Larissa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a city in Greece. For other meanings see Larissa (disambiguation).
| Larissa (Λάρισα) | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Time zone: | EET/EEST (UTC+2/3) |
| Elevation (center): | 67 m (220 ft) |
| Government | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Periphery: | Thessaly |
| Prefecture: | Larissa |
| Population statistics (as of 2006) | |
| Municipality | |
| - Population: | 124,376 |
| - Area: | 122.6 km² (47 sq.mi.) |
| - Density: | 1,014 /km² (2,628 /sq.mi.) |
| Codes | |
| Postal codes: | 41x xx |
| Area codes: | 2410 |
| License plate codes: | ΡΙ |
| Website | |
| www.larissa-dimos.gr/ | |
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Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a main agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens. The population of the greater area is 207,000 people and includes the Municipalities of Nikaia, Giannouli and other smaller suburban communities. The dominance of agriculture has made Larissa one of the main bulwarks of the Greek Communist Party.
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[edit] Geography
The elevation of Larissa Airport is 73 m.
The skiing resort of Pelion Mountain is to the east and is the closest resort which is 59 km E.
[edit] History
Traces of Paleolithic human settlement have been recovered from the area, but it was peripheral to areas of advanced culture. The area around Larissa was extremely fruitful - it was agriculturally important and in antiquity was known for its horses. The city finally moved closer to the rest of Greece.
The name Larissa, which pre-dates Indo-European languages[citation needed], was common to many Pelasgian towns and comes from the Greek nymph Larissa, or from the ancient greek word larissa, which means stronghold in english.
Larissa is also thought to be where the famous Greek physician, Hippocrates, died.
Larissa, sometimes written Larisa on ancient coins and inscriptions, is near the site of the Homeric Argissa. It appears in early times, when Thessaly was mainly governed by a few aristocratic families, as an important city under the rule of the Aleuadae, whose authority extended over the whole district of Pelasgiotis. This powerful family possessed for many generations before 369 BC the privilege of furnishing the Tagus, or generalissimo, of the combined Thessalian forces. The principal-rivals of the Aleuadae were the Scopadac of Crannon, the remains of which (called by the Turks Old Larissa) are about 14 miles south west. The inhabitants sided with Athens during the Peloponnesian War, and during the Roman invasion their city was of considerable importance. Since the 5th century it has been the seat of an archbishop. Larissa was the headquarters of Ali Pasha during the Greek War of Independence, and of the crown prince Constantine during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. The flight of the Greek army from this place to Pharsala took place on the 23 April 1897.
Until 1881 it was the seat of a pasha in the wilaya of Iannina. In Turkish, it was known as Yenişehr-i Fenar (New Town in Greece). Its long subjection to Ottoman rