Veria
Encyclopedia
Veria is a city built at the foot of Vermion Mountains
in Greece
. It is a commercial center of Macedonia
, the capital of the prefecture
of Imathia
, the province of Imathia and the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church
. Veria is on the site of the ancient city of Beroea (called Berea
in some translations of the Bible
), which was prominent from the 4th century BC and part of the Kingdom of Macedon
. Part of Rome
from 168 BC, both Paul
and Silas
preached there in AD 54 or 55 (see Bereans
). Diocletian
made the large and populous city one of two capitals of the Roman Province of Macedonia, and it was one of the earliest cities to become the seat of a bishop
. Invaded by Bulgars
, it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1361, who named it Kara Ferye. It was incorporated into the Greek state in 1912.
Veria since the 1980s is bypassed and is linked by the superhighway linking to GR-1
. GR-4
/Via Egnatia
runs through Veria and also the road to Edessa. It is located NE of Kozani
, S of Edessa
, SW of Thessaloniki
, NW of Katerini
, WNW of Athens
and N of Larissa
.
A city by the name Berroia is first mentioned in the writings of Thucydides
in 432 BC, although there is evidence that the city was populated as early as 1000 BC. The city was said to have gotten its name from its mythical creator Beres - Pheres or from the daughter of the king of Berroia who is the thought to be the son of Macedon. It is most probably an ancient Thracian place name, from "Bria", meaning "city". The first inhabitants are known as the Thracians
or the Briges, who were both uprooted by the Macedonians
.
The ancient Macedonians, a Hellenic people, made it their second most important city after Pella. During the Roman empire, Veria became a place of worship for the Romans. Within the city there was a Jewish settlement where the Apostle Paul preached after leaving Thessalonica (Acts 17:10-15). Said section provides:
'10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible."
Under the Byzantine Empire
the city continued to grow and prosper until it was pillaged in the 9th century by the Bulgaria
ns. Veria first became part of the First Bulgarian Empire
in 9th century. Theophylact of Ohrid wrote that Bulgarian knyaz
Boris I
built in Veria one of the seven cathedral churches built by him and defines the church as "one of the beautiful Bulgarian churches". The town was part of Bulgaria during the rule of the Bulgarian tsar Samuel. The Byzantine emperor Basil II
conquered Veria in 1002 since his Bulgarian governor Dobromir joined the emperor's ranks and surrendered the city.
During the Crusades
it was conquered by the Normans
(1185) and the Franks (1204) and in the middle of the 14th century by the Serbs
. In Bulgarian
and Serbian
it is called Бер, Ber. In 1436, it was besieged and captured by the Ottoman Empire
and remained in their control until 1912.
is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city is the Aliakmonas river dam.
(Greece's 2nd division). Veria also has two basketball teams. AOK Veria and Filippos Veria which compete in a local and third national division respectively. Most promiment, though, is the handball team of Filippos Veria, competing in the first national division and which has won many championships (both national and international) throughout the years.
and Development Engineering
of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
is located in Veria since 2004.
with:
Kazanlak
, Bulgaria
Rognac
, France
Vermion Mountains
The Vermio Mountains is a mountain range between Imathia and Kozani Prefecture in west-central Macedonia. The range is west of the plain of Kambania. The town of Veria, which is the capital of Imathia prefecture, is built οn the foot of these mountains...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is a commercial center of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
, the capital of the prefecture
Prefectures of Greece
During the first administrative division of independent Greece in 1833–1836 and then again from 1845 until their abolition with the Kallikratis reform in 2010, the prefectures were the country's main administrative unit...
of Imathia
Imathia Prefecture
Imathia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia.-Administration:The regional unit Imathia is subdivided into 3 municipalities...
, the province of Imathia and the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
. Veria is on the site of the ancient city of Beroea (called Berea
Berea (Bible)
Berea is mentioned in the book of Acts in the Bible, for the ancient city of Beroea, now known as Veria .It is a small city on the eastern side of Vermion Mountains , where Paul of Tarsus preached, and where the people examined the Scriptures to see if his preaching was true .-Biblical role:Paul...
in some translations of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
), which was prominent from the 4th century BC and part of the Kingdom of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
. Part of Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
from 168 BC, both Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
and Silas
Silas
Saint Silas or Saint Silvanus was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who later accompanied Paul in some of his missionary journeys....
preached there in AD 54 or 55 (see Bereans
Bereans
In ancient times, the Bereans were the inhabitants of the city of Berea, also known in the Bible as Beroea, and now known as Veria in what is today northern Greece. The name has been taken up by certain Protestant groups.-Biblical context:...
). Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
made the large and populous city one of two capitals of the Roman Province of Macedonia, and it was one of the earliest cities to become the seat of a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. Invaded by Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
, it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1361, who named it Kara Ferye. It was incorporated into the Greek state in 1912.
Veria since the 1980s is bypassed and is linked by the superhighway linking to GR-1
Greek National Road 1
The Greek Motorway 1 is a motorway, partly under construction, and the 2nd longest in Greece. It is the principal north-south road connection in Greece, connecting the country's capital Athens with the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia, as well as the country's second largest city,...
. GR-4
Greek National Road 4
Greek National Road 4 is a national highway of Greece. It passes through Kozani, Veria and Edessa....
/Via Egnatia
Via Egnatia
The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.Starting at Dyrrachium on the...
runs through Veria and also the road to Edessa. It is located NE of Kozani
Kozani
Kozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...
, S of Edessa
Edessa, Greece
Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
, SW of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, NW of Katerini
Katerini
Katerini is a town in Central Macedonia, Greece, the capital of Pieria regional unit. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude of 14 m. The town, which is one of the newest in Greece, has a population of 83,764...
, WNW of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and N of Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
.
Municipality
The municipality Veria was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- Apostolos PavlosApostolos PavlosApostolos Pavlos is a former municipality in Imathia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 8,579 . The seat of the municipality was in Makrochori....
- DovrasDovrasDovras is a former municipality in the Imathia Prefecture, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 population was 5,154 for the municipality. Its area is 104.1 km2 and its density is 49.5/km2. The seat of the...
- MakedonidaMakedonidaMakedonida is a former municipality in Imathia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 2,346 . The seat of the municipality was in Rizomata....
- VerginaVerginaVergina is a small town in northern Greece, located in the peripheral unit of Imathia, Central Macedonia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit...
- Veria
History
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
in 432 BC, although there is evidence that the city was populated as early as 1000 BC. The city was said to have gotten its name from its mythical creator Beres - Pheres or from the daughter of the king of Berroia who is the thought to be the son of Macedon. It is most probably an ancient Thracian place name, from "Bria", meaning "city". The first inhabitants are known as the Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
or the Briges, who were both uprooted by the Macedonians
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...
.
The ancient Macedonians, a Hellenic people, made it their second most important city after Pella. During the Roman empire, Veria became a place of worship for the Romans. Within the city there was a Jewish settlement where the Apostle Paul preached after leaving Thessalonica (Acts 17:10-15). Said section provides:
'10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible."
Under the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
the city continued to grow and prosper until it was pillaged in the 9th century by the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
ns. Veria first became part of the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
in 9th century. Theophylact of Ohrid wrote that Bulgarian knyaz
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
Boris I
Boris I of Bulgaria
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...
built in Veria one of the seven cathedral churches built by him and defines the church as "one of the beautiful Bulgarian churches". The town was part of Bulgaria during the rule of the Bulgarian tsar Samuel. The Byzantine emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
conquered Veria in 1002 since his Bulgarian governor Dobromir joined the emperor's ranks and surrendered the city.
During the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
it was conquered by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
(1185) and the Franks (1204) and in the middle of the 14th century by the Serbs
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. In Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
it is called Бер, Ber. In 1436, it was besieged and captured by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and remained in their control until 1912.
Culture
Veria hosts one of the largest and most complete public libraries in Greece. Originally a small single-room library with limited funds and material, it expanded into a four-storey building offering multimedia, as well as special and rare editions. Veria's public library collaborates with many international organizations and hosts several cultural events. Every summer (August 15 to September 15) the "Imathiotika" festivities take place with a rich cultural program deriving mainly from Veria's tradition. The site of Elia offers great natural beauty and with an amazing view of the Imathia plain. Neighboring SeliSeli
Seli is a mountainous-alpine village and winter sports resort located in the Vermion Mountains of northern Greece. The village of Seli is located at a distance of 22km from Veria and 93km from Thessaloniki, in the prefecture of Imathia, Central Macedonia-Greece. It is also known as Kato Vermion...
is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city is the Aliakmonas river dam.
