HISTORY
The settlement’s name derives from a family surname, possibly that of its first settler. Although the entire area is forested and lies at an altitude of 200–300 metres, it appears to have been inhabited since antiquity, as archaeological finds discovered in the surrounding area suggest.
Little is known about the village during the Byzantine period. Along with the surrounding villages, it later became a Venetian fief and subsequently an Ottoman estate.
The village began to develop after the liberation of Greece and, on 28 December 1836, became part of the Municipality of Kotylaia. By 1896, it had 367 inhabitants and had reached the height of its development, with its own school and shops.
In 1930, the village was connected through Pyrgos to the Chalkida–Kymi provincial road.
Following the Second World War, the Occupation and the ensuing national division, many residents left the village.
Village Character
Maletianoi is a beautiful small village built on the slope of a lush green hill. Its houses feature the traditional Epirote architectural style. One of the village’s most distinctive features is the abundance of large oak trees. The ancient Kousoulas oak is said to be around 800 years old.
In the settlement of Kazarma lies the entrance to the first lignite mine tunnel in Kymi, which opened in 1834 and is known as the “Otto Gallery”. The settlement’s name derives from the Italian word “caserma”, meaning military camp. At the site where the Church of St John the Baptist now stands, soldier-pioneers had set up camp. In 1835, they opened Greece’s first tunnel for lignite extraction. During a visit to Kymi and the surrounding area, King Otto and his entourage, which included Bavarian mining researchers, discovered the presence of coal-bearing layers. In 1835, the country’s first lignite mine began operating, with five extraction sites: Otto, Terma, Eftychia, Diameso and Fires. Mining became the most important sector of economic development at the time.
Seven families of Bavarian specialists in the exploration and extraction of coal-bearing deposits settled in Kazarma, between Kymi and Maletianoi. The exploitation of the coal deposits began in 1844. In 1846, the planning and construction of the Kazarma–Kymi road began under the supervision of engineer and contractor Demosthenis Vratsanos. During the early years, lignite was transported to Paralia Kymis by mule. After the road was completed, it was carried by carts. The Kazarma coal mines operated for approximately two decades. Mining activity was subsequently transferred from Kazarma to Entzi, west of Kalimerianoi.
The village’s five churches are particularly noteworthy: Evangelistria, built before 1850 and featuring a wood-carved iconostasis dating from 1851; Enniamera, also built before 1850; the Church of St John the Baptist in Kazarma, built in 1878; the Church of the Ascension, dating from 1931–1995; and the Church of St Eleftherios in the settlement of Perasma, dating from 1953–1999.
The stone-built houses, terraces, fountains and wells that once supplied the village with water, the stone-built Fires mine gallery, the buildings and stone silos of the coal mining company, as well as the old olive presses and ovens, are all remnants of a once-prosperous past.