Edessa Έδεσσα | |
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.jpg) Edessa's waterfalls, landmark of the town | |
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  Edessa | |
| Coordinates:40°48′N22°3′E / 40.800°N 22.050°E /40.800; 22.050 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Geographic region | Macedonia |
| Administrative region | Central Macedonia |
| Regional unit | Pella |
| Districts | 15 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ioannis Tsepkentzis[1] (since 2023) |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 611.212 km2 (235.990 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 321.2 km2 (124.0 sq mi) |
| • Community | 39.0 km2 (15.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 320 m (1,050 ft) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Municipality | 26,407 |
| • Density | 43.204/km2 (111.90/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 23,210 |
| • Municipal unit density | 72.26/km2 (187.2/sq mi) |
| • Community | 19,036 |
| • Community density | 488/km2 (1,260/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 582 00 |
| Area code | 23810 |
| Vehicle registration | ΕΕ |
| Website | dimosedessas.gov.gr |
Edessa (Greek:Έδεσσα,pronounced[ˈeðesa]), known until 1923 asVodena (Greek:Βοδενά), is a city in northern Greece and the capital of thePella regional unit, in theCentral Macedoniaregion ofGreece. It was also the capital of the defunctprovince of the same name.
Edessa holds a special place in the history of the Greek world as, according to some ancient sources, it was here thatCaranus established the first capital of ancientMacedon.[3] Later, under theByzantine Empire, Edessa benefited from its strategic location, controlling theVia Egnatia as it enters thePindus mountains, and became a center of medieval Greek culture, famed for its strong walls and fortifications.[3] In the modern period, Edessa was one of Greece's industrial centers until the middle of the 20th century, with many textile factories operating in the city and its immediate vicinity. Today however its economy mainly relies on services and tourism. Edessa hosts most of the administrative services of thePella regional unit, as well as some departments of theThessaloniki-basedUniversity of Macedonia.[4]
TheGreek nameἜδεσσα (Édessa) means "tower in the water"[3] and is generally thought to be ofPhrygian origin,[5][6] although a minority of scholars consider it to beIllyrian instead.[7] TheSlavic nameVodĭnŭ (Водьнъ) commonly held to derive from the Slavic word for "water"[8] was first attested in the 10th century,[citation needed] and became the common name until the 20th century.
Vodená (Βοδενά) was the name used in Greek until 1923, when the ancient name was revived.[9][10] TheBulgarian andMacedonian name remainsVoden (Cyrillic:Воден). InTurkish, the city is known asVodina, and inAromanian the city is known as eitherEdessa,Vudena orVodina.
Seleucus I Nicator named the city ofEdessa inMesopotamia (modernŞanlıurfa,Turkey) after theMacedonian Edessa.[citation needed]
The municipality Edessa was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[11]
The municipality has an area of 611.212 km2, the municipal unit 321.225 km2.[12]
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According to some ancient writers,Caranus, the legendary founder of theArgead Dynasty (whose most famous member wasAlexander the Great), established the city of Edessa and made it the first capital of ancientMacedon,[3] and later Argead rulers moved Macedon's capital toAegae and eventuallyPella. Archaeological remains have been discovered on the site of ancient Edessa, just below the modern city (40°47'48.48"N 22° 3'26.24"E). The walls and many buildings have been unearthed so far. A colonnade with inscription in Greek dates fromRoman times. The city achieved certain prominence in the first centuries AD, being located on theVia Egnatia. From 27 BC to 268 AD it had its own mint. The Orthodox Christian Saint Vassa and her three children were put to death here in the 3rd century AD.[13][14]
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| O:laureate draped andcuirassed bust | R:Roma seated onshield holdingNike withwreath andpalm andparazonium is crowned with awreath byTyche holdingcornucopia standing behind ΕΔΕϹϹΑΙΩΝ /ΟΜΟΝΟΙ / Α |
| bronzecoin struck byPhilip the Arab in Edessa 244-249 AD; ref.:Moushmov 6277 Plate XLIV 21 | |
Little is known about the fate of the city after 500 AD, but we know that its Greek bishop, Isidoros, participated in theEcumenical Council of 692.
The city disappears from the sources thereafter, and re-emerges only in the 11th century, in the account of theBulgarian wars of EmperorBasil II by the chroniclerJohn Skylitzes, with the Slavic nameVodena (τὰ Βοδηνά in Greek).[15] The Bulgarian historianVasil Zlatarski hypothesized that it was Vodena, and notVidin on theDanube, that was a base of theCometopuli in their revolt against Byzantium.[15]
Due to its strategic location, controlling theVia Egnatia as it enters thePindus mountains, the town was much fought over in the subsequent centuries: theNormans underBohemond I captured it briefly in 1083, but were eventually repelled by the forces of EmperorAlexios I Komnenos. TheNicaean emperorJohn III Vatatzes captured in 1253, while in the mid-14th century its possession was disputed between the Byzantines and theSerbs underStephen Dushan, with the latter securing its possession in January 1351.[15] The city was for some time under control ofRadoslav Hlapen, who gave it as dowry to his son-in-lawNikola Bagaš probably around 1366/7.[16] The city remained in Bagaš's hands at least until 1385.[17] It was conquered by theOttoman commanderEvrenos Bey in the late 14th century, along with the rest of Macedonia.[15] In 1519 (Hijri 925) the town had 68 Muslim and 116 Christian households; it was a jointzeamet of Murad ofİpek, and Hüseyin the son ofdizdar.[18]
During the period of Ottoman rule, the Turkish and Muslim component of the town's population steadily increased. From the 1860s onwards, the town was a flashpoint for clashes betweenGreeks andBulgarians.[19] According to the Ottoman general census of 1881/1882–1893, the district of Edessa (Vodine) had a total population of 33,113, consisting of 14,962 Muslims, 14,208 Greek Patriarchists, and 3,943 Bulgarian Exarchists.[20]
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After almost 500 years of Ottoman rule, Edessa was annexed by Greece on 18 October 1912 during theFirst Balkan War, following theHellenic Army's military victory against the Ottomans in thebattle of Sarantaporo. At that time, Edessa was already well on its way to becoming a major industrial center in Macedonia. Four large textile factories with theHemp Factory[21] being the biggest, employing the abundantwaterfalls as a source of energy. Prior toWorld War I, in addition to Greeks, the region of Edessa was also populated byTurks, Bulgarians,Pomaks andVlachs, but during thepopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey most of the Turks andPomaks living in Edessa were transferred toTurkey. Large numbers of Greek refugees fromAsia Minor were settled in the area in 1923. The population swelled from 9,441 to 13,115 in the 1920s. A large segment of the population specialized insilk production, allowing Edessa to enjoy a high standard of living in theinterwar period (1922–1940).
The town suffered during the last days ofGerman occupation of Greece in 1944. As a retaliation for the shooting of one soldier by resistance fighters, the Nazis set Edessa on fire. Half of the city, including the Cathedral and the First Primary School, was destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless.
During theGreek Civil War (1946-1949) Edessa was twice attacked in 1948 by theDemocratic Army of Greece (DSE), under the control of theCommunist Party of Greece. TheSlavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front (SNOF), later simply the National Liberation Front (NOF) was heavily established in the area, with elevenSlav Macedonian partisan units operating in the mountains around the city.[22][23] When the NOF merged with theDemocratic Army of Greece (DSE), many Slav Macedonians in the region enlisted as volunteers in the DSE.[24] In early 1949, the military forces of the Greek Government conducted a series of successful military operations that destroyed all communist forces and after the end of war in August 1949, many communists and sympathizers, both ethnic Greeks and Slav Macedonians were expelled from Greece and fled to the countries of Eastern Europe.[25]
Since the 1970s Edessa's economy no longer relies on industry. At the beginning of the 21st century, it is a city based on services (mostly linked to its function as capital of the Pella regional unit) andtourism due to the many ancient sights nearby, including ancientPella, the waterfalls and winter sports.
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| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Town | Municipal unit | Municipality |
| 1913 | 8,846 | - | - |
| 1920 | 9,441 | - | - |
| 1928 | 13,115 | - | - |
| 1940 | 12,000[26] | - | - |
| 1951 | 14,940 | - | - |
| 1961 | 15,534 | - | - |
| 1971 | 13,967 | - | - |
| 1981 | 16,642 | - | - |
| 1991 | 17,659 | 25,051 | - |
| 2001 | 18,253 | 25,619 | - |
| 2011 | 19,036 | 25,179 | 28,814 |
| 2021 | 17,848 | 23,210 | 26,407 |
Edessa railway station is located on theThessaloniki–Bitola railway and is currently served by Line 2 of theThessaloniki Regional Railway.
Edessa hosts two sport clubs with presence or earlier presence in the higher national divisions in Greek football and handball. These clubs are shown below.
| Sport clubs based in Edessa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Founded | Sports | Achievements |
| Edessaikos F.C. | 1959 | Football | Earlier presence in A Ethniki |
| Aeropos Edessas | 1978 | Handball | Presence in A1 Ethniki handball |
... свакако пре 1366/7 ...указана је могућност да га је Хлапен одмах након тога уступио Николи Багашу, ожењеном једном од његвих кћери..
Administrative division of theCentral Macedonia Region | ||
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| Regional unit ofChalkidiki |  | |
| Regional unit ofImathia | ||
| Regional unit ofKilkis | ||
| Regional unit ofPella | ||
| Regional unit ofPieria | ||
| Regional unit ofSerres | ||
| Regional unit ofThessaloniki | ||
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| International | |
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| Other | |
