Amyntaio Αμύνταιο | |
|---|---|
 Church in central Amyntaio. | |
 | |
  Amyntaio | |
| Coordinates:40°41′N21°41′E / 40.683°N 21.683°E /40.683; 21.683 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | West Macedonia |
| Regional unit | Florina |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 589.4 km2 (227.6 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 249.9 km2 (96.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 589 m (1,932 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Municipality | 14,169 |
| • Density | 24.04/km2 (62.26/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 6,961 |
| • Municipal unit density | 27.86/km2 (72.14/sq mi) |
| • Community | 4,348 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Vehicle registration | ΡΑ |
Amyntaio (Greek:Αμύνταιο, before 1928: Σόροβιτς –Sorovits;[2]Macedonian: Суровичево, Сорович), is a town andmunicipality in theFlorina regional unit ofMacedonia,Greece. The population of Amyntaio proper is 4,348, while that of the entire municipality is 14,169 (2021).[1] The town is named after the ancient king ofMacedon, and father ofPhilip II and grandfather ofAlexander the Great,Amyntas III.
The village mosque was destroyed and located at the site of the present Municipal Centre building.[3] The Church of St. Konstantinos and Helen was declared a hazard to public safety and demolished with tanks in the late twentieth century.[4]
On March 4, 2007, an unknown civilization around four lakes that lasted from 6000 BC to 60 BC has been uncovered in two important excavations of aNeolithic and an Iron Age settlement in the Amyntaio district of Florina, northern Greece.[5][6]
A 7,300-year-old home with a timber floor, remnants of food supplies andblackberry seeds are among the findings in a Neolithic settlement near the lakes ofVegoritida, Petres,Heimatitida and Zazari. Garments, women's fashions and burial customs in northernEordaia 3,000 years ago are coming to light among the hundreds of funeral offerings in a forgotten necropolis dating from theIron Age in westernMacedonia.[5][7][6]
More than 100 years after the excavation at Agios Panteleimonas in Amyntaio in the Florina prefecture – known in the bibliography as thePateli Necropolis – by theRussian Archaeological Institute of Istanbul, a systematic investigation of 12 tombs by the17th Antiquities Ephorate has found a total of 358 tombs dating from between 950 BC and 550 BC. Although the first discovery in 1898 of 376 graves produced many findings, now in theIstanbul Museum, the necropolis between the lakes of Heimatitida and Petres has revealed hundreds more graves.[5][7][6]
Not far from Amyntaio is the archaeological site of Petres. A site dating back to the Bronze age, based on poterry found there. During the 4th centuryPhilip II built there the city of Petres. The site was destroyed during the 1st century.[8]
In the summer of 2017 the remnants of a remarkableRoman villa were discovered.[9]
Academic Pierre Sintes was in the Florina area doing research in the early 2010s.[10] Sintes wrote Amyntaio was populated byDopioi, (meaning locals or natives) a Greek term used forSlavophones of the region.[11]
Amyntaio station is a railway junction, where theline to Kozani branches off from thePlaty-Florina main line.
The municipality Amyntaio was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[12]
The municipality has an area of 589.369 km2, the municipal unit 249.852 km2.[13]
The municipal unit of Amyntaio is divided into the following communities:[12]
Administrative division of theWestern Macedonia Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regional unit ofFlorina |  | |
| Regional unit ofGrevena | ||
| Regional unit ofKastoria | ||
| Regional unit ofKozani | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
