Kalamáta is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regional unit, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf.
The 2011 census recorded 69,849 inhabitants for the wider Kalamata Municipality, of which, 62,409 resided in the municipal unit of Kalamata, and 54,567 in the city proper. Kalamata is renowned as the land of the Kalamatianos dance and Kalamata olives.
Sights
There are numerous historical and cultural sights in Kalamata, such as the Villehardouin castle, the Ypapanti Byzantine church, the Kalograion monastery with its silk-weaving workshop where the Kalamata scarves are made, and the municipal railway park. The Church of the Holy Apostles is where Mavromichalis declared the revolt against Ottoman rule in 1821. Art collections are housed at the Municipal Gallery, the Archaeological Museum of Messenia and the Folk Art Museum.
- Benakeion Archaeological Museum of Kalamata, located in the heart of the historical centre of Kalamata.
- Cultural events, such as the Kalamata International Dance Festival
- Kalamata Drama International Summer School (www.kalamatadrama.com)
- Kalamata Castle from the 13th century AD.
- The marina and the Port of Kalamata, located SW of the city centre, is the main and largest port in Messenia and the southern part of the Peloponnese.
- Kalamata Municipal Stadium, home of Messiniakos, seats 5,400 spectators
- The Railway Museum of the Municipality of Kalamata, a railway museum which first opened since 1986
- Ancient Messene, some 15 to 20 km (12 mi) north-west of modern Messini
- The Temple of Apollo Epicurius is about two-hour drive north from Kalamata.
- The Maria Callas Alumni Association of the Music School of Kalamata (www.mariacallas.gr) with the exhibition of the personal letters of the legendary Maria Callas.
Cathedral of Ypapanti
Kalamata’s cathedral of the Ypapanti (Presentation of the Lord to the Temple) nestles beneath the 14th-century Frankish castle. The foundation stone was laid on 25 January 1860, and the building was consecrated on 19 August 1873. It suffered great damage during the 1986 earthquake, but was subsequently restored. The Festival of the Ypapanti (27 January through 9 February) is of national importance for the Greek Orthodox Church and, locally, the occasion for a holiday (2 February), when the litany of what is believed to be a miraculous icon, first introduced in 1889, takes place.
Cuisine
Local specialities:
- Kalamata olives
- Lalagia (Λαλάγγια/Λαλαγγίδες)
- Diples (dessert)
- Pasteli (dessert)
- Talagani cheese
- Sfela cheese
Economy
Kalamata’s Chamber of Commerce is the second-oldest in the Mediterranean after Marseille. Kalamata is well known for its black Kalamata olives.
Karelia Tobacco Company has been in operation in Kalamata since 1888.
Transportation
Kalamata is accessed by GR-7/E55/E65 in the west and GR-82 runs through Kalamata and into the Taygetus. The motorway to Kalamata from Tripoli is complete.
Kalamata is served by a metre gauge railway line of the former Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways, now owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE). There is a station and a small freight yard in the city, as well as a rolling stock maintenance depot to the north. There used to be a mainline train service to Kyparissia, Pyrgos and Patras, and a suburban service to Messini and the General Hospital. However, in December 2010 all train services from Kalamata, along with those in the rest of the Peloponnese south of Corinth, were discontinued on economic grounds, and the train station is now closed. A previously disused extension line to the port is now a Railway Park, with old steam engines on display and a cafe in the old station building.
There is a bus link, operated by the KTEL company, to Tripoli, Corinth, and Athens with frequent services. Ferries are available to places such as the Greek islands of Kythira and Crete in the summer months. Also in the summer months, charter and scheduled flights fly direct to Kalamata International Airport from some European cities. A scheduled service by Aegean Air once a day linking Kalamata and Athens International Airport commenced in 2010.
Kalamata also has four urban bus lines that cross the city and its suburbs.
