Evros Περιφερειακή ενότητα Έβρου
Regional unit
Municipalities of Evros
Evros within Greece
Evros
Coordinates:41°10′N26°05′E / 41.167°N 26.083°E /41.167; 26.083
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
Seat	Alexandroupolis
Area
• Total	4,242 km2 (1,638 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	133,802
• Density	31.54/km2 (81.69/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	68x xx
Area code	255x0
Vehicle registration	ΕΒ, ΟΡ

Evros (Greek:Περιφερειακή ενότητα Έβρου,romanized: Perifereiakí enótita Évrou) is one of theregional units of Greece. It is part of theregion ofEast Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the riverEvros, which appears to have been aThracianhydronym. Evros is the northernmost regional unit. It bordersTurkey to the east, across the river Evros, and it bordersBulgaria to the north and the northwest.

Its capital isAlexandroupolis. Together with the regional unitsRhodope andXanthi, it forms the geographical region ofWestern Thrace. The population density was 32 per km² (2021).

Evros is one of the largest regional units of Greece. It forms the eastern part of the geographical regionWestern Thrace, and includes the islandSamothrace in the northernAegean Sea. Its length is about 150 km from north to south (excluding Samothrace). Its width ranges from 70 to 100 km from east to west. The most important rivers are theEvros and its tributaryArda.

TheRhodope Mountains lie in the west and the southwest. TheAegean Sea lies to the south. The Evros valley is flat. Samothrace is mountainous.

The coastal area has a predominantly Mediterranean climate, whereas the northern part and the mountains have a colder continental climate.

The Evros regional unit is subdivided into 5 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):^[2]

• Alexandroupolis (1)
• Didymoteicho (2)
• Orestiada (3)
• Samothrace (Samothraki, 4)
• Soufli (5)

Evros was established as aprefecture in 1930 (Greek:Νομός Έβρου), when the formerThrace Prefecture was divided into the Rhodope and Evros prefectures.^[3] As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the prefecture was transformed into a regional unit within the East Macedonia and Thrace region, with no change in its boundaries. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.^[2]

• Province ofOrestiada - Orestiada
• Province ofDidymoteicho - Didymoteicho
• Province ofSoufli - Soufli
• Province ofAlexandroupolis - Alexandroupolis
• Province ofSamothrace - Samothrace

Note: Provinces no longer hold any legal status inGreece.

As a part ofWestern Thrace, the territory of the Evros regional unit followed the fate of that region. In 1821, several parts of Evros region rebelled, such asLavara andSamothraki, and participated in theGreek War of Independence. It became part of Greece in 1920 when it was ceded byBulgaria as a result of theTreaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Initially it was part of theThrace Prefecture, which was subdivided in 1930.

During theGreco-Turkish War (1919-1922), many Greek refugees from Eastern Thrace, next door, settled in the Evros. New towns were built, including Orestiada. The Evros river valley has flooded several times, with the most recent floods taking place in 2005, 2006, 2014 andin 2021 where the multiple and largest floods took place.

The main roads in the Evros regional unit are:

• A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos)/E90 motorway (...Komotini -Alexandroupolis -İpsala (Turkey))
• Greek National Road 2 (... Komotini - Alexandroupolis -Feres)
• Greek National Road 51/E85 (Svilengrad (Bulgaria) -Orestiada -Didymoteicho - Feres)
• Greek National Road 53 (Ormenio -Metaxades -Aisymi - Alexandroupolis)

A railway line connects Alexandroupolis with Thessaloniki via Komotini,Xanthi andDrama. Another line connects Alexandroupolis withDimitrovgrad, Bulgaria via Didymoteicho and Orestiada, with a branch line from Didymoteicho toUzunköprü, Turkey.

TheAlexandroupolis International Airport is served by mostly national flights.

The most important sights of the prefecture are:

