Kato Viannos, Heraklion

Kato Viannos (Κάτω Βιάννος) Heraklion

Kato Viannos is a village in the province of Viannos in the prefecture of Heraklion, with 150 inhabitants, based on the 2001 census. It belongs to the Municipality of Viannos and is a Municipal District, with a total of 176 inhabitants. Kato Viannos is located at the southern foot of Mount Dikti. The inhabitants are mainly engaged in olive cultivation. Today, the vast majority of the population is over 65 years old.

Historical data and temples
The church of the Prophet Elias and Three Hierarchs, in Mesi Viannos.

Kato Viannos is mentioned in 1583 under the name Viannes Catto, in the relevant census of Kastrofylakas (K 97). When it became a community, the settlement of Lassithi Mesi, which is located at an altitude of 540 m, was also inhabited by it. The village is inhabited by a few farmers. In Mesi is the protesting church of Prophet Elias and the Three Hierarchs, which was built relatively recently.

The main church in Kato Viannos is the one dedicated to the memory of St. George. Very interesting is the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which has a wood-carved iconostasis. Near the village is the old church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, with frescoes.

During the Turkish occupation, there was the settlement of Pera Mesi, where the chapel of Panagia is located. There, during a wedding, the Turks invaded and killed the whole feasting world, at the suggestion of a small child. They also destroyed the settlement. Ruins from the former settlement are preserved.

The name Mesi probably comes from the fact that the inhabitants who founded the village had started from Tympaki, some and others from Sitia, as a result of which they met in the middle, where the current settlement is, in the south of Heraklion prefecture.

After the liberation from the Turks and the first administrative organization of the island, the village represented, in the Municipality of Viannos where it belonged, Dimitrios Doulgerakis as a special paredros and later the first elected councilor Emmanouil Vavouranakis [1]

Municipal district

The Municipal Department of Kato Viannos or D.D. Kato Viannou was established in 1999, with the Kapodistrias Law. Consists of:

Kato Vianno, with 150 inhabitants, which is also the seat of the Municipal Department.
Mesi, a village with only 26 inhabitants.

Population figures are for the 2001 census.

Sources

Heraklion and its Prefecture, published by the Prefecture of Heraklion.

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