Livadeia is a city in central Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. It is the capital of the prefecture Boeotia. Livadeia is located 130 km NW of Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, E of Nafpaktos, ESE of Amfissa

Amfissa

Amfissa is a town and a former municipality in Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is also the capital of the regional unit of Phocis...

 and Desfina

Desfina

Desfina is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. At the 2001 census, its population was 2,431. It is found in foot of mountain Kirfis in altitude 680m....

, SE of Lamia

Lamia (city)

Lamia is a city in central Greece. The city has a continuous history since antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region .-Name:...

 and west of Chalkida. Livadeia is linked with GR-48 and several kilometres west of GR-3

Greek National Road 3

Greek National Road 3 begins from Eleusis and heads north, passing Larissa, Florina and terminates at the border with the Republic of Macedonia in Niki, which from there links with the M3. The road is part of the E65. In the late 1980s, motorway bypasses have been constructed for the towns...

. The area around Livadeia are mountainous while farmlands are mainly in valley areas. Levadia's industry are urban and rural in the outskirts. It is also home to Levadiakos FC who are in the Super League Greece

Super League Greece

The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

.

Municipality

The municipality Livadeia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units (constituent communities in brackets):

• Chaironeia (Agios Vlasios, Akonti, Anthochori, Chaironeia, Profitis Ilias, Prosili, Thouri, Vasilika)
• Davleia
  Davleia
  Davleia is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name comes from the ancient settlement Daulis. The municipality includes the eastern portion of Mount Parnassos....
  
   (Davleia, Mavroneri, Parori
  Parori, Boeotia
  Parori , formerly Beskeni |agha]]) is a small village located about 27 kilometres north of Livadeia, the capital of Boeotia in Central Greece. Today, Parori is inhabited by only a small number of full-time residents, the main occupation of the inhabitants are farming and a few...
  
  )
• Koroneia
  Koroneia, Boeotia
  Koroneia is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,625...
  
   (Agia Anna, Agia Triada, Agios Georgios, Alalkomenes, Koroneia)
• Kyriaki
  Kyriaki
  Kyriaki is a village and a former community in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 population was 2,194 for the village and 2,420 for the community....
  
  
• Livadeia (Lafystio, Livadeia, Romaiiko)

The community Livadeia consists of the following outlying settlements (besides the town itself): Agios Nikolaos Livadeias (pop: 25), Analypsis Livadeias (pop: 184), Elikon (pop: 43), Perachora (pop: 279), Stathmos (pop: 3), Tzimeika (pop: 25) and Tsoukoulades (pop: 149).

Historical population

Year	Town population	Municipality population
1981	18,885	–
1991	19,295	–
2001	20,061	20,769

Antiquities

Pausanias, writing in the 2nd century CE, reported that the original name of the city was Mideia, and that it took its name Lebadeia from Lebedos of Athens, who moved the city to its current location on the banks of the Herkyna river (Bk IX.39). The sacred protector of the city was the hero/god Trophonios, whose oracle, involving a harrowing descent into an underground chamber, was famous beyond the borders of Greece. At the springs of the Herkyna river are shallow grottos with niches and marble remnants said to be the site of the oracle. On the hill above is a small medieval castle, mostly the work of the Catalan Company during the 14th century, accessible by foot. Further west, commanding a dramatic view from the hill of Profitis Ilias, are the remains of a large temple of Zeus Basileus, perhaps begun in the 3rd century BCE but never completed. The cathedral church of St. George houses an important relic, a head of St. George, translated to Venice in the 15th century but restored to Livadeia as a gesture of interfaith cooperation in 1999. In medieval times the river was lined by a series of water mills, one of which is preserved.

External links

• Municipality of Livadeia official website
• The Castle of Levadia Greek Ministry of Culture
• Public Central Library of Livadeia