Polykastro

Polykastro municipality Δημοτική Ενότητα Πολυκάστρου (Πολύκαστρο)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Central Macedonia
Regional District :	Kilkis
Municipality :	Peonia
Geographic coordinates :	41 ° 0 ′  N , 22 ° 34 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 0 ′  N , 22 ° 34 ′  E
Height above d. M .:	33 - 60 - 225 m Limnotopos - Polykastro - Iriniko
Area :	312.717 km²
Residents :	11,822 (2011)
Population density :	37.8 inhabitants / km²
Code No .:	090201
Structure:	1 city district 10 local communities
Located in Peonia Municipality and Kilkis Regional Unit

Polykastro ( Greek Πολύκαστρο ( n. Sg. ), Lot (s) Burg (s) '; . Bulg / maz. Rugunovec Ругуновец; originally Karasuli Καρασούλι to . Turk kara , black' and sular , waters', probably meaning 'Swamp') is a small Greek town and seat of the municipality of Peonia in the Central Macedonia region . Until 2010 it was a separate municipality in Kilkis Prefecture .

memorial

geography

Polykastro is located on the northern edge of the Central Macedonian Plain on the right bank of the Axios River , which delimits the area to the west from the municipality of Axioupolis . The municipality of Evropos borders on Polykastro in the southwest. A hilly region begins north of Polykastro and extends to the Greek-Macedonian border. The Greek- North Macedonian border is also the northern limit of the municipality, the northernmost village of which is Evzoni . In the south the area borders on the municipality of Chalkidona , in the east on the municipality of Kilkis .

history

The area has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age. Two remains of settlements from this period can be found in Axiochori (Amydon) and Limnotopos (Carabia). In the Bronze Age, the Paionians took possession of the area that is now the municipality of Polykastro. The Amydon settlement became the main settlement in the Paionien landscape . In the 5th century BC the Macedonians conquered the area of ​​the municipality of Polykastro and added it to the Kingdom of Macedonia.

After the Macedonians were defeated by the Romans in 168 BC. The area of ​​today's municipality of Polykastro came under Roman control and subsequently became part of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman province of Macedonia . During the Roman reign, the Amydon settlement was destroyed and the Tauriana settlement founded as the forerunner of today's Polykastro. In the end of the Roman reign up to the division of the empire in AD 395, the area of ​​today's municipality of Polykastro was repeatedly exposed to invasions by tribes as part of the migration of peoples. After the division of the empire, the area fell to the Eastern Roman, later the Byzantine Empire . Due to its location near the border, the area around today's Polykastro was repeatedly the scene of armed conflicts with opponents of the Byzantine Empire invading from the north. In the 13th century, the Byzantine emperors arranged for the existing fortifications to be rebuilt.

The Byzantine rule ended after a Serbian interlude around 1350 in the year 1397: the Ottoman Empire added what is today the municipality to its domain. In the 15th century, the economic mainstay of today's municipality of Polykastro was agriculture. In addition to the local Greek population, Slavic and Turkish residents also cultivated the landscape. During the 16th century, the Sarakatsani area, and during the 17th and 18th centuries, Vlachs settled in the region.

During the Greek Revolution of 1821, the inhabitants of today's Polykastro community rose unsuccessfully against Ottoman rule. In 1870 the railway connection of today's municipality Polykastro (then name Karasouli ) to the railway line Skopje-Veles-Gevgelija-Thessaloniki took place.

Salonika Front Memorial.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, today's municipality of Polykastro became the scene of civil war-like conditions. Armed clashes broke out between the Greek and Slavic sections of the population and the Ottoman authorities. In 1900 Karasouli (today: Polykastro) had 340 Bulgarian, 200 Turkish, 55 Vlachian and 4 other inhabitants, according to the Bulgarian ethnographer Vasil Kanchov. The Bulgarian ethnographer Dimitar Mishev estimated the population at 312 supporters of the Bulgarian Exarchate, 114 Bulgarian supporters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and 30 Vlachs. According to Greek sources, the total population of 7,000 in today's municipality was made up of 1,000 Greeks, 4,000 Bulgarians and 2,000 Muslims (mainly Turks).

The Ottoman rule ended with the First Balkan War in October / November 1912, when Greek troops conquered the area of ​​today's municipality of Polykastro. The peace treaty of Bucharest in 1913 led to the final incorporation of today's municipal area into what was then the Kingdom of Greece. After the Balkan Wars, the Greek inhabitants of the settlements of Gevgelija , Bogandica and Bogorodica (now all of the Republic of Macedonia) left and settled in the area of ​​today's municipality Polykastro (then Karasouli).

