Kavala (prefecture)

Kavala Prefecture Νομός Καβάλας

Basic data (April 2010)
State :	Greece
Administrative region :	East Macedonia and Thrace
Surface:	2,110 km²
Residents:	141,499
Population density:	-
Prefecture logo:
Capital:	Kavala
Municipalities (δήμοι):	11
Rural communities (κοινότητες):	0
NUTS 3 code :	EL515
License plate :	KB ( K a v ala)
Website :	www.kavala.gr

The prefecture of Kavala ( Greek Νομαρχιακό Διαμέρισμα Καβάλας Nomarchiako Diamerisma Kavalas ) was until 2010 the easternmost prefecture of the Greek region of Macedonia . Together with Drama and Xanthi , it last formed as a prefecture area (gr. Nomarchiako diamerisma ) until 2010 the over-prefecture Drama-Kavala-Xanthi. With the administrative reform in 2010 , the prefecture was dissolved and exists in the form of two regional districts ( Ez.gr.periferiaki enotita ) of the East Macedonia and Thrace region , namely Kavala (the mainland area of the previous prefecture) and Thasos , which, however, apart from the allocation of seats in the regional council have no political significance. The number of municipalities in the prefectural area was reduced to four at the same time through amalgamation.

geography

Geographical location

The area of the prefecture consists of a coastal strip of the northern Aegean up to around 20 kilometers wide between the mouth of the Strymonas in the west and the lower reaches of the Nestos to the east. It surrounds the bay of Kavala , in front of which lies the island of Thasos , which, like the smaller Thasopoula, also belonged to the prefecture. The massif of the Pangeo in the west forms the border with the former Serres prefecture , in the north Kavala bordered on the prefecture Drama , the Strymonas in the east forms the border with historical Thrace with the former prefecture Xanthi .

In addition to the Pangeo, the summit of which forms the highest point in the prefecture at 1,926 m, the area of the prefecture is characterized by the southern foothills of the Greek Rhodopes , which extend as far as the coast. To the west of the capital Kavala is the chain of the Symvolo (1,298 m), north of the capital the Lekani Mountains rise , and the island of Thasos is mountainous and rises to an altitude of 1,206 m. In the northwest, the prefecture has a share in the plain of Drama , in the east the right-hand estuary of the Nestos, whose alluvial land has formed a peninsula in the North Aegean, is the largest flatland in the prefecture.

geology

Like the rest of Greece, the area of the prefecture of Kavala is a place of faults with the considerable risk of earthquakes. Several faults run within the area: partly the 120 km long Kavala-Xanthi-Komotini fault in the center and east of the prefecture and the 10 km long Ofrinio-Galipsos fault in the west of the prefecture.

Municipalities (1997-2010)

No.	local community	Area ( km² )	Pop.	Seat	Pop.	Villages (Ew.)
1	Kavala (Καβάλα)	112,599	63.293	Kavala	58,663	Nea Karvali (2,244) Paleo Tsifliki (1,848)
2	Eleftheroupoli (Ελευθερούπολη)	125.632	11,401	Eleftheroupoli	4,898	Kokkinochoma (1,746) Amisiana (1,122)
3	Eleftheres (Ελευθερές)	150.555	7,376	Nea Peramos (Νέα Πέραμος)	2,468	Eleftheres (1,325) Eleochori (1,126)
4th	Thasos (Θάσος)	380.097	13,765	Limenas Thasou	3.130	Limenaria (2,441) Potamia (1,216) Prinos (1,185)
5	Keramoti (Κεραμωτή)	115.095	6,039	Keramoti	1,228	Nea Karya (1,734) Agiasma (1,158) Piges (1,036)
6th	Orino (Ορεινό)	318,555	1,769	Lekani (Λεκάνη)	608
7th	Orfani (Ορφάνι)	200.862	5,140	Galipsos (Γαληψός)	433
8th	Pangeo (Παγγαίο)	79.634	4,764	Nikisiani (Νικήσιανη)	2,451	Paleochori (1,607)
9	Pieris (Πιερείς)	144.744	5,002	Moustheni (Μουσθένη)	1,075
10	Filippi (Φίλιπποι)	238,751	10,827	Krinides (Κρηνίδες)	3,295	Amygdaleonas (1,697) Zygos (1,485)
11	Chrysoupoli (Χρυσούπολη)	245.181	15,678	Chrysoupoli	8.004	Chrysochori (1,793)

climate

The climate in the region is mainly continental with cold winters in the higher areas.

history

The capital and most important settlement of the prefecture of Kavala, the city of the same name, was founded in the 7th century BC. Founded by settlers from the island of Thasos as Neapolis. It was part of the Thasitian Peraia , which in addition to Neapolis also included other settlements on the coast of the Aegean Sea. In the 6th century BC Settlers on the island of Thasos founded the settlement of Krinides in order to use the plains there for agriculture and to exploit the neighboring gold mines. Krinides particularly prospered through mining and was the target of the conquests of the Macedonian King Philip II (Macedonia). This renamed the city after the conquest in Philippi.

