Lavrio
Lavrio
In ancient time, a significant part of the Athenian prosperity was owed to Lavrio's mineral riches and its silver mines. The name "Lavrio" derives from the word "lavra" that means gallery and it apparently refers to the mine wings. Thus giving the area the nickname "Poseidon's Bank".
In the 19th Century, interest for the exploitation of the mines of Lavrio was rekindled and 2 mining companies were established, a Greek and a French. This development gave Lavrio unexpected primacy in various fields because it was there that the telephone, the train, and the voltaic lamps were used for the first time in Greece. In the café "Beautiful Greece" – due to the absence of a Stock Exchange – the first stock market transaction in Athens was completed.
The main attraction sites of Lavrio are, the Archaeological Museum of Lavrio, the Mineralogical Museum, the Industrial Park, and the Agora. Moreover, many neoclassical buildings, maintained or not, testify to the towns aforementioned prosperity.
