Thessaloniki (regional unit)

Thessaloniki Regional Unit Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Θεσσαλονίκης (Θεσσαλονίκη)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Central Macedonia
Area :	3,683 km²
Residents :	1,110,551 (2011)
Population density :	301.5 inhabitants / km²
NUTS 3 code no. :	EL522
Structure:	7 municipalities
Website:	www.pkm.gov.gr

The regional district of Thessaloniki ( Greek Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Θεσσαλονίκης Periferiakí Enótita Thessaloníkis ) is one of the seven regional districts of the Greek region of Central Macedonia and with over 1.1 million inhabitants the most populous in all of Greece . It also includes the metropolitan area of ​​Thessaloniki around the regional capital of Thessaloniki . It was established as a prefecture in 1915 and lost this status with the administrative reform of 2010 , when the powers of the prefecture were transferred to the region of Central Macedonia and the municipalities, which had been greatly reduced by amalgamation. With 40 mandates, the regional district occupies more than half of the seats in the 71-member Central Macedonian Regional Council, but beyond that it has no political significance as a regional authority.

geography

The area of ​​the Thessaloniki regional district is located in northern Greece in the Central Macedonia region . It consists of a western part west of the Axios River and east of the Loudias River, which is completely flat. East of the Axios to the Gallikos River , the flatlands continue to the east as part of the Macedonian lowlands. The entire bay of Thessaloniki is enclosed by the regional district; in addition, the north-western tip of the Chalkidiki peninsula belongs to the Thessaloniki regional district. The Mygdonia plain with the lakes Volvi and Koronia opens up to the east, delimited by the mountain range of the Chortiatis (highest elevation in the area at 1201 m above sea level) . The southern mountain boundary of the Mygdonia plain belongs to the regional district of Chalkidiki , the northern mountain boundary with the massifs of Vertsikos and Kordelio belongs to the regional district of Thessaloniki. The eastern end of the Mygdonian plain, the valley of Rentina , is also the area of ​​the regional district of Thessaloniki, as is the extreme northeastern tip of Chalkidiki (Stavros) and the adjacent mainland (Asprovalta).

The western level of the regional district is dominated by the delta of the Axios River. This is also the largest river in the regional district in terms of its water volume, the longest river in the regional district is the Gallikos. The rivers Loudias (border with Imathia ) and Gallikos to the west and east of the course of the Axios are less prominent, but also form a landscape .

The regional district borders (clockwise, starting in the southwest) on the regional districts Pieria and Imathia, Pella , Kilkis , Serres and Chalkidiki .

structure

The prefecture of Thessaloniki was divided into 45 municipalities (dími) until 2010 . 14 of them corresponded to the Greek definition of “city” with a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants. After the restructuring by the Kapodistrias Plan at the end of the 1990s, this limit was exceeded in part by adding up the population of several localities. With the amalgamation of many of these communities, the number was reduced to 14, all of which house over 20,000 residents. The old parishes have since had the status of parish districts.

The conurbation of Thessaloniki includes the city of Thessaloniki itself and six of the surrounding municipalities or parts of them, which together with the municipality of Thessaloniki form a coherent urban area. The entire agglomeration of Thessaloniki has around one million inhabitants and is the second largest urban agglomeration in Greece after Athens-Piraeus . Districts of the city of Thessaloniki and their suburbs in the metropolitan area do not always have an administrative status as a municipality. The districts of Ano and Kato Ilioupoli, Saranda Ekklisies, Ano and Kato Toumba and Ano Poli (old town) are examples of this; they are administratively not independent, but belong to one of the municipalities in the agglomeration of Thessaloniki.

The agglomeration of Thessaloniki is the focus of the regional district around the bay of Thessaloniki. Other parts of the area such as Mygdonia and the region west of the Axios River are much less populated than the region in the immediate vicinity of the city of Thessaloniki.

List of municipalities (Ez. Dimos Δήμος) of the Thessaloniki regional district
Surname		code	Administrative headquarters	Residents 2011	Area in km²	Inhabitants / km²	Parishes
Ambelokipi-Menemeni	Αμπελόκηποι-Μενεμένη	0702	Ambelokipi	52.127	8.82	5,910	Ambelokipi , Menemeni
Chalkidona	Χαλκηδόνα	0713	Koufalia	33,673	389.54	86	Agios Athanasios , Chalkidona, Koufalia
delta	Δέλτα	0704	Sindos	45,839	308.88	148	Axios , Chalastra , Echedoros
Calamaria	Καλαμαριά	0707	Calamaria	91,279	6.401	14,260	-
Kordelio Evosmos	Κορδελιό-Εύοσμος	0708	Evosmos	101,753	12.3	8,273	Eleftherio-Kordelio , Evosmos
Langadas	Λαγκαδάς	0709	Langadas	41,103	1,220.3	34	Assiros , Kallindia , Koronia , Lachanas , Langadas, Sochos , Vertiskos
Neapoli-Sykies	Νεάπολη-Συκιές	0710	Sykies	84,741	12.76	6,641	Agios Pavlos , Neapoli , Pefka , Sykies
Oreokastro	Ωραιόκαστρο	0714	Oreokastro	38,317	217.78	176	Kallithea , Mygdonia , Oreokastro
Pavlos Melas	Παύλος Μελάς	0711	Stavroupoli	99.245	24.92	3,983	Efkarpia , Polichni , Stavroupoli
Pylea Chortiatis	Πυλαία-Χορτιάτης	0712	panorama	70.110	156.83	447	Chortiatis , panorama , pylea
Thermaikos	Θερμαϊκός	0704	Perea	50.264	131.36	383	Epanomi , Michaniona , Thermaikos
Thermi	Θέρμη	0706	Thermi	53,201	100.943	527	Mikra , Thermi, Vasilika
Thessaloniki	Θεσσαλονίκη	0701	Thessaloniki	325.182	20.85	15,596	Thessaloniki, Triandria
Volvi	Βόλβη	0703	Stavros	23,478	782.69	30th	Agios Georgios , Apollonia , Arethousa , Egnatia , Madytos , Rendina

Web links

• Official website of the prefecture (Greek, English)
• 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)