The Macedonian King Philip II conquered the area of the prefecture of Kavala around 350 BC. And incorporated it into the Macedonian Kingdom. The Macedonian rule could prevail in the area of today's prefecture until the final defeat of Macedonia against the Roman Empire in the Third / Fifth Macedonian-Roman War in 168 BC. Hold. Subsequently, the area of today's prefecture became part of the Roman Empire and part of a Roman province. 42 BC Today's Kavala Prefecture becomes the scene of armed conflicts as part of the struggle for political supremacy in the Roman Empire. The Roman general Octavian (and later Emperor Augustus) prevailed in Philippi against the generals Cassius and Brutus. In 50 AD the apostle Paul came to Philippi and founded the first Christian church on European soil there. The corresponding letters from Paul to the congregation found their way into the Bible as so-called Philippians letters. At the time of Paul's stay, the city of Philippi is said to have a population of 25,000.

With the division of the empire in 395 AD, the area of today's Kavala Prefecture fell to the Byzantine Empire. In 475 AD, Goths devastated the area of today's prefecture, especially the then dominant city of Philippi. The Byzantines were able to effectively control the area until the 10th century. Under Byzantine rule, today's city of Kavala was called Christopolis.

From the 10th century the Byzantines temporarily lost control, initially repeatedly to the Bulgarians bordering to the north. In 1204 today's Kavala prefecture fell to the Kingdom of Thessaloniki, a crusader state that emerged after the conquest of Constantinople. This could only hold his suzerainty for a few years and lost control of the area to the Bulgarian Empire. From the middle of the 13th century, the latter had to leave the area to the resurgent Byzantine Empire. However, its resurgence was not enough for permanent rule: the Serbian King Stefan IV. Uros Dusan conquered the area in 1345. Its untimely death and the subsequent power vacuum favored the conquest of the area by the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 14th century. In 1380, what was then and now the most important city in today's Kavala Prefecture fell to the Ottoman Empire .

The Ottoman Empire ruled the area as part of Rumelia until the first Balkan War . Under the Ottoman rule, the city of Kavala developed into an important trade and transport hub. In 1910 goods worth 42 million francs were exported through the port of Kavala; this contrasted with imports valued at 12.5 million francs. Almost two thirds of the annual tobacco harvest of 1910 was exported via Kavala.

After the first Balkan War in 1912, the area of today's Kavala Prefecture fell from the Ottoman Empire to Bulgaria. In the Second Balkan War, the Greek Navy captured the city of Kavala on July 10, 1913. The Bulgarian defeat in the Second Balkan War and the subsequent peace negotiations in Bucharest led to the city and the hinterland remaining under Greek control. On the other hand, in the peace negotiations in Bucharest after the Second Balkan War, ownership of the city of Kavala and its hinterland remains a bitter issue between Greece and Bulgaria. In the so-called “Kavala Question”, opposites between the local adversaries and the major European powers crystallized: Germany preferred Greek rule over Kavala, Russia supported Bulgaria in its quest for a port on the Aegean coast. Austria-Hungary supported Russia and Bulgaria. France supported the Greek position. Romania too.

As part of the consolidation of Greek rule after the Second Balkan War, Kavala and its surroundings were assigned to the newly created Drama prefecture in the province (Generalgouvernement) of Macedonia (by royal decree of March 31, 1915). On November 29, 1913, Kavalla became the headquarters of the Greek Army.

The city of Kavala was also the condensation point of the exodus of the Turkish population of today's prefecture and its hinterland: by February 1914, 40,000 Turkish refugees had left what is now Greece via the port of Kavala.

During the First World War (1914-1918) fierce fighting took place in the area of the prefecture of Kavala between Bulgaria, on the one hand, and Allied troops, on the other hand, on the side of the Central Powers. As a result of the conflict over Greece's participation in the First World War, Greek troops initially behaved neutrally on the Entente side and vacated the area of the prefecture or did not defend it against the advancing Bulgarian troops. After the fall of Serres on August 19, 1916, Drama and Kavala fell simultaneously to the troops of the Central Powers on September 18, 1916.

When Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente after Eleftherios Venizelos came to power and the Greek king resigned under pressure from the Entente, Greek troops fought alongside Allied troops of the Entente against Bulgarian and German forces. After the end of the First World War, the region around the prefecture of Kavala remained Greek. From 1923, larger areas in the agriculturally fertile areas of the prefecture were distributed to Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace, who had to leave their homeland after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1923): the plains on the Nestos River are particularly affected and the plain around Philippi.

After the First World War, Kavala became a center of the Greek labor movement and communism alongside Thessaloniki. In the parliamentary elections in 1926, the communists in Kavala won 10 to 15% of the vote. In January 1936, the communists won 25% of the vote in the last Greek parliamentary election before the Metaxas dictatorship began.

Before the Second World War 1940, the prefecture of Kavala had 118,432 inhabitants and an area of 2169 km² (the city of Kavala 50,852 inhabitants).

Before the Second World War, around 2000 people of Jewish faith lived in Kavala. In 1983 only seven people of Jewish faith lived in Kavala.

After the attack by the German Reich on Greece on April 6, 1941, the prefecture of Kavala was conquered within a week in the wake of the fighting: On April 10, 1941, German troops advanced into the city of Kavala. A short time later the German occupation forces handed over the area of the prefecture of Kavala to their Bulgarian allies. On May 10, 1941, German troops destroyed the Kavala synagogue. The Bulgarian occupation of the prefecture lasted until October 1944.

Economy and Infrastructure

Kavala Prefecture has been a center of the tobacco industry since the 19th century.

Kavala was the most developed prefecture in northeastern Greece until the 1990s: this economic and infrastructural special position was lost at the beginning of the 1990s.

traffic

The area of the prefecture is connected to the European flight network through the international airport Kavala . The main road connection is the Greek A2 , which crosses the prefecture from west to east. On January 13, 2009, the A2 in the prefecture area was completed. The prefecture has a continuous motorway connection to the east to Turkey as well as to the west (Thessaloniki, Veria, Kozani, Grevena) and to the south (Larisa, Lamia, Athens). The national road 12 branches off the coastal highway to the north and thus connects the capital Kavala with Drama. Between the mouth of the Strymonas and Kavala, the national road 2 follows the coastline, east of Kavala it runs parallel to the A2 to Xanthi. The city of Kavala also has the most important port in Eastern Macedonia, from which there are ferry connections to the islands of Thasos and Samothraki .

Personalities

Mehmet Ali (* 1769, Kavala). Viceroy of Egypt.
Dimitrios Partsalidis (* 1905, Trabzon; † 1980). Politicians and resistance fighters in World War II. Signed the Varkiza Agreement in 1945. After the fall of the military dictatorship, party leader of the Greek Eurocommunists (Kommunistiko Komma Ellados Esoterikou). Worked in the tobacco industry in Kavala in the 1920s and became mayor of the city as a member of the Communist Party of Greece.

Web links

Web presence of the Drama-Kavala-Xanthi Prefecture (Greek)

