Moni Agias Lavras

Peloponnese

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This monastery is where Greece's War of Independence was allegedly launched; the banner standard from the war is displayed alongside monastic memorabilia and ancient ceramics in the upstairs library/museum/shop. Downstairs is the ornately decorated katholikon chapel, while the 'old church' by the car park dates back to 1692. The monastery is around 5km southwest of Kalavryta. A taxi from Kalavryta costs around €20 return.

Originally founded in the tenth century, the monastery had quite a few ups and downs, and was destroyed and attacked several times, most recently during WWII when German soldiers killed all the monks and set the place ablaze.

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