Xanthi (, el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ξάνθης, Turkish: İskeçe) is one of the
regional units of Greece. 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 ...
of
East Macedonia and Thrace. The capital is
Xanthi. Together with the regional units
Rhodope and
Evros, it forms the geographical region of
Western Thrace.
Geography
Xanthi borders the
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 Mac ...
n provinces of
Smolyan and
Kardzhali to the north, and the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...
to the south. The regional unit of
Kavala lies to the west,
Drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
to the northwest and
Rhodope to the east. The
Rhodope Mountains cover the northern part of the regional unit. The highest point is ''Koula'', at 1,827m.
The coastal area has a predominantly Mediterranean climate, whereas the northern mountainous part has a colder continental climate.
Administration
The regional unit Xanthi is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
*
Abdera (''Avdira'', 2)
*
Myki (3)
*
Topeiros (4)
*
Xanthi (1)
Prefecture
Xanthi was established as a
prefecture in 1944 ( el, Νομός Ξάνθης), when it was split off from the
Rhodope Prefecture. 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.
[
]
Transport
* GR-2/ E90, Via Egnatia, old and new, SW, Cen., S, SE
* GR-12/E90, W, Cen.
* GR-55
*Railway Thesaloniki-Alexandroupoli
Culture
The remains of the ancient city of Abdera have been excavated. Subterranean Macedon
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 b ...
ian tombs from the 2nd century BC have been discovered in Komnina.
There is a Byzantine castle near the old town of Xanthi. During the 19th century, local tobacco production and commerce developed rapidly. The manors of the old city Xanthi, many of which are still intact, testify to the prosperity of the tobacco merchants during this period.
See also
* List of settlements in the Xanthi regional unit
*Slavic toponyms of places in Xanthi Prefecture
Many inhabited places in Xanthi Prefecture of Greece had older Greek and non-Greek forms. Most of those names were in use during the multinational environment of the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the region until the Balkan Wars on 1912–1913. ...
References
{{Authority control
Prefectures of Greece
1944 establishments in Greece
Regional units of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace