Velventos () or Velvento (Βελβεντό) is a town and

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 Kozani regional unit,

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 ...

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 ...

. The 2021 census recorded 2,949 people in the community of Velventos and 3,057 in the municipality. The municipality has an area of 126.516 km², the community 54.573 km².

Administration

The municipality of Velventos is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Velventos (Velventos, Paliogratsano) * Agia Kyriaki * Katafygio * Polyfyto The community of Velventos (before 1940: Velvendos; Βελβενδός) was created in 1918. It absorbed the former community Paliogratsano in 1951. The municipality of Velventos was formed in 1985 by the merger of the communities of Velventos and Agia Kyriaki. The community of Polyfyto was absorbed in 1994, and Katafygio in 1997. At the 2011

Kallikratis reform The Kallikratis Programme () is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the country's administrative divisions following the 1997 Kapodistrias reform. ...

, it became part of the new municipality

Servia-Velventos Servia–Velventos (, ''Sérvia-Velventós'') is a former municipality in the Kozani regional unit, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it sh ...

. In 2019 the municipality of Velventos was recreated in its pre-2011 extension.

Population

Geography

Velventos lies at the foot of the

Pierian Mountains The Pierian Mountains (or commonly referred to as Piéria) are a mountain range between Imathia, Pieria (regional unit), Pieria and Kozani (regional unit), Kozani Region, south of the plain of Kampania in Central Macedonia, Greece. The village of ...

, 33 km northeast of the city of

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 ...

. It is located near 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 ...

of Polyfyto. A local road connects it with the GR-3/ E65 between

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

and Kozani. It is located southwest of

Veria Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nor ...

, north-northwest of Servia and

, east-northeast of

Grevena Grevena (, ''Grevená'' ; ) is a town and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 12,515 citizen ...

and south-southeast of

. Surrounded by forests, it is located in the fertile valley of the

Haliacmon The Haliacmon (, ''Aliákmonas''; formerly: , ''Aliákmon'' or ''Haliákmōn'') is the longest river flowing entirely in Greece, with a total length of . In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliacmon: Maritsa (), Struma (Strymónas), bot ...

river and produces fruit, mainly

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es. 10.6% of the area is cultivated. Agricultural production is organised in two

agricultural cooperatives An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...

History

The area has been continually occupied since the prehistoric times. For this reason, many fruitful archaeological digs have been made in the area, unearthing mainly prehistoric findings. Velventos contains also many late

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 post-Byzantine monuments and temples, among them the 12th-century church of Saint Minas and the 14th-century church of Saint Paraskevi. During the Turkish occupation of Greece, Velventos saw great cultural development. Architect Stamatios Kleanthis was born here. Velventos became part of Greece during 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 ...

Facilities

Velventos has a school, church, a lyceum (middle school), a gymnasium (secondary school), banks, a post office, and a square. A well organized athletic stadium for several indoor and outdoor sport activities is located at the exit of the town. There are 2 Athletic Clubs, A.C. Velventos who has Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball as their main sport activities and A.C. Taekwondo Velventos with Taekwondo and Kick Boxing.

Notable people

Numerous scholars and famous researchers were born in this area: *

John Zizioulas John Zizioulas (; ; 10 January 1931 – 2 February 2023) was a Greek Orthodox bishop who served as the Metropolitan of Pergamon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from 1986 until his death in 2023. He was one of the most influent ...

, Greek Orthodox prelate * Stamatios Kleanthis, architect * Markos Palamidis, fighter during the Macedonian struggle * Panajot Papakostopulos, medical doctor and professor

References

External links

Municipality of Velvento
(Greek)
Area given by West Macedonia Development Company
{{Authority control Municipalities of Western Macedonia Populated places in Kozani (regional unit)