page_title: Ypati
section_title: Monuments and sights
hierarchical_section_title: Ypati / Monuments and sights
caption_attribution_description: English: The former barracks of Ypati, Greece, built in 1836, now the regional museum of Byzantine archaeology.
context_page_description: Ypati is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, central peninsular Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 257.504 km². Its 2011 population was 4,541 for the municipal unit, and 496 for the settlement of Ypati itself. The town has a long history, being founded at the turn of the 5th/4th century BC as the capital of the Aenianes. During the Roman period the town prospered and was regarded as the chief city of Thessaly, as well as a bishopric. It was probably abandoned in the 7th century as a result of the Slavic invasions, but was re-established by the 9th century as Neopatras. The town became prominent as a metropolitan see and was the capital of the Greek principality of Thessaly in 1268–1318 and of the Catalan Duchy of Neopatras from 1319 to 1391. It was conquered by the Ottomans in the early 15th century and remained under Ottoman rule until the Greek War of Independence.
context_section_description: The town is still dominated by its medieval castle, probably built in its present form in the 13th century, although the large round tower likely dates to the Catalan period. The castle's last military use was during the Greek Civil War. The castle was restored in 2011–15 with EU funds under the supervision of the 24th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities and is open to the public from 19 December 2015.
  The Byzantine Museum of Phthiotis, housed in an old barracks building erected in 1836 and open to the public since 2007, features Byzantine artifacts discovered in archaeological digs across the Phthiotis Prefecture, including mosaics and items of daily use, as well as a significant coin collection. The town features also the Byzantine-era Church of Hagia Sophia, built on the site of an older, early Christian church. The church masonry incorporates many pieces of spolia from the early and middle Byzantine periods, as well as the post-Byzantine era. At the southern side, archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 5th-century baptistery. The town's old cathedral church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, dates to the 18th century, but portions of a mosaic floor and reused architectural elements point to the existence, on the same location, of an early Christian basilica.
  Notable sights are also the "Kakogianneio" Astronomical School and planetarium, the traditional water mill at the waterfall near the entrance of the town, and the martyrs' monument at the central town square, dedicated to the people executed by the Germans on 17 June 1944. Due to the proximity of Oeta, Ypati has also become a centre for excursions to the mountain, and is the starting point of several trekking paths.
  The 15th-century Agathonos Monastery is located some 3 km west of the town. The monastery also houses the Oiti Natural History Museum, dedicated to the geology, climate, flora and fauna of Mount Oeta and its national park.
caption: The Byzantine Museum of Phthiotis
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