Kozani () is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia (, ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional units of Greece ...

, in the

geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kozani.

Geography

Kozani borders the regional units of

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

to the west and northwest, Florina to the north,

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 ...

to the northeast, Imathia and Pieria to the east, Larissa (part of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

) to the southeast, and Grevena to the south. The main mountain ranges are Askio in the northwest, Voio in the west, Vermio in the northeast and the Pierian Mountains in the southeast. The river Aliakmon flows through the southern part, and through the large reservoir Lake Polyfytos. Lignite is mined in the north, around Ptolemaida.

Climate

Its climate ranges from continental to mountainous. Kozani has warm to hot summers and cool winters, cooler than Thessaloniki, the mountainous, the western and the eastern portions receive cold winters and features snow. Its sunshine days are days shorter than the south and by the coastline, it is rainier than the south. Temperatures range from during the summer months.

Administration

The regional unit Kozani is subdivided into 5 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Eordaia (2) * Kozani (1) * Servia (4) * Velventos (5) * Voio (3)

Prefecture

Kozani was created as a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

() in 1915. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Kozani was created out of the former prefecture Kozani. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised. The municipality Servia-Velventos was split into the municipalities Servia and Velventos in 2019.

Provinces

Kozani had three

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

: * Kozani Province - Kozani * Eordea Province - Ptolemaida * Voio Province - Siatista

History

Early years

The area was part of several kingdoms of Upper Macedonia, including the ancient Eordaia and Elimiotis, and it was later part of the kingdom of Macedonia. After the Third Macedonian War it was ruled by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. It later became a part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

after the breakup into the West and the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

. In the early 14th to the 15th century, it was ruled by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and lasted until the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

of 1913. The Kozani Prefecture was created in 1915 and also included the present Florina, Grevena and the

regional units.

Modern times

Refugees from Asia Minor and Pontus during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 to 1922 brought refugees to the area including Kozani and villages and towns that removed the Turkish population to the country which later became only known as Turkey. The economy boomed and was disrupted later on. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Greek Civil War, most of the buildings were repaired. Kozani opened its airport and later its hospital.

Economy

Kozani has been a prosperous area in the course of its history. Its merchants are known to have dominated the

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

of the

Balkan peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, expanding their trade activities to the north and along the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Nowadays, Kozani is still among the most prosperous areas of the Greek province, but for a different reason, its rich

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

industry. Kozani produces lignite, which is the main source of the

electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...

produced in Greece, nitrous salts which are processed into fertilizers, and

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

. There was also an asbestos mine that remained operational until the mid-1990s, which has now ceased its operation. In the regional unit of Kozani there is also the

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and hydroelectric dam of Polyfytos, which further contributes to the electricity production of Greece. The region's vast industrial advancement in a short period of time has raised

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

concerns.

Media

Newspapers

The main newspapers of the region are ''

Chronos Chronos (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...

'', '' Proinos Logos'', '' Tharros'', and ''Grammi''.

Television

Prominent television news channels in the region are '' West Channel'', '' Flash TV'', and '' TOP Channel''.

Radio

Notable broadcast radio are ''ERT Kozani FM 100.2'' and ''100.6'', ''Siera FM 105.3'', ''Erotiko 99.5 FM'', ''Fresh Radio 92.9 FM'', ''Diva FM 91.6'', and ''NRG FM 89.5''.

Transport

* National Roads ** A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos) ** Greek National Road 3, SE, Cen., N ** Greek National Road 15, SW, W ** Greek National Road 20, SW, W, Cen. * Air transport: ** Kozani National Airport "Filippos", 4 km from Kozani (flights 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 ...

). * Rail transport: ** Kozani-Amyntaio railway line

References

External links

{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1915 establishments in Greece Regional units of Western Macedonia