The picturesque and historical village of Dimitsana is a key depository of historical and folklore traditions of the Greek nation. In its library, apart from the shelves enriched with 35,000 volumes of books, the visitor can also admire important relics and memorabilia from various moments of the glorious past.
It is one of the most historic and priceless relics of education in Greece. It was founded along with the famous School of Dimitsana in 1764 and played a decisive role in the progress of the Revolution of 1821, as the paper of its books was “sacrificed” for the manufacturing of necessary war material.
In the two years after the uprising of the Greeks, it was left with 500 volumes on its shelves, however, over the years and with the selfless donation of benefactors, it came to list today 35,000 volumes of books.
The Historical Library of Dimitsana is one of the oldest and most important libraries in Greece. It was founded in 1764 along with the famous School of Dimitsana, and in its early years, it had books that were brought there from the Monastery of the Philosopher. It was systematically enriched for over 57 years with publications mainly by Greek authors, prose writers, poets and church fathers.
According to various manuscripts, the so-called “Mathemataria” that are kept in the library, at the School of Dimitsana, ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato were taught, as well as natural sciences, mathematics, astronomy, cosmography, poetry, rhetoric, Byzantine literature, etc. From the School graduated, among others, Iosif Androusis, Minister of Education, Grigorios Dikaios Papaflessas, hero in the Battle of Maniaki, Daniel Panagiotopoulos, Bishop of Tripolitsa, Gregory V, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who later met a martyr’s death by the Ottomans, Bishop Germanos of Old Patras and other distinguished people in various parts of the country, establishing schools as teachers.
Undoubtedly, its library was inextricably linked to the operation of the School of Dimitsana. Manuscript codices of various content, ancient authors, patristic texts and their interpretative books, dictionaries, anthologies and other forms of old hard-to-find editions, as well as archetypes after the discovery of printing, filled the shelves of the historical library, which, with the efforts of the teachers of the School and expatriates settled abroad, came to have 5,000 volumes of books.
This intellectual wealth was used – as explained by both Theodoros Kolokotronis his adjutant, Fotakos – along with the gunpowder of Dimitsana for the needs of the nation that had revolted, and specifically, in the manufacturing of gunpowder, necessary for the success of the struggle. In the first two years of the revolution, the library was left with 500 books on its shelves.
Since then, with the valuable help of citizens and expatriates from abroad, its bibliographic material has increased to approximately 35,000 volumes, while the library has also been enriched with priceless heirlooms and objects of the folk life of the region, such as household utensils, carpets, agricultural tools and looms. Also, inside the building, the bones of Bishop Germanos of Old Patras are kept in a brass urn, as well as the saddle of the horse of Grigorios Dikaios (better known as Papaflessas) and swords from the time of the Greek Revolution.
The rooms of the Library are decorated with portraits of great Greeks, such as the historical secretary of Theodoros Kolokotronis, Michael Oikonomou, the benefactor with the priceless donation of 1845, Nikolaos Makris, and the mayor of Odessa, Grigorios Maraslis.
Today, it operates in the form of a lending library, while being an information center, which is consulted by scientists and researchers of all sectors, as well as visited by history enthusiasts from all over the world.
Διαδρομες
Ιερά Μονή Ζωοδόχου Πηγής Στεμνίτσας
Το γραφικό και ιστορικό χωριό της Δημητσάνας αποτελεί βασικό θεματοφύλακα ιστορικών και λαογραφικών παραδόσεων του ελληνικού γένους. Στη βιβλιοθήκη της, εκτός από τα εμπλουτισμένα με 35.000 τόμους βιβλίων ράφια.
Αρχοντικό των Δεληγιανναίων
Το οίκημα δεσπόζει στον Πάνω Μαχαλά του ιστορικού χωριού Λαγκάδια, το οποίο, εκτός από σημαντικούς χτίστες, χάρισε στην Ελλάδα την περίφημη οικογένεια των Δεληγιανναίων, προεστών του Μοριά πριν από την Επανάσταση. Από την οικογένεια Δεληγιάννη προήλθαν και δύο Πρωθυπουργοί στα χρόνια μετά την απελευθέρωση.
Dimitsana Historic Public Library
The picturesque and historical village of Dimitsana is a key depository of historical and folklore traditions of the Greek nation. In its library, apart from the shelves enriched with 35,000 volumes of books, the visitor can also admire important relics and memorabilia from various moments of the glorious past.