which she could withdraw from time to time, where she could sink into her thoughts and her poems. Her love towards the mythical hero Achill\u00e9as, gave her the incentive to decorate it and name it after him. The well-photographed statue of \u201cdying Achill\u00e9as\u201d, decorates the garden of the palace.<\/p>\n\n

Today, Ach\u00edlleio is a museum which you can visit, however the last years has been closed to the public for renovation works. Call before you visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are different versions as from where the name of the island derived. According to mythology, the island was named K\u00e9rkyra when god Poseidon took the nymph K\u00e9rkyra and installed her on the island where she gave birth to Faiakas. Historically, the name is suspected to be of Illyrian origin, from the word \u201cKerkouros\u201d which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[667],"tags":[818,452],"class_list":["post-40120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kerkiracorfu-isl-and-diapontioi-isl","tag-corfu-kerkyra","tag-history","category-667","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40121,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40120\/revisions\/40121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}