Xanthi
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Municipality of Xanthi Δήμος Ξάνθης |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : | East Macedonia and Thrace | ||
| Regional District : | Xanthi | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 41 ° 8 ' N , 24 ° 53' E | ||
| Area : | 495.39 km² | ||
| Residents : | 65,133 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 131.5 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Post Code: | 67100 | ||
| Prefix: | (+30) 25410 | ||
| Community logo: |
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| Seat: | Xanthi | ||
| LAU-1 code no .: | 0601 | ||
| Districts : | 2 parishes | ||
| Local self-government : |
3 city districts 7 local communities |
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| Location in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace | |||
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Xanthi ( Greek Ξάνθη [ ˈksanθi ] ( f. Sg. ), Turkish İskeçe , Bulgarian Скеча Sketscha ) is a Greek city in western Thrace . Xanthi is located 121 km west of the city of Alexandroupoli , east of the city of Kavala and south of the main Rhodope ridge. Xanthi is the seat of a large university, a military court and a diocese. The Skoda Xanthi football club is one of the best run in the first division and has been playing in the new Skoda Xanthi Stadium since 2003 . The community Xanthi was established in 1924 and expanded in 1997 to include the neighboring communities of Evmiro and Kimmeria, and in 2010 to include the neighboring community of Stavroupoli to the west .
history
The first mention of the place name Xanthia (Gr. Ξάνθεια) can be found in a report from the Thracian Wars from AD 879.
In 1345 the Battle of Peritheorion took place nearby . During this time, Xanthi was the capital of the lands of the despot Momchil .
The place gained importance in the Ottoman period around 1715 as a center of the tobacco trade. Two earthquakes in 1829 destroyed the city, in 1870 a conflagration raged. In 1891 the city got a connection to the rail network. The city was besieged by the Bulgarians for 8 months in 1912, later captured by the Greek army , briefly belonged to the Provisional Government of Western Thrace formed by Turks in 1913, was assigned to Bulgaria in 1913 ( Peace of Bucharest 1913), fell after the First World War under French administration for the Entente ( Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine 1919) and shortly afterwards to Greece ( Treaty of Sèvres 1920), which was finally confirmed by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) after the Greco-Turkish War .
During the Second World War, Xanthi was occupied by Bulgarian troops .
In the last few years, Xanthi has developed from a purely administrative seat (district administration, military court, diocese) to an important industrial and service location. The Democritus University of Thrace has one of its three locations in Xanthi.
population
The city's population is made up of the Greek majority as well as Turks (Greek citizens, see Turks in Western Thrace ), Roma and a small proportion of the Pomaks who predominantly live in the north of the prefecture .
The population has developed as follows:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1940 | 31,015 |
| 1951 | 27,283 |
| 1961 | 27.802 |
| 1971 | 27,040 |
| 1981 | 33,897 |
| 1991 | 38,808 |
| 2001 | 46,464 |
| 2011 | 56,151 |
economy
Xanthi and the surrounding area, especially the nearby town of Genisea ( Turkish : Yenice, Bulgarian : Йенидже / Jenidsche), are famous for the particularly mild and sweet-aromatic oriental tobacco (mainly the Basma Xanthi and Orient Xanthi varieties ), which used to be the best and most expensive Oriental cigarettes (such as "Balkan Sobranie" etc.) was processed. Although these types of cigarettes no longer exist, tobacco is still processed today as part of American blends by the cigarette companies.
Xanthi is also known throughout Greece for its traditional chocolate specialty "Karioka", which the confectioner Georgios Papaparaskevas, who was expelled from Eastern Thrace in 1922 as part of the population exchange, first brought onto the market there in 1930. In the original recipe, the semicircular carioca is elaborately made, consists of a kind of nougat with walnut pieces on the inside, is partially coated with a biscuit batter, completely covered with dark couverture and reminiscent of Salzburg Mozart balls. In 2016, the pastry chefs from Xanthi even made it into the Guinness Book of Records with a giant carioca weighing 383 kg.
traffic
Xanthi station is on the Thessaloniki – Alexandroupoli railway line, which opened in 1896 .
Attractions
Xanthi has a well-preserved old town, the buildings of which mostly date from the first half of the 19th century and reflect the prosperity of the tobacco trade. The Agora (market halls) and the Mitropolis are worth seeing. The annual Old Town Festival and Xanthi Carnival, the country's second largest in attendance after the famous Patras Carnival, attracts visitors from all over the country. The youth festival and the Manos Hadjidakis music festival, with participants from all over the Balkans, are also worth mentioning.
The city became known mainly through the ancient place Abdera (today Avdira ) near Xanthi . From this polis came among others Democritus and Protagoras .
sons and daughters of the town
- Democritus (460 or 459 BC - around 370 BC), ancient Greek philosopher, born in Abdera (today Avdira )
- Protagoras (probably around 490 BC - probably around 411 BC), ancient Greek philosopher, born in Abdera (today Avdira )
- Melpo Merlier (1889–1979), musicologist, ethnologist and neo-Greekist
- Hamdi Şensoy , Turkish architect
- Manos Hadjidakis (1925–1994), Greek composer
- Christodoulos I (1939–2008), Archbishop of Athens and head of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece
- Şerif Gören (* 1944), Turkish film director
- Theo Kapilidis (* 1960), Greek jazz musician
- Vasilios Torosidis (* 1985), Greek football player
- Chousein Zeimbek (* 1968), Greek pharmacist and politician
Twin cities
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Gifhorn , Lower Saxony
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Novi Beograd , Serbia
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Smolyan , Bulgaria
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Biga , Turkey
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Bursa , Turkey
Web links
- The community site (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ Notes on the history of Xanthis ( Memento of November 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the community (Greek)
- ^ Archive of the census on the ELSTAT website
- ↑ Papaparaskevas: Our History - ΖΑΧΑΡΟΠΛΑΣΤΕΙΟ - ΠΑΠΑΠΑΡΑΣΚΕΥΑΣ. Retrieved June 1, 2017 (UK English).
- ↑ stazybohorn: Παπαπαρασκευάς @ Ξάνθη. January 17, 2012, accessed June 1, 2017 .
- ↑ Largest Greek carioca / karioka cake. In: Guinness World Records. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
- ↑ Old town festival with cultural and traditional aspects ( Memento from July 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Carnival Xanthi ( Memento of October 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the Xanthi Prefecture website
- ↑ Carnival Xanthi ( Memento from January 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Youth Festival Xanthi ( Memento from October 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive )