Patras is the third-largest city of Greece, located in the Achaea region of the northern Peloponnese. Patras was founded as the result of the unification of three Mycenaean villages, and, following the Dorian invasion, a group of Achaeans from Laconia led by Patreus established a colony which they named Patrai Patrai remained a farming city during the Classical period, and it was also a major shipyard during the Peloponnesian War. During the Roman times, Patrae became a major port, and Augustus refounded Patrae as a Roman colony. Patras became an early center of Christianity, and Andrew the Apostle was crucified there. During the Byzantine era, Patras continued to be an important port and industrial center, and it supported Basil the Macedonian's rise to the Byzantine throne. In 1205, the city became part of the Principality of Achaea following the Sack of Constantinople, and it came under Venetian rule from 1408 to 1430 before becoming part of the Despotate of Morea from 1430 to 1458; in that year, the Ottoman Turks conquered the city. The Turks called the city Baliabadra, and it never became a major center of commerce under Ottoman rule. From 1687 to 1715, the Venetians briefly recaptured the city. In 1821, Patras became one of the hotbeds of the Greek War of Independence, and its Ottoman garrison held out in its citadel until 1828. After the war, most of the city was demolished and rebuilt anew, becoming the second-largest urban area of late-19th-century Greece. During the early 20th century, Patras became the first Greek city to introduce public streetlights and electrified tramways, and Patras experienced an influx of Anatolian Greek refugees from the Turkish War of Independence in 1922. The city was heavily bombed by Italy during World War II, and Athens overshadowed Patras after the war. Patras once again became a commercial hub and home to a large student population, as it was home to three public universities. By 2011, Patras had a population of 213,984 people.
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