Lavrio

Lavrio, also known as Lavrion or Laurium, is a town in the southeastern part of Attica, Greece. Today, it is part of the busy Athens metropolitan area and serves as the center of the Lavreotiki municipality.

Long ago, during Classical antiquity, Lavrio was very important because of its rich silver mines. These mines provided a lot of money for the Athenian state, and the silver was mostly used to make coins. You can learn more about this exciting history by visiting the Archaeological Museum of Lavrio.

The town sits about 60 km southeast of Athens city center. It is located south of Keratea and north of Cape Sounio, with beautiful views of the island Makronisos to the east. The streets in Lavrio are arranged in a grid pattern, and the town has a port right in the middle. The EO89 road passes through Lavrio on its way to Sounio.

History

Further information: Thoricus and Mines of Laurium

The town of Lavrio today stands where an ancient village named Thoricus once was. Its name comes from the famous Mines of Laurium nearby.

People first started mining here around 3200 BC. The mining became more organized in the 6th century BC. After a big battle called the battle of Marathon, a leader named Themistocles encouraged the people of Athens to use money from the silver mines to build more ships, which helped Athens become strong at sea. The mines were owned by the government and many people, including children, worked there in very hard conditions.

Later, during the Spartan occupation of Decelea, the mining slowed down. But people kept working the mines for many years. Today, you can still see old tunnels and places where miners washed the ore.

In the late 1800s, French and Greek companies started mining again, looking for lead, manganese, and cadmium. There were some difficult times when miners argued with the company owners, but the mines are now remembered through the Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion, which shows many interesting rocks and minerals from the area.

Climate

Lavrio is located in the southern part of the Athens Riviera and has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), which is close to a hot-summer mediterranean (Csa) climate. The town experiences mild winters and very hot summers, especially at night. During summer, temperatures are about 2 °C cooler than in Piraeus and 4 °C cooler than in downtown Athens. The driest months are July and August, while the most rain usually falls in December and January. Lavrio is in hardiness zone 10b and, according to data from the National Observatory of Athens, has never had a freezing temperature.

Facilities

The Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport is about a 30-minute drive from Lavrio. You can travel to Athens by car using the Lavrio/Sounio Leoforos Highway and then Attiki Odos, which takes around an hour. Another easy way is to drive to Koropi Train Station, park your car, and take the suburban railway or metro to Athens center. This journey takes about 30 minutes by car and then 30 minutes by train.

Lavrio used to be the end point of the Athens-Lavrion Railway, but it stopped operating in 1957. There is also a town in Michigan named Laurium, Michigan after the famous Greek Laurium.

Sports

Lavrio is home to a football club called Olympiacos Laurium. In the past, this team played in a lower division called the Gamma Ethniki. The town also has a basketball club named Lavrio B.C., which currently competes in the Basket League.

Twin towns

Lavrio has friendly connections with towns in other countries. One of these towns is Aleksinac in Serbia, and the other is Mangalia in Romania.