Individual evidence

↑ The population figures come from a brochure of the Greek Ministry of the Interior from May 2010 on the occasion of the administrative reform under the 'Kallikratis Law': Elliniki Dimokratia, Ypourgeio Esoterikon, Apokendrosis ke Ilektronikis Diakyvernisis: "Programma Kallikratis", Systasi, syngrotisi Dimon, Periferion ke Apikokendromenon ti Nea Architektoniki tis Aftodiikisis ke tis Apokendromenis Diikisis, Athens 2010.
↑ AHF Robertson, Demosthenis Mountrakis: Tectonic Development of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Geological Society of London.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Andreas Neumeier, Peter Kanzler: Northern and Central Greece. Michael Müller Verlag, p. 392 ff.
^ The Greek settlements in Thrace until the Macedonian conquest by Benjamin H. Isaac
↑ ^a ^b Andreas Neumeier, Peter Kanzler: Northern and Central Greece. Michael Müller Verlag, p. 399.
^ John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans.
↑ ^a ^b Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 238.
^ ^A ^b Richard C. Hall: The Balkan Wars 1912-1913. A prelude to First World War. Routledge, New York 2000, ISBN 0-415-22946-4 , p. 124.
^ Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 59.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 64.
^ Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , pp. 221-222.
^ Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 227.
^ Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 258.
^ RW Seton-Watson: The War and Democracy.
^ Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy: The European Powers in the First World War.
↑ Elizabeth Kontogiorgi: Population Exchange in Greek Macedonia. The rural settlement of refugees 1922-1930. Oxford Historical Monographs. Clarendon Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-927896-2 , p. 300.
^ ^A ^b Tobacco, Arms, and Politics Von Mogens Pelt.
↑ Globus-Jahrbuch of the German publishing house published by Deutscher Verlag Berlin
^ Documents on the History of the Greek Jews. By Photini Constantopoulou, Historiko Archeio tou Hypourgeiou Exōterikōn (Greece), Thanos Veremēs, Greece Hypourgeio Exōterikōn, Panepistēmio Athēnōn Tmēma Politikēs Epistēmēs kai Dēmosias Dioikēsēs
^ ^A ^b Joshua Eli Plaut: Greek Jewry in the 20th Century, 1913–1981: patterns of Jewish Survival in the Greek provinces before and after the Holocaust. Associated University Presses, Cranbury 1996, ISBN 0-8386-3463-X , p. 55.
↑ The 50th Infantry Division 1939–1945 From traditional community 50 Infantry Division.
^ Industrialization in Developing and Peripheral Regions. By FE Ian Hamilton
↑ Nicholas Konsolas, Athanassios Papadaskalopoulos: Regional Development in Greece.
↑ General German Realencyklopadie for the educated classes. FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig.

[1] The population figures come from a brochure of the Greek Ministry of the Interior from May 2010 on the occasion of the administrative reform under the 'Kallikratis Law': Elliniki Dimokratia, Ypourgeio Esoterikon, Apokendrosis ke Ilektronikis Diakyvernisis: "Programma Kallikratis", Systasi, syngrotisi Dimon, Periferion ke Apikokendromenon ti Nea Architektoniki tis Aftodiikisis ke tis Apokendromenis Diikisis, Athens 2010.

[A1-2] AHF Robertson, Demosthenis Mountrakis: Tectonic Development of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Geological Society of London.

[A02A-3] Andreas Neumeier, Peter Kanzler: Northern and Central Greece. Michael Müller Verlag, p. 392 ff.

[A2-4] The Greek settlements in Thrace until the Macedonian conquest by Benjamin H. Isaac

[A02C-5] Andreas Neumeier, Peter Kanzler: Northern and Central Greece. Michael Müller Verlag, p. 399.

[A110-6] John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-238-7] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 238.

[HALL-BALKANWARS-124-8] A ^b Richard C. Hall: The Balkan Wars 1912-1913. A prelude to First World War. Routledge, New York 2000, ISBN 0-415-22946-4 , p. 124.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-059-9] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 59.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-064-10] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 64.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-221ff-11] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , pp. 221-222.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-227-12] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 227.

[BOECKH-BALKRIEG-258-13] Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War: Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans. Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 258.

[A5-14] RW Seton-Watson: The War and Democracy.

[A101-15] Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy: The European Powers in the First World War.

[KONTO-POPEXGREMAC-300-16] Elizabeth Kontogiorgi: Population Exchange in Greek Macedonia. The rural settlement of refugees 1922-1930. Oxford Historical Monographs. Clarendon Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-927896-2 , p. 300.

[A103-17] A ^b Tobacco, Arms, and Politics Von Mogens Pelt.

[A100-18] Globus-Jahrbuch of the German publishing house published by Deutscher Verlag Berlin

[A7-19] Documents on the History of the Greek Jews. By Photini Constantopoulou, Historiko Archeio tou Hypourgeiou Exōterikōn (Greece), Thanos Veremēs, Greece Hypourgeio Exōterikōn, Panepistēmio Athēnōn Tmēma Politikēs Epistēmēs kai Dēmosias Dioikēsēs

[PLAUT-GREJEW-055-20] A ^b Joshua Eli Plaut: Greek Jewry in the 20th Century, 1913–1981: patterns of Jewish Survival in the Greek provinces before and after the Holocaust. Associated University Presses, Cranbury 1996, ISBN 0-8386-3463-X , p. 55.

[A99-21] The 50th Infantry Division 1939–1945 From traditional community 50 Infantry Division.

[A8-22] Industrialization in Developing and Peripheral Regions. By FE Ian Hamilton

[A9-23] Nicholas Konsolas, Athanassios Papadaskalopoulos: Regional Development in Greece.

[Brockhaus-01-24] General German Realencyklopadie for the educated classes. FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig.