Pella ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Πέλλας) is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municipa ...

, in the geographic

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of Macedonia. It is part of the

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

. It is named after the ancient city of

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

, the capital of

ancient Macedonia Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

and the birthplace of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

. The capital of Pella is

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

with a population of 19,036 inhabitants according to the census of 2011, while the largest town is

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Gian ...

. Other towns include

Aridaia Aridaía (; mk, С'ботско, ''S'botsko''; bg, Съботско) is a town and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Almopia, of which it is a mun ...

Skydra Skydra ( el, Σκύδρα, in modern Greek, before 1926: Βερτεκόπ - ''Vertekop'', Slavic: Вртикоп, ''Vrtikop'') is a municipality in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia in Greece. Municipality The municipality Skydra was forme ...

, Arnissa and Krya Vrysi.

Administration

According to the 2011 census the population of the regional unit of Pella was 139,680. It is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are: *

Almopia Almopia ( el, Αλμωπία), or Enotia, also known in the Middle Ages as Moglena (Greek: Μογλενά, Macedonian and Bulgarian: Меглен or Мъглен), is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) of the Pella regional uni ...

(2) *

(1) *

(3) *

(4)

Prefecture

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit of Pella was created out of the former

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Pella ( el, Νομός Πέλλας). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

The former prefecture of Pella was subdivided into the following

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

: ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

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 ...

Geography

The regional unit covers an area of , the majority of which is covered by arable land, forests and pastures. Mountainous areas surrounding Pella are the

Voras Mountains The Voras Mountains ( el, Όρος Βόρας; also Boras), also known as Nidže ( mk, , tr, Nice Dağı)http://www.chinci.com/travel/pax/q/787674/Nid%C5%BEe/MK/Macedonia/0/#. ''Nidže'', Accessed 7 May 2012 are a mountain range situated on the ...

(with Kaimaktsalan reaching a height of 2,524m), Mount Vermion (2,027m),

Mount Paiko Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(1,458m), Mount Tzenna (2,182m) and Mount Pinovo (2,154m). The main plains are Pozar in the north and the vast plain of Giannitsà in the southeastern part. Other natural features of the area include Lakes

Vegoritida Vegoritida ( el, Βεγορίτιδα) is a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Edessa, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 2 ...

and Agra, and Rivers

Loudias The Loudias ( el, Λουδίας) or Lydias (Λυδίας), popularly called Mavroneri (Μαυρονέρι, "Blackwater", from its Ottoman Turkish name ''Kara Asmak'' قره آصماق) is a river in Central Macedonia that flows through the r ...

and Edessian. Pella's southernmost portion is flat and in ancient times, it was a gulf connected to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. The elevation in the south does not exceed about above sea level. Pella has surface and groundwater resources. There are a number of archaeological sites in the area. Pella borders the regional units of

Kilkis Kilkis ( el, Κιλκίς) is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2011 there were 22,914 people living in the city proper, 28,745 people living in the municipal unit, and 51,926 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city o ...

to the northeast,

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 ...

to the east,

Imathia Imathia ( el, Ημαθία ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia, within the geographic region of Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia. Administration The regional unit Imath ...

to the south,

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...

to the southwest, by Lake Vegoritida to the southwest, and by

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...

to the west. To the north, it is bounded by the national border between Greece and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

History

In antiquity, the area around the modern Pella regional unit was part of the ancient Greek

Kingdom of Macedon Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. It later became part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

and later the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and 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) ...

s. Following approximately 500 years of Ottoman rule, it rejoined

in 1913, following the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

Tourism

*Ancient

and

Archaeological Museum of Pella The Archaeological Museum of Pella ( el, Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Πέλλας) is a museum in Pella in the Pella regional unit of Central Macedonia. The building was designed by architect Kostas Skroumpellos and is on the site o ...

: The capital of ancient Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great. A number of archaeological findings are housed in the Palace and the New Museum. *

Loudias River The Loudias ( el, Λουδίας) or Lydias (Λυδίας), popularly called Mavroneri (Μαυρονέρι, "Blackwater", from its Ottoman Turkish name ''Kara Asmak'' قره آصماق) is a river in Central Macedonia that flows through the re ...

*Waterfalls in the city of

*Pozar thermal baths: The hot springs are located in a mountainous area (altitude 360–390 m) and occupy an area of . Five spa gush along the warm river, which continues to flow in the basin of Almopia. * Kaimakchalan ski resort: Mount Kaimakchalan or Vorras is the third largest in height mount in Greece (altitude 2,524 m). There is a ski area with 16 ski slopes. At the foot of the mountain there is the village of Agios Athanasios. *

Ottoman monuments: At the city of Giannitsa there are a lot of buildings from the Ottoman period like the Clock Tower, Mausoleum and baths of Gazi Evrenos, House of Emin Bey, The Baths and the mausoleum of Ahmet Bey, Mosque of Sheikh Ilachi, Mosque of Iskender Bey.

Agriculture

The southern part of the regional unit has a number of

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s. While agriculture once represented its main industry, today, manufacturing, services and other businesses dominate about 70% of its industry.

Transport

* GR-1 (old highway), SE * GR-2/ E90, W, SW, Cen., E, SE *Edessa - Verroia road, S * Thessaloniki-Giannitsa-Edessa

References

External links

Official website of the prefecture of PellaMap & info of Pella PrefectureTzena - Pinovo - East Voras terrain map
by Geopsis {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1930 establishments in Greece Regional units of Central Macedonia nn:Pélla