Aridaía (, , ) is a town and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Pella regional unit,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the

Almopia Almopia (), or Enotia (Greek: Ενωτία), also known in the Middle Ages as Moglena (Greek: Μογλενά, Macedonian and Bulgarian: Меглен or Мъглен), is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) of the Pella regional ...

municipality, of which it is a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

. It is located in the northwest corner of the Pella regional unit, bordering the southern part of the

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and the northeast corner of the Florina regional unit. Its land area is . The population of Aridaia proper is 7,118, while that of the entire municipal unit is 18,864 (2021 census). The municipal unit is divided into 17 communities. Its largest other communities are Prómachoi (pop. 1,654), Loutráki (1,176) and Sosándra (1,008). The community of Aridaia includes the settlement of Ydraia with a population of 500 inhabitants. A Greek battalion entered Aridaia on November 4, 1912, during the 1st Balkan War, and it started to develop as a town after the installment of

Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish W ...

from

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Etymology

There are two possible etymologies of the name Aridaia. One is that "Aridaia" is a corruption of the old name of the town "Ardea", which comes from the verb ", which is explained by the multiple rivers, streams, irrigation canals, etc. Another explanation is that the name comes from Philip III Arrideus, half-brother of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. The town used to be called "Αρδέα" (Ardea).

Sights

At a distance of 7 km from Aridaia is the Byzantine Castle of Chrysi which dates back to the 8th century AD. North of Aridaia is a historic, though not very well known Monastery of the Almopia, the Holy Monastery of

Saint Hilarion Hilarion (291–371), also known by the bynames of Thavata, of Gaza, and in the Orthodox Church as the Great was a Christian anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While ...

, bishop of

Moglena Almopia (), or Enotia (Greek: Ενωτία), also known in the Middle Ages as Moglena (Greek: Μογλενά, Macedonian and Bulgarian: Меглен or Мъглен), is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) of the Pella regional ...

. This monastery has as its owner and founder Saint Hilarion himself, who was a great Hierarch of the Church of Greece in the 12th century, who lived and worked in the area of today's Almopia. At a distance of 10 km from Aridaia are the

Pozar Baths Pozar thermal baths () are located 32 km north of Edessa and 13 km west of Aridaia Aridaía (, , ) is a town and a former Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality in the Pella (regional unit), Pella regional unit, Greece. Sinc ...

with impressive natural beauty and thermal waters. It is a tourist destination with many infrastructures and all the amenities in combination with the Kaimaktsalan Ski Center which geographically belongs to the Municipality of Almopia. Next to the tourist village of Loutraki, seat of Loutra Pozar, is the tourist village of Orma from which the road to the Ski Center starts.

Sports

A well-known football team based in Aridaia is Almopos Arideas.

Transport

Bus service

The KTEL station is located on Passia Street, on the road to

Exaplatanos Exaplatanos (; Macedonian: Капињани, ''Kapinjani'';Todor Hristov Simovski, ''The Inhabited Places of the Aegean Macedonia'' (Skopje 1998), , p. 90. ) is a village and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 201 ...

and

Notia Nótia (, formerly Νώτια; or ; ) is a village in the Exaplatanos municipal unit of the Pella regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Notia was once the largest Megleno-Romanian village, whose population underwent mass conversion to Islam in t ...

. The KTEL of Pella connects Aridaia locally with

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

, with regular itineraries, and there are also routes to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Skydra Skydra (, in modern Greek, before 1926: Βερτεκόπ - ''Vertekop'', Slavic: Вртикоп, ''Vrtikop'') is a municipality in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia in Greece. Municipality The municipality Skydra was formed at the 2011 loca ...

and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Rail service

The town does not have a railway station and is served by the railway stations of Edessa and Skydra, while in the period 1916-1936 there was a railway station, since there was a railway line from Skydra to Aridaia and Orma that closed in 1936. Railway Station, houses the Museum of Natural History. On February 19, 2019, the construction of the railway line Agios Athanasios –

Chalkidona Chalkidona () is a municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania ...

–

Koufalia Koufalia () is a town and a municipal unit of the Chalkidona municipality in Thessaloniki regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Koufalia is the seat of the municipality of Chalkidona. Before the 2011 local government reform it was a municipality. ...

–

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

– Nea Pella –

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Giannitsa has an area of 2 ...

– Galatades – Karyotissa – Dafni – Kalivia – Skydra-Edessa and bypass from Skydra to Aridaia was announced, however no study has been presented, and it is currently unknown when the project will be completed.

Roads

There is no National Road passing through the town, but there are five (5) provincial roads that connect Aridaia with the surrounding settlements. The following streets pass through the town # Edessa -

Apsalos Apsalus or Apsalos () was a town of Almopia in ancient Macedonia Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic ...

- Aridaia. (Pella 1) # Aridaia -

to Skra and

Axioupoli Axioupoli (), known until 1927 as Boymitsa (Боймица, Μποέμιτσα), is a small town and a former municipality in the former Paionia Province of Kilkis regional unit, Greek Macedonia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is par ...

Evropos Evropos (), known before 1925 as Ashiklar () is a village and a former municipality in the former Paionia Province, Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Paionia, of which it is a mun ...

and Lagadia. (Pella 6) # Aridaia - Pozar Baths. (Pella 7) # Aridaia - Tsakona - Polykarpi. (Pella 8) # Aridaia -

Sosandra Sosandra (, before 1922: Πρεμπόδιστα – ''Prempodista'') is a village in Pella regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Sosandra had 1291 inhabitants in 1981. In fieldwork done by anthropologist Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Sosandra w ...

Promachos In ancient Greece and during the Byzantine era, the Promachoi (singular: Promachos; Greek: πρόμαχος) were the men fighting in the first rank of the phalanx. The word can also be used as an adjective as in "promachos line" referring to the f ...

. (Pella 9) Map of Aridaia

Air service

In the Prefecture of Pella there is no airport, so Aridaia is served by the Airport "Macedonia" of Thessaloniki. Dasaki

People from Aridaia

* Petros Dourdoumpakis, singer * Haris Kostopoulos,singer *

Antonis Minou Antonis Minou (, born 4 May 1958) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Minou began his career with Almopos Aridea, signing for Kastoria in 1980, and two years later, he moved to Panathinaikos, wher ...

, football player * Nikodim Tsarknias, priest of the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church ...

Loukas Vyntra Loukas Vyntra (, ; born 5 February 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also play as a right back, left back, or a defensive midfielder. Early life Vyntra was born as Lukáš Vydra in Město Albr ...

, Greek footballer * Despina Zapounidou, Greek Olympic race walker

References

External links

Official site of the municipality of AlmopiaHere, you can see pictures from the local community
{{Authority control Populated places in Pella (regional unit) Almopia