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Selianitika Σελιανίτικα
Community
Selianitika on a sunny day of winter
Selianitika
Coordinates: 38°16′N 22°1′E / 38.267°N 22.017°E / 38.267; 22.017
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Western Greece
Regional unit	Achaea
Municipality	Aigialeia
Municipal unit	Sympoliteia
Area
• Community	2.8 km (1.1 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population
• Community	856
• Density	310/km (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	25 100
Area code(s)	2691
Vehicle registration	AX , AZ

Selianitika (Greek: Σελιανίτικα) is a coastal village in northern Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Sympoliteia. It is located 6 km northwest of Aigio and 26 km east of Patras, at about 30m above sea level. The villages Selianitika and Longos (adjacent to the northwest) share a fine gravel beach on the Gulf of Corinth which is approximately 1.5 km long. Both villages are among the most popular summer destinations of Achaea.

The village had a population of 856 in 2021. The village is crossed by the Greek National Road 8 and has an interchange to the A8 motorway. In the new (under construction) railway line Athens-Kiato-Patras there will be a railway stop south of the village.

Population

History

The name Selianitika is derived from the name of the village of Seliana. According to historian A. Fotopoulos, the descent of inhabitants of Seliana from the mountains to the coastal region of "Kryovrysi" near Aigio (where the village of Selianitika lies today) started to happen during the Ottoman period. Initially, the residents of Seliana were spending the winter in Selianitika and the summer in their village of Seliana but later they settled permanently. The residents of Seliana carried with them the parish of Saint Basil (the oldest of Seliana's churches) and today Saint Basil is the patron Saint of the village of Selianitika.

The French historian, explorer and diplomat François Pouqueville, who travelled through the area in 1816 does not mention Selianitika but mentions the small neighbouring village of Longos as the only being inhabited after he crossed the river of Phoenix (tholopotamos): "Une humble chapelle et le hameau de Longos sont les seuls lieux habités qu'on ait en vue du côté des montagnes". So probably the village was not yet built. In 1874 the researcher and chronicler Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria did a research trip by boat in the Gulf of Corinth and he wrote a detailed book with his observations for the landscape and the populated places of north Peloponnese. When he visited Selianitika he found two houses built beside the coast and around 50 stone-built houses with double-pitched roofs lying few meters away from the sea (where still lies still today the center of the village). He describes the church of Saint Basil as having an unfinished roof and he mentions the roughly shaped plaster iconostasis and the "stasidia" (church stalls of the greek orthodox church) inside the church. The village is described as having vineyards and plane trees. He also describes the existence of three water wells.

In the population census of 1879 (one of the earliest official documents mentioning the village), it had a population of 110 residents.

Tourism

The village is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the region of Achaia. It was officially designated as a tourist site (τουριστικός τόπος) first by Royal decree 146/1961 in 1961 and later by Presidential decree 899/1976 in 1976. Selianitika has also mineral springs and a very small balneological bath spa. The spring was officially designated as a healing spring by the Greek Government in 1923. These sulphurous baths are recommended for diseases like arthritis and rheumatisms. As of 2013 the mineral springs are not accessible to the public.

Gallery

• The stone-built church of Saint Basil in Selianitika (Summer 2018).
• Square beside the sea at the coastal front of Selianitika (Spring 2018)
• Medicinal sulphurous baths of Selianitika
• View of the fine gravel beach in the summer
• Panoramic view of Selianitika and Longos from the nearby hills
• Selianitika-Longos interchange on the A8 motorway
• Rail overpass in Selianitika. Part of the new (under construction) Railway line Athens-Patras (April 2018)
• The former Selianitika railway station.(April 2018)

See also

• List of settlements in Achaea

References

1. ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. Aegialia region: Fully booked hotels for three days, waiting for visitors. The Athenians are the ones who flooded the resorts of the region, with Akrata, Akoli, Selianitika and Loggos being the first in their choices Article in newspaper Peloponnisos, 23 June 2021 (in Greek)
3. Selianitika, Achaia: A wonderful seaside settlement (Video) Article in newspaper Eleftheria, 03 October 2021 (in Greek)
4. "Interactive Map - Olympia Odos".
5. View of the construction works for the new railway in the village of Selianitika
6. ERGOSE railway Project "Rododafni – Patra (Bozaitika area) (Superstructure, Electrification, Stops)"
7. Voyage en Grèce (Paris, 1820–1822, 5 vol. in-8° ; 20 édit., 1826–1827, 6 vol. in-8°)
8. Ludwig, Salvador. Eine Spazierfahrt Im Golfe Von Korinth. Prag: Heinr. Mercy, 1876, p. 275 (available online in books.google.com, in German)
9. Official document of Greece's population census of 1879 (in Greek)
10. ΦΕΚ Α', 146/Α/08-09-1961 (Βασιλικό Διάταγμα 146/1961), Περί ανακηρύξεως της κοινότητας Σελιανιτίκων Νομού Αχαΐας ως τουριστικού τόπου (Official Government Gazette of the Kingdom of Greece, Royal Decree no. 146/09-09-1961 regarding the declaration of the community of Selianitika in the prefecture of Achaia as a tourist site)
11. ΦΕΚ Α', 329/Α/10-12-1976 (Προεδρικό Διάταγμα 899/1976), Περί ανακηρύξεως περιοχών της χώρας ως τουριστικών τόπων. (Official Government Gazette, no. 329/10-12-1976) (pdf file in Greek)
12. List of Local mineral springs of Greece(Greek Ministry of Tourism)
13. Ιστοτοπος Εθνικού Τυπογραφίου - Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως του Βασιλείου της Ελλάδος, Τεύχος πρώτον, 340/22-11-1923, Περί ανακυρήξεως ως ιαματικών των πηγών Σελιανιτίκων Αιγιαλείας (Official Government Gazette of the Kingdom of Greece, no. 340/22-11-1923) (pdf file in Greek)
14. Thermal Mineral waters of Western Greece , page 36 (Stratikopoulos K. - Master Thesis - Department of Geology - University of Patras - 2007 (in Greek))

Sources

• Αθ. Φωτόπουλος, "Ιστορικά και Λαογραφικά της Ανατολικής Αιγιάλειας και Καλαβρύτων", Αθήνα 1982 (In Greek)
• K. Baedeker, "Griechenland - Handbuch fuer Reisende", Leipzig, 1893 (In German)

External links

• Cultural association of Selianitika "Helios" (In Greek)
• Official website of the municipality of Sympoliteia (in Greek)

• Aigialeia
• Populated places in Achaea