Lavrio

Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (Greek: Λαύριο; Ancient Greek: Λαύρειον (later Λαύριον); from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια Ergastiria) is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki. Laurium was famous in Classical antiquity for its silver mines, which was one of the chief sources of revenue of the Athenian state. The metallic silver was mainly used for coinage. The Archaeological Museum of Lavrion shows much of the story of these mines.

Lavrio
Lavrion
Laurium
Λαύριο/Λαύριον
Community
The port of Lavrio
Lavrio
Lavrion
Laurium
Location within the region
Coordinates: 37°42′N 24°3′E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionAttica
Regional unitEast Attica
MunicipalityLavreotiki
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2011)
  Community7,078
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
195 xx

It is located about 60 km SE of Athens city center, SE of Keratea and N of Cape Sounio. Laurium is situated on a bay overlooking the island of Makronisos (ancient times: Helena) in the east. The port is in the middle and gridded streets cover the residential area of Lavrio. GR-89 runs through Lavrio and ends south in Sounio.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.