Lechaio
Lechaio is a village in the municipal unit of Assos-Lechaio in Corinthia, Greece. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, 8 km west of Corinth and 12 km southeast of Kiato. The Greek National Road 8 passes through the town. It had a railway station on the Piraeus–Patras railway, but passenger service on this line was halted in 2009.Historical population
Year | Population |
1981 | 2,159 |
1991 | 2,319 |
2001 | 3,952 |
2011 | 2,643 |
History
Ancient Lechaeum was one of the ports of Ancient Corinth. It was connected to Corinth by a pair of strong walls. In the 390 BC Battle of Lechaeum, a Spartan mora was defeated by the Athenians led by Iphicrates at Lechaeum.
The small airport was built by the Germans in the World War II to serve as a military air-base for the control of the south-eastern Mediterranean area. In tunnels under the airport, a large inventory of weapons and many barrels of oil were stored by the German army.