Pythio ( Greek: Πύθιο, tr, Kuleliburgaz), sometimes referred to as Pythion, is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

in the eastern part of Didymoteicho municipality, Evros regional unit,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is 16 km east of the centre of Didymoteicho, on the right bank of the river Evros, where it forms the border with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. There is no road border crossing near Pythio. The community of Pythio consists of the villages of Pythio,

Rigio Rigio () is a village in the eastern part of Didymoteicho municipality, Evros regional unit, Greece. It is 13 km east of the centre of Didymoteicho, on the right bank of the river Evros, where it forms the border with Turkey. Rigio belongs ...

and Pythio railway station ( gr, Σταθμός Πυθίου, translit=Stathmos Pythiou). The nearest villages are

Petrades Petrades is the easternmost point of mainland Greece. It is located south of the community of Pythio. The community was affected by the floods of Evros which lasted from February 17 to March 8, 2005. Turkey is to the south and to the east. For ...

to the south and

Asimenio Asimenio ( el, Ασημένιο) is a village in the municipality of Didymoteicho in the northern part of the Evros regional unit in Greece. It is about 8 km northeast of the centre of Didymoteicho. It is bypassed by the Greek National Road 5 ...

to the northwest.

Railway

Pythio railway station Pythio railway station ( el, Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός Πυθίου, Sidirodromikós stathmós Pythíou) is a railway station and junction where the railway to Ormenio and Bulgaria branches off the main line from Thessaloniki to ...

is a junction where the railway to Ormenio and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

branches off the main line from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

through Alexandroupoli and

Uzunköprü Uzunköprü is a town in Edirne Province in Turkey. It is named after a historical stone bridge, claimed to be the world's longest, on the Ergene River. It is a strategically important border town, located on the routes connecting Turkey to the B ...

. The railway was built by the Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO), managed by Maurice de Hirsch, as part of the CO's contract to build a line from Istanbul to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The railway reached Pythio, known as Kuleliburgaz during Ottoman rule, in 1873, when the line from Istanbul to Edirne and Bulgaria was opened. A 112 km branch from Pythio to Alexandroupoli (then known as Dedeağaç) was opened in 1874. When the railway was built it was all within the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. During World War I the railway was an important link as the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary were all

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Allies. On 14 December 1916

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

aeroplanes bombed the bridge over the river Evros near Pythio (''Kuleliburgaz''). Under the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...

of 1923, a new border between Greece and Turkey was established at the Evros river, just east of Pythio, which had the result that the railway from Istanbul to Bulgaria entered Greece at Pythio, then re-entered Turkey at Edirne (

Karaağaç railway station The Karaağaç station ( tr, Karaağaç Garı) or before 1971 Edirne station ( tr, Edirne Garı) was the name of the former railway station in Edirne, located south-west of the city. Currently, it houses Trakya University's Faculty of Fine Arts. ...

), re-entered Greece at

Marasia Marasia (Greek: Μαράσια, Turkish: ''Maraş'', Bulgarian:''Maраш'') is a village in the northern part of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit in Greece. Marasia is part of the municipal unit of Trigono. In 2011 its population was ...

, and finally entered Bulgaria between Ormenio and

Svilengrad Svilengrad ( bg, Свиленград; el, Σβίλενγκραντ; ota, Cisr-i Mustafapaşa) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the h ...

. This arrangement continued until 1971, when two new lines were opened. In Turkey the

Edirne Cut-off Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

was opened to allow trains from Istanbul to Bulgaria to run through Edirne entirely on Turkish territory, so that trains such as the

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

no longer had to stop at Pythio. In Greece a line was opened to allow trains from Pythio to Bulgaria to stay on Greek territory and avoid Edirne.

Historical population

The town is populated by Arvanites.

Sites of interest

Castle of Pythion A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, built in the 14th century

References

External links

Castle of Pythion

{{Didymoteicho Didymoteicho Populated places in Evros (regional unit) Rail transport in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Albanian communities of Western Thrace

Railway

Historical population

Sites of interest

See also

References

External links