Velventos ( el, Βελβεντός) is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in Kozani regional unit,

West Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the 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 wi ...

. The 2011 census recorded 3,360 people in the village of Velventos, 3,399 in the municipal community and 3,448 in the municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 126.516 km², the community 54.573 km².

Administration

The municipality of Velventos is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Velventos (Velventos, Paliogratsano) *

Agia Kyriaki Agia Kyriaki ( el, Αγία Κυριακή, ''Agía Kyriakí'') is a small Greek island less than one mile from Astypalaia in the Dodecanese islands. On the island is the small church of Agia (Saint) Kyriaki. Every July the people of Leros ...

* Katafygio * Polyfyto The community of Velventos (before 1940: ''Velvendos'') was created in 1918. It absorbed the former community Paliogratsano in 1951. The municipality of Velventos was formed in 1985 by the merger of the communities of Velventos and Agia Kyriaki. The community of Polyfyto was absorbed in 1994, and Katafygio in 1997. At the 2011 Kallikratis reform, it became part of the new municipality Servia-Velventos. In 2019 the municipality of Velventos was recreated in its pre-2011 extension.

Population

Geography

Velventos lies at the foot of the

Pierian Mountains The Pierian Mountains (or commonly referred to as Piéria) are a mountain range between Imathia, Pieria and Kozani Region, south of the plain of Kambania in Central Macedonia, Greece. The village of Vergina, where the archaeological site of ...

, 33 km northeast of the city of

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

. It is located near the

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

of Polyfyto. A local road connects it with the GR-3/ E65 between

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

and Kozani. It is located southwest of

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

, north-northwest of Servia and

, east-northeast of

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Ath ...

and south-southeast of

. Surrounded by forests, it is located in the fertile valley of the

Haliacmon 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 ( e ...

river and produces fruit, mainly

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

es. 10.6% of the area is cultivated. Agricultural production is organised in two

agricultural cooperatives An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...

History

The area has been continually occupied since the prehistoric times. For this reason, many fruitful archaeological digs have been made in the area, unearthing mainly prehistoric findings. Velventos contains also many late

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 post-Byzantine monuments and temples, among them the 12th-century church of Saint Minas and the 14th-century church of Saint Paraskevi. During the Turkish occupation of Greece, Velventos saw great cultural development. Architect Stamatios Kleanthis was born here. Velventos became part of Greece during 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 def ...

Facilities

Velventos has a school, church, a lyceum (middle school), a gymnasium (secondary school), banks, a post office, and a square. A well organized athletic stadium for several indoor and outdoor sport activities is located at the exit of the town. There are 2 Athletic Clubs, A.C. Velventos who has Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball as their main sport activities and A.C. Taekwondo Velventos with Taekwondo and Kick Boxing.

Notable people

Numerous scholars and famous researchers were born in this area, e.g.: * Stamatios Kleanthis famous architect * Eleni Psara (pioneer of optics engineering) * Markos Palamidis, fighter during the Macedonian struggle

References

External links

Municipality of Velvento
(Greek)
Velventos (town) on GTP Travel PagesVelventos (municipality) on GTP Travel PagesArea given by West Macedonia Development Company
{{Authority control Municipalities of Western Macedonia Populated places in Kozani (regional unit)