Iraklio and Mühldorf

Iraklio is an independent municipality in the city zone of Athens, Greece. At present it has about 117,000 inhabitants and a municipal budget of about 40 million EUR. It is located at the immediate borders of the Olympic estate for the year 2004. Mühldorf and Iraklio are connected with one another through historical events. In 1833 King Otto I. founded the Bavarian Kingdom of Greece and declared Athens its capital in 1834. Many of the soldiers, tradesmen and technicians of that time settled down in Iraklio, a small village near Athens in those days.

According to recent findings,one of the Bavarians was Hans Fuchs, who was born in Mühldorf. He founded the first beer brewery in Greece. This brewery still exists today, however with different owners. A great-great-grandson of the brewery founder, Karolos A. Fix, still lives in Iraklio. 90 % of the Bavarian settlers at that time were Catholics. Today the only catholic parish of Athens is housed in Iraklio. It has some 1,050 members and its centre is the parish church of St. Lucas and its affiliated presbytery. Some parish members still have typical Bavarian surnames, such as Wagner, Feigl or Kiermeier. On the basis of these historical facts both the municipal council of Iraklio and the Haupt- und Kulturausschuss (culture commission) of Mühldorf wish to intensify their mutual contacts and foster co-operation concerning the European idea of integration as well as stimulate an exchange of ideas and experiences between municipal institutions. Not least of all, focus of attention shall be the attempt to foster co-operation concerning culture, sports, education and society. On 2004-08-19 the official partnership between Iraklio and Mühldorf-upon-Inn was proudly signed. A group of citizens of Mühldorf-upon-Inn and mayor Günther Knoblauch therefore have travelled to Iraklio. Document of partnership Further Informationen: www.iraklio.gr