Pella (Municipality, Greece)

Πέλλα

Last modified: 2014-10-25 by ivan sache
Keywords: pella | giannitsa |
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• Presentation of Pella
• Former municipality of Giannitsa

See also:

• Greece
• Macedonia - Thrace

Presentation of Pella

The municipality of Pella (63,122 inhabitants in 2011; 66,860 ha) was formed in the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities of Giannitsa (Γιαννιτσά, 33,775 inh.), Krya Vrysi (Κρύα Βρύση, 10,977 inh.), Kyrros (Κύρρος, 7,645 inh.), Megas Alexandros (Μέγας Αλέξανδρος, 8,140 inh.), and Pella (6,798 inh.).

Olivier Touzeau, 19 August 2013

Former municipality of Giannitsa

Former flag of Giannitsa - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 19 August 2013

Giannitsa is as an important agricultural centre. About 7 km from Giannitsa are the ruins of ancient Pella, the birthplace of Alexander the Great and the capital of Ancient Macedonia.
The town was founded as Yenice-i Vardar in around 1372. It was an important Ottoman cultural center in the 15th-16th centuries. In the early 20th century, Yenice was a battleground between Bulgarian-Macedonian and Greek-Macedonian partisans. The Greek army captured Yenice after the Battle of Giannitsa in the First Balkan War (1912); part of the town was destroyed by fire. On 14 September 1944, during the German occupation of Greece, about 120 residents of Giannitsa were executed by forces of the Jagdkommando Schubert and collaborationist Greek units under the command of G. Poulos. Part of the town was also burned.

The former flag of Giannitsa (Kokkonis website) was white with its logo, commemorating the Battle of Giannitsa (1912).

Olivier Touzeau, 19 August 2013