Amyntaio

Amyntaio
Αμύνταιο
Municipality
Church in central Amyntaio.
Church in central Amyntaio.
Amyntaio is located in Greece
Amyntaio
Amyntaio
Location within the region
Coordinates: 40°41′N 21°41′E / 40.683°N 21.683°E / 40.683; 21.683
CountryGreece
Administrative regionWest Macedonia
Regional unitFlorina
Area
 • Municipality589.4 km2 (227.6 sq mi)
 • Municipal unit249.9 km2 (96.5 sq mi)
Elevation
589 m (1,932 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Municipality14,169
 • Density24/km2 (62/sq mi)
 • Municipal unit
6,961
 • Municipal unit density28/km2 (72/sq mi)
 • Community
4,348
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registrationΡΑ

Amyntaio (Greek: Αμύνταιο, before 1928: Σόροβιτς – Sorovits;[2] Bulgarian: Суровичево, Сорович), is a town and municipality in the Florina regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. The population of Amyntaio proper is 4,348, while that of the entire municipality is 14,169 (2021).[1] The town is named after the ancient king of Macedon, and father of Philip II and grandfather of Alexander the Great, Amyntas III.

History

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The village mosque was destroyed and located at the site of the present Municipal Centre building.[3] The Church of St. Konstantinos and Helen was declared a hazard to public safety and demolished with tanks in the late twentieth century.[4]

Archaeological excavations

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On March 4, 2007, an unknown civilization around four lakes that lasted from 6000 BC to 60 BC has been uncovered in two important excavations of a Neolithic and an Iron Age settlement in the Amyntaio district of Florina, northern Greece.[5][6]

A 7,300-year-old home with a timber floor, remnants of food supplies and blackberry seeds are among the findings in a Neolithic settlement near the lakes of Vegoritida, Petres, Heimatitida and Zazari. Garments, women's fashions and burial customs in northern Eordaia 3,000 years ago are coming to light among the hundreds of funeral offerings in a forgotten necropolis dating from the Iron Age in western Macedonia.[5][7][6]

More than 100 years after the excavation at Agios Panteleimonas in Amyntaio in the Florina prefecture – known in the bibliography as the Pateli Necropolis – by the Russian Archaeological Institute of Istanbul, a systematic investigation of 12 tombs by the 17th Antiquities Ephorate has found a total of 358 tombs dating from between 950 BC and 550 BC. Although the first discovery in 1898 of 376 graves produced many findings, now in the Istanbul Museum, the necropolis between the lakes of Heimatitida and Petres has revealed hundreds more graves.[5][7][6]

Not far from Amyntaio is the archaeological site of Petres. A site dating back to the Bronze age, based on poterry found there. During the 4th century Philip II built there the city of Petres. The site was destroyed during the 1st century.[8]

In the summer of 2017 the remnants of a remarkable Roman villa were discovered.[9]

Transport

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Amyntaio station is a railway junction, where the line to Kozani branches off from the Platy-Florina main line.

Municipality

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Amyntaio Power Plant

The municipality Amyntaio was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[10]

The municipality has an area of 589.369 km2, the municipal unit 249.852 km2.[11]

Subdivisions

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The municipal unit of Amyntaio is divided into the following communities:[10]

Economy

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ Institute for Neohellenic Research. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Sorovits – Amyntaio". Pandektis. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ Stavridopoulos, Ioannis (2015). Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα [Monuments of the other: The management of the Ottoman cultural heritage of Macedonia from 1912 until present] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). University of Ioannina. p. 282. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  4. ^ Andreou, Andreas; Kasvikis, Kostas (2018). "The Difficult Past of a Town: The Resonant Silences and Suppressed Memories of Florina's Cultural Heritage" (PDF). MuseumEdu. 6: 155.
  5. ^ a b c "Forgotten necropolis | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  6. ^ a b c "Neolithic: Four Lakes Region". Sklithro-Zelenich-Sebalći. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  7. ^ a b Mavrodakou, Pinelopi (2020-01-01). ""Early Iron Age grave finds from the tumuli cemetery of Agios Panteleimon (Pateli) at Amyntaio in western Macedonia"". master's thesis (IHU).
  8. ^ Farrar, Linda (1996). Gardens of Italy and the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire: From the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-86054-837-9.
  9. ^ Mirtsioti G., The Stunning Ancient Roman Villa Discovered in Amyntaio, Greece is, March 14th, 2018
  10. ^ a b "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  11. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
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