Grevena (regional unit)

Grevena Regional Unit Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Γρεβενών (Γρεβενά)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Western Macedonia
Area :	2,291 km²
Residents :	31,757 (2011)
Population density :	13.9 inhabitants / km²
NUTS 3 code no. :	-
Structure:	2 municipalities
Website:	www.grevena.gov.gr

The regional district of Grevena ( Greek Periferiaki Enotita Grevenon ) is the southernmost of the four regional districts of the Greek region of Western Macedonia . The main town is the eponymous and largest city Grevena . Grevena was formed in 1964 as a prefecture from parts of the then prefectures Grevena- Kozani and Larisa and lost its prefectural status through the administrative reform of 2010 . The Grevena regional district sends seven members to the West Macedonian regional council, but has no political significance beyond that. The number of municipalities has been reduced to two, of which the municipality of Grevena is the largest municipality in Greece with almost 1860 km².

geography

The Grevena regional district is located in the very south-west of Western Macedonia. It is bordered by the Kozani regional unit to the north and east, the Kastoria regional unit to the north and northwest, the Larisa regional unit ( Thessaly ) to the south-east, the Ioannina ( Epirus ) regional unit to the west and southwest, and the Trikala (Thessaly ) unit to the south ).

The landscape of Grevena is predominantly mountainous. Especially in the west of the regional district it is characterized by the mountain range of the Pindos Mountains . This region also has the highest elevation in the regional district, the Vassilitsa in the Ligos ridge at 2243 m above sea level. d. The course of the Aliakmonas River runs through the area from north-west to initially south-east in the central part of the district ; The tributaries of the Aliakmonas such as the Greveniotis and Venetikos also contribute to this, which flow from the southwest of the prefecture to the northeast or east and flow into the Aliakmonas. To the south, the Grevena prefecture is bounded by the Chasia Mountains (1615 m above sea level), to the northeast by the Vourinos (1865 m above sea level), which marks the border with the Kozani regional district. Between the southeastern foothills of the Vourinos and the Kamvounia Mountains (1055 m above sea level) in the southeast of the regional district, the Aliakmonas swings its course to the northeast and leaves the area and flows into the south of the Kozani regional district. This region is also the lowest point in the regional district.

history

The area of ​​the Grevena regional district roughly corresponds to the ancient landscape of Elimiotis . This is the name given to the landscape around the central reaches of the Aliakmonas River. Elimea was southwest of the ancient landscape of Eordaia (corresponding to the Kozani regional district and the southern parts of the Florina regional district) and southeast of the ancient landscape of Orestis (the modern regional district of Kastoria). The landscape was inhabited by the Elimeans. In 434 BC King Derdas I of Elimiotis supported Philip , the brother of the Macedonian king Perdiccas II , in his challenge to Perdiccas for the throne of the Macedonian kingdom. In 358 BC the Kingdom of Elima was conquered by Philip II and incorporated into the Kingdom of Macedonia. Elimea stayed with Macedonia until it was conquered by the Roman Empire in 168 BC.

traffic

The road network forms the backbone of both private and commercial individual transport and of local and long-distance public transport. The area of ​​the regional district is connected to the Greek motorway network by motorway 2 (Egnatia Odos) . This connects Igoumenitsa and Ioannina in the west with Kozani , Veria and Thessaloniki in the east.

The National Highway 15 connects with twisty, mountainous route Kozani in the north with Grevena and leads south to Kalambaka to National Road 6 .

Grevena does not have a rail link. The nearest national airports of Kastoria and Kozani are a little over 50 km north of the city of Grevena and outside the regional district, the international airport of Thessaloniki is around 200 kilometers from Grevena.

Web links

• Regional district web presence (Greek)
• Aerial photos of the prefecture (description in Greek)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
2. ↑ Law Gazette of October 30, 1964 (PDF; 456 kB; Greek)