Resubmission of Official application Letter to join the European and ...

Municipal Public Benefit Agency of Lavreotiki
Kountourioti 1
19500 Lavrio
Telephone: +30 22920 60239, 60772
Fax: +30 22920 22413
E-mail: info@mylavrio.gr
Web: www.mylavrio.gr
Resubmission of Official application Letter to join the European and UNESCO Global
Geoparks Networks
The proposed Lavreotiki Geopark is situated in North-East Attica, near Athens capital of Greece.
Lavreotiki is a world-famous geo-mineralogical, historic and cultural place, which has been
identified with mine exploitation and metallurgical activities since antiquity and especially Classical
Era, and has always played a key role in the technological, economic and political development of
Greece.
Famous since ancient times for its substratum, rich in metals and minerals, the region of Lavreotiki
became a major metallurgical centre as early as 3,500 B.C. approximately, when the first galleries
were dug. Lavrion provided all the great civilizations of the Aegean with silver, lead and bronze.
The importance of the Lavrion mines for the city of Athens grew rapidly after the 6 th century B.C.
Silver from Lavreotiki was used to mint Athens’ own silver coins – the famous “Lavrion owls” of
Aristophanes.
Interest in the exploitation of the Lavrion mines was revived in the early 1860’s. In 1864, the Italian-
French company “Ilarion Roux et Compagnie” was established with the aim to re-smelt ancient
pieces of slag and exploit the Lavrion mines to produce silver lead. In 1873, the Greek Company of
the Lavrion Mines was established and two years later, in 1875, J.B. Serpieri founded the
Compagnie Francaise des Mines du Laurium, which operated until 1981.
In 1876, the French Company developed new industrial buildings in Lavrion , as well as mining
facilities. These industrial facilities constituted the earliest heavy industry in Greece, the largest in
the Balkans at that time and, soon, one of the most important metallurgical centers in the world.
In the 19th century, the intense industrial activity and the influx of mine workers and other
employees from all over Greece and abroad turned Lavrion into a pioneer town in many realms of
social, financial and technological life. Lavrion became the center of the Greek Trade Union
movement and contributed greatly to the shaping of the Greek Trade Union culture.
Today, following the cessation of mining activity, the area of Lavrion retains its historical

significance, as well as its great beauty. The industrial buildings of the 19th century and their
surroundings, characterized as historical, protected monuments by the Ministry of Culture,
constitute an important vestige of industrial and metallurgical technology of the past, a monument
to human labor, as well as a great chapter in Greek industrial archaeology. In 1992, the government
of Greece decided to buy the whole area of the old industry and hand it over to the National
Technical University of Athens with the aim of creating a new pole of attraction in high technology
and culture, through the establishment of Lavrion Technological Cultural Park.
The area is also very important in terms of mineralogy, presenting an impressive variety of minerals,
some of which with names originated from the area (kamarizite, serpierite, etc), which astonish even
a layman in the mineralogical museums in the area, at IGME as well as in several museums all over
the world.
A significant part of the geopark is also characterized by ecological importance (natural habitats,
flora and fauna). The Sounion National Park and areas included in the European Ecological
Network NATURA 2000, is a clear evidence of it.
The systematic work on the establishment of the Geopark started in 2007. During 2009 local
authorities and services contributed to the formation of the geopark. The Municipal Public Benefit
Agency of Lavreotiki, created by the Municipality of Lavrion is the applicant body for the
integration of the Lavreotiki Geopark in the European and Global Geoparks Networks and has the
overall responsibility and coordination of the Geopark area.
In particular, the Municipal Public Benefit Agency of Lavreotiki is implementing the Management
Plan of Lavreotiki Geopark, compiled in 2009, from data, information and specifications as well as
the close collaboration of the multidisciplinary scientific team of the Hellenic Institute of Geology
and Mineral Exploration and the private domain. This work was carried out under the project
“Promotion of Geosites – Geoparks, Contribution to Sustainable Development”. The project was
supervised by the State Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME) and funded in the
framework of 3 rd European Community Support Framework.
We are wholly aware of the responsibility and the seriousness of the commitment involved by
joining the European and the Global Geoparks Networks. We strongly believe that our Geopark
initiative is in compliance with the geopark idea and that we can contribute positively to further
developments of the Network in the future.
We also believe that we can benefit enormously from the expertise of the International Networks,
both for assisting and enhancing local communities and for effectively preserving our outstanding
natural and cultural resources for future generations.
We, therefore, wish to join the European and Global Geoparks Networks, to collaborate with the
Members and manage our own Geopark in accordance with the principles of the EGN and GGN.
Lavrio, 22 February 2010
Antonios Kostalas
President of the Municipal
Utility Enterprise of Lavreotiki