Pella () is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

, 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 ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. 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 ...

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

. It is named after the ancient city of

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 ...

, the capital of

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 Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

and the birthplace 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 capital of Pella is

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 a population of 19,036 inhabitants according to the census of 2021, while the largest town is

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 ...

. Other towns include

Aridaia Aridaía (, , ) is a town and a former Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality in the Pella (regional unit), Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the Almopia municipality, of which ...

, Skydra,

Arnissa Arnissa (, before 1926: , ''Ostrovon'';) is a town in the Pella (regional unit), Pella regional unit of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. It is located near the Lake Vegoritida and Kaimakchalan, Mount Kaimakchalan and is the seat of the Vegori ...

, Exaplatanos and Krya Vrysi.

Administration

According to the 2011 census the population of the regional unit of Pella was 139,680. It is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are: *

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 ...

(2) *

(1) *

(3) * Skydra (4)

Prefecture

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit of Pella was created out of the former

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 ...

Pella (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

The former prefecture of Pella was subdivided into the following

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 ...

: ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

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 ...

Geography

The regional unit covers an area of , the majority of which is covered by arable land, forests and pastures. Mountainous areas surrounding Pella are the Voras Mountains (with Kaimaktsalan reaching a height of 2,524m), Mount Vermion (2,027m), Mount Paiko (1,458m), Mount Tzenna (2,182m) and Mount Pinovo (2,154m). The main plains are Pozar in the north and the vast plain of Giannitsà in the southeastern part. Other natural features of the area include Lakes Vegoritida and Agra, and Rivers Loudias and Edessian. Pella's southernmost portion is flat and in ancient times, it was a gulf connected to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. The elevation in the south does not exceed about above sea level. Pella has surface and groundwater resources. There are a number of archaeological sites in the area. Pella borders the regional units of

Kilkis Kilkis () is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2021 there were 24,130 people living in the city proper, 27,493 people living in the municipal unit, and 45,308 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional un ...

to the northeast,

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 ...

to the east,

Imathia Imathia ( ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Macedonia, within the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the ...

to the south,

Kozani Kozani (, ) is a town in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas, Aliakmonas riv ...

to the southwest, by Lake Vegoritida to the southwest, and by

Florina Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...

to the west. To the north, it is bounded by the national border between Greece and

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 ...

History

In antiquity, the area around the modern Pella regional unit was part of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. It later became part of 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 ...

and later the

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

and 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 ...

s. Following approximately 500 years of Ottoman rule, it rejoined

in 1913, following 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 ...

Tourism

*Ancient

and

Archaeological Museum of Pella The Archaeological Museum of Pella () is a museum in Pella (municipality), Pella in the Pella (regional unit), Pella regional unit of Central Macedonia. The building was designed by architect Kostas Skroumpellos and is on the site of the Pella, ...

: The capital of ancient Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great. A number of archaeological findings are housed in the Palace and the New Museum. * Loudias River *Waterfalls in the city of

*Pozar thermal baths: The hot springs are located in a mountainous area (altitude 360–390 m) and occupy an area of . Five spa gush along the warm river, which continues to flow in the basin of Almopia. * Kaimakchalan ski resort: Mount Kaimakchalan or Vorras is the third largest in height mount in Greece (altitude 2,524 m). There is a ski area with 16 ski slopes. At the foot of the mountain there is the village of Agios Athanasios. *

Ottoman monuments: At the city of Giannitsa there are a lot of buildings from the Ottoman period like the Clock Tower, Mausoleum and baths of Gazi Evrenos, House of Emin Bey, The Baths and the mausoleum of Ahmet Bey, Mosque of Sheikh Ilachi, Mosque of Iskender Bey.

Agriculture

The southern part of the regional unit has a number of

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s. While agriculture once represented its main industry, today, manufacturing, services and other businesses dominate about 70% of its industry.

Transport

* GR-1 (old highway), SE * GR-2/ E90, W, SW, Cen., E, SE *Edessa - Verroia road, S * Thessaloniki-Giannitsa-Edessa

References

External links

Official website of the prefecture of PellaTzena - Pinovo - East Voras terrain map
by Geopsis {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1930 establishments in Greece Regional units of Central Macedonia nn:Pélla