To grasp why Kalavryta feels so distinct from other alpine spots, you have to rewind to December 1943.
Following skirmishes between Greek resistance fighters and German troops, the German military triggered ‘Operation Kalavryta’. They burned surrounding villages and murdered civilians, but when they arrived in Kalavryta, they promised the locals they were safe.
That was a lie. On the morning of 13 December, soldiers rounded up the whole village. Women and children were shoved into the local school and locked inside. Meanwhile, all men and teenage boys were marched up to Kapi Hill. From this vantage point, they were forced to watch the troops set their homes alight.
Then, at 2:34 pm, the signal was given. Machine gun fire ripped through the crowd. More than 465 men and boys died that afternoon, leaving only a tiny fraction of survivors. The women and children eventually broke out of the burning school, only to find the horrific aftermath on the hillside.
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