Trikala (Greek: Τρίκαλα) is a town in the eastern part of

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 ...

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 ...

. The town (2011 census population 1,415) is in the municipal unit of Platy. It is situated between the

Aliakmon The Haliacmon ( el, Αλιάκμονας, ''Aliákmonas''; formerly: , ''Aliákmon'' or ''Haliákmōn'') is the longest river flowing entirely in Greece, with a total length of . In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliakmon, Maritsa ( el ...

and

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 ...

rivers, southeast of Alexandreia.

Population

History

The origins of Trikala can be traced back to the late 18th century. The church of Agios Dimitrios ( St. Demetrius) was built in 1750. The original name of the town, before the first refugees from

Northern Thrace Northern Thrace or North Thrace ( bg, Северна Тракия, as opposed to Western Thrace and East Thrace to the south; tr, Kuzey Trakya; el, Βόρεια Θράκη), also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest par ...

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 ...

arrived in 1925, was ''Karyes'' (meaning walnut trees), the current name, Trikala, means "thrice good". Trikala was in

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) ...

until 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 ...

of 1913, afterwards, it became part of

. The majority of the population of Trikala to this day is made up by immigrants arriving from the

region of Bulgaria after a mutual population exchange between the two countries and their descendants. In 1935, Trikala saw an influx of

Sarakatsani The Sarakatsani ( el, Σαρακατσάνοι, also written Karakachani, bg, каракачани) are an ethnic Greek population subgroup who were traditionally transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring ...

settlers. Some refugees from

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

arrived before 1940. (in Greek). Trikala Municipality. www.dim-trikal.ima.gr. Retrieved 2010-01-17.

Notable people

Sports

Dimitrios Itoudis Dimitrios Itoudis (alternate spelling: Dimitris) ( gr, Δημήτριος Ιτούδης, born September 8, 1970) is a Greek professional basketball basketball coach, coach, who is the current head coach of Fenerbahçe S.K. (basketball), Fenerbah ...

, Basketball coach * Dimitrios Manos, Football player *

Sokratis Dioudis Sokratis Dioudis ( gr, Σωκράτης Διούδης; born 3 February 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin and the Greece national team. Club career Aris Dioudis was promot ...

, Football player *

Giorgos Koutsias Georgios Κoutsias ( el, Γεώργιος Κούτσιας; born 8 February 2004) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire FC ...

, Football player

External links

Trikala on GTP Travel Pages

References