Sports
Veria is home to many sports clubs.The most famous is Veria FC which competes in Beta EthnikiBeta Ethniki
Football League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the...
(Greece's 2nd division). Veria also has two basketball teams. AOK Veria and Filippos Veria which compete in a local and third national division respectively. Most promiment, though, is the handball team of Filippos Veria, competing in the first national division and which has won many championships (both national and international) throughout the years.
Education
The Department of Spatial PlanningSpatial planning
Spatial planning refers to the methods used by the public sector to influence the distribution of people and activities in spaces of various scales. Discrete professional disciplines which involve spatial planning include land use planning, urban planning, regional planning, transport planning and...
and Development Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest Greek university, and the largest university in the Balkans. It was named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, Chalcidice, about 55 km east of Thessaloniki, in Central Macedonia...
is located in Veria since 2004.
Climate
Typically, Veria experiences cold wet winters and hot summers.| Month Month A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately... |
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Maximum. [°C] | 5 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 5 |
| Minimum temperature [°C] | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
| Record temperatures [°C] | 20 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 36 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 26 |
Famous people
- Sedat AlpSedat AlpProfessor Sedat Alp was the first archaeologist in Turkey with a specialization in Hittitology, and is among the foremost names in the field....
, archaeologist - Yiannis ArabatzisYiannis ArabatzisGiannis Arabatzis is a goalkeeper currently playing for Greek club AEK Athens.Arabatzis made his first cap against rival team Panathinaikos, and impressed the fans and coach Dusan Bajevic...
, footballer - Pantelis KafesPantelis KafesPantelis Kafes is a Greek footballer currently playing as a deep-lying playmaker for AEK Athens in the Greek Super League...
, footballer - Konstantinos KallokratosKonstantinos KallokratosKonstantinos Kallokratos was a teacher and a poet.He was born in Veroia in 1589. He was a student at the Greek College of Ayios Athanasios in Rome between 1600 and 1610. There, he studied philosophy and theology. Later he taught at a school in Calabria for Greek-speaking Albanians. His bosom...
, teacher and poet - Pavlos Kontogiannidis, actor, singer
- Ioannis KottouniosIoannis KottouniosIoannis Kottounios, was an eminent Greek scholar who studied Philosophy, Theology and Medicine, taught Greek from 1617 and Philosophy from 1630 in Bologna, Italy becoming professor of philosophy in 1632 he also founded a college for unwealthy Greeks at Padua in 1653.- Biography :Ioannis...
, writer and humanist - Dimitris Mavropoulos, actor and theatrical director
- Patriarch Metrophanes of AlexandriaPatriarch Metrophanes of AlexandriaMêtrophanês Kritopoulos, sometimes Critopoulos, Critopoulus, Kritopulus was a Greek monk and theologian who served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1636 and 1639.-Biography:...
, Patriarch of Alexandria - Patriarch Nephon I of ConstantinoplePatriarch Nephon I of ConstantinopleNephon I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1310 to 1314. From Veria, Greece, he was a lover of luxury and ill-suited for the position. During his time as patriarch the Arsenite schism was healed within the Byzantine Church. Nephon abdicated the throne after four years....
, Patriarch of Constantinople - Panagiotis TsalouchidisPanagiotis TsalouchidisPanagiotis Tsalouchidis is a Greek former footballer who played professionally from 1983 to 1999 for Veria, Olympiacos and PAOK, making 500 league appearances in Greek football. Tsalouchidis also represented Greece at international level, earning 75 caps between 1987 and 1995, and representing his...
, former football player - Kostas TsartsarisKostas TsartsarisKonstantinos "Kostas" Tsartsaris , is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 10 ¾ in tall 115.4 kg power forward, who can also play at the center position if needed...
, basketball player - George Greco, photographer/director
Twin towns — sister cities
Veria is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Rognac
Rognac
Rognac is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
, France