• Church of Theotokos Kosmosoteira. The church was founded in1152. It is considered one of the best examples ofByzantine art inGreece.
• Samothrace with theSanctuary of the Great Gods and itsArchaeological Museum.
• Evros Delta National Park
• Lighthouse of Alexandroupolis
• The post-Byzantine churches in the villages ofAlepochori (Church of Saint Athanasius),Metaxades (Church of Saint Athanasius) andPaliouri (Church of Saint Pantaleon)
• The ancientMesimvria-Zoni
• Dadia Forest
• Fossilized Forest of Lefkimmi
• Cyclops Polyphemus Cave inMakri
• Burial Tomb of Mikri Doxipara:Roman Tomb which dates from the2nd century
• Didymoteicho
  • Byzantine Castle
  • Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque
  • Hamam of Oruç Paşa
  • Türbe of Oruç Pasha
  • theKayali Cave and theVouva Cave
• Castle of Pythio
• Thethermal baths ofTraianoupoli
• Castle of Avanta-Potamos
• TheEthnological Museum of Thrace inAlexandroupolis
• TheSilk Museum of Soufli
• Zourafa islet
• The villageMetaxades with its traditional architecture
• ThePomak villagesGoniko andRoussa with the traditional architecture
  • TheSeyyid Ali Sultan Tekke near Roussa

• Hrysopiyi Devetzi (1976,Alexandroupolis), Greek silver Olympic Champion in triple jump (Athens, 2004)
• Demis Nikolaidis (1973,Alexandroupolis), Greek international footballer, European Champion withGreece National football team (Portugal, 2004)
• Stelios Venetidis (1976,Orestiada),Greek international footballer, European Champion withGreece National football team (Portugal, 2004)
• Athanasios Tsigas (1982, AristeinoAlexandroupolis), Greek footballer
• Lefteris Hapsiadis (1953, KilaFeres), Greek lyricist and writer
• Andreas Andreadis (1982, ProvatonasSoufli), Greek international volleyball player
• Marios Giourdas (1973,Alexandroupolis), international volleyball player
• Thanassis Moustakidis (1962,Soufli), Greek international volleyball player, player with the most appearances withGreece National football team
• Nikos Samaras (1970-2013,Orestiada), Greek international volleyball player, player-symbol for the Greek volleyball
• Constantin Carathéodory (1873-1950,Nea Vyssa), Greek mathematician
• Dimosthenis Michalentzakis (1998,Feres), Greek Gold Paralympic Champion Swimmer in category S9 (Rio, 2016)
• Marinos Ouzounidis (1968,Alexandroupolis), former international Greek footballer, now football coach
• Manolis Siopis (1994,Alexandroupolis), Greek international footballer
• Dimosthenis Magginas (1982,Alexandroupolis), Greek middle-distance, long-distance runner
• Fotis Kosmas, (1926-1995),Alexandroupolis) Mediterranean and 7th Olympic winner in decathlon
• Kostas Gatsioudis (1973,Didymoteicho), 6th Olympic winner, Mediterranean and Silver World champion, in Javelin throw
• Nikos Alavantas (1959, KriosOrestiada), former Greek international footballer
• Giannis Matzourakis (1949,Didymoteicho), former footballer, now football coach
• Nikos Hadjinikolaou (1962,Alexandroupolis), Greek journalist
• Renos Haralampidis (1970,Spilaio), Greek actor, film director
• Yannis Stankoglou (1974,Thourio), Greek actor
• John III Doukas Vatatzes (1192–1254,Didymoteicho), emperor ofNicaea
• John V Palaiologos (1332–1391,Didymoteicho),Byzantine Emperor
• Bayezid II (1481–1512,Didymoteicho) Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
• Eugenios Eugenidis (1882–1954,Didymoteicho), shipping magnate
• Sürmeli Ali Pasha, (1645-1695,Didymoteicho),Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
• Konstantinos Malamatinas, founder ofretsina Malamatina^[4]
• Paraskevas Tselios (1997,Alexandroupolis), Greek international volleyball player withGreece men's national volleyball team
• Savvas Gentsoglou (1990,Alexandroupolis), Greek football player
• Gregoris Mentzas (1960,Alexandroupolis), Greek management scientist and professor at theNational Technical University of Athens
• Giorgos Valavanidis (1974,Alexandroupolis), Greek; former international basketball player, silver medalist withGreece women's national under-16 basketball team in1991 and Greek champion withPAOK
• Arete Kosmidou (1997,Alexandroupolis), Greek singer
• Anestis Dalakouras (1993,Alexandroupolis), international Volleyball player withGreece men's national volleyball team
• Stavros Stathakis (1987,Alexandroupolis), Greece footballer
• Nikos Alavantas (1959,Orestiada), former international footballer withGreece national football team
• Stefania Liberakaki (2002), Greek-Dutch singer originally fromSofiko, a village nearDidymoteicho

• Evros terrain map by Geopsis

• Evros (regional unit)
• Prefectures of Greece
• 1920 establishments in Greece
• Regional units of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1 Greek-language sources (el)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Articles containing Greek-language text