During the First World War , the municipality was the scene of battles between the Central Powers (Bulgaria, German Empire, Austria-Hungary) and the Allies of the Entente (Great Britain, France, Serbia, Russian Empire and Kingdom of Greece). In 1915 British and French troops landed in Thessaloniki and formed a bridgehead there ( Salonika Front ). In view of its military power, the Kingdom of Greece had to tolerate the formation of bridgeheads despite a policy of neutrality. An offensive by the Bulgarian army carried out in 1916 brought the area of ​​Polykastro temporarily under the control of the Central Powers before an Allied counter-offensive pushed the Bulgarian armed forces back in the same year. After considerable internal political unrest and strong foreign policy pressure, the Kingdom of Greece entered the war against the Central Powers on the side of the Entente in 1917. In 1918, Allied troops were able to significantly weaken the troops of the Central Powers in a major offensive, including the Battle of Skra-di-Legen, and force them to withdraw the front line to the north. In the peace treaty of Neuilly in 1919, Greece and Bulgaria agreed on a “population exchange.” This meant that the Bulgarian population had to leave today's municipality of Polykastro. In return, Greek parts of the population from Eastern Rumelia were settled. In 1919 Karasouli was recognized as a rural community (kinotita) .

The Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and its conclusion through the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 triggered another “ population exchange ”: the Turkish population of today's municipality of Polykastro had to leave it for Turkey. In return, the Greek population settled from the Black Sea region (Pontos), Paphlagonia and Bithynia (Asia Minor).

In 1928 the name Mavrosouli (Greek mavros , black) appeared for the village. Officially, however, the name was changed to Polykastro that year.

During the Second World War , Polykastro was conquered by the German Wehrmacht on April 8, 1941 and remained under German occupation until October 1944.

In 1986 the municipality of Polykastro was merged with the municipality of Limnotopos under the name of Polykastro and raised to the status of a municipality (dimos) . With the Greek local government reform Schedio Kapodistrias in 1997, some surrounding rural communities were incorporated into Polykastro. In 2010, Polykastro merged with four other municipalities to form the new large municipality of Peonia , where it has since formed a municipality

structure

For the structure, see Peonia # Gemeindegliederung .

traffic

Street

The most important road traffic axis is the motorway 1 , which leads from the north (Macedonian border at Evzoni ) to the south in the direction of Thessaloniki and on to Athens . The Autobahn 1 (formerly the new National Road 1) was built during the period of the Greek military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974. There is a motorway junction at Polykastro / Kilkis .

Another road connection is the provincial road running from east ( Kilkis ) to west (Axioupolis). It crosses the Axios river and is the last efficient road bridge on the Greek side to the north. Local and long-distance public transport on the road network is implemented with buses. The old national road 1, parallel to Autobahn 1 near the Axios, is of secondary importance.

rail

Polykastro has a train station on the Thessaloniki – Idomeni railway line . To the north takes you via Axioupolis and Idomeni to North Macedonia and Skopje . To the south it leads to Thessaloniki and Athens . It is part of Pan-European Transport Corridor X .

air traffic

There is a small airport to the west of the village of Polykastro. This is used exclusively as an air force base.

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. ^ ^{A b} Nicholas GL Hammond: Historical Geography and Prehistory (= A History of Macedonia. Vol. 1). Clarendon Press, Oxford 1972.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Μιχαήλ Β. Σακελλαρίου (Ed.): Μακεδονία, 4000 χρόνια ελληνικής ιστορίας και πολιτισμού. Εκδοτική Αθηνών, Αθήνα 1982.
4. ^ ^{A b} Frank E. Reed: Centennia. Historical Atlas. Chicago IL, Clockwork Software 1992, ISBN 0-9704771-0-4 .
5. ↑ ^{a b} Apostolos Vakalopulos: Greek history from 1204 to today. Romiosini et al., Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-923728-15-8 .
6. ↑ Κωνσταντίνος Απ. Βακαλόπουλος: Νεότερη ιστορία της Μακεδονίας, 1830-1912. Από τη γένεση του νεοελληνικού κράτους ως την απελευθέρωση. Μπαρμπουνάκης, Θεσσαλονίκη 1986.
7. ↑ Dikaeos Vassiliadis, "History of Polykastro" Polykastro
8. ↑ Василъ Кѫнчовъ: Македония. Етнография и статистика. Българското книжовно дружество, София 1900, p. 151.
9. ↑ DM Brancoff: La Macédoine et sa population Chrétienne. Librairie Plon, Paris 1905, pp. 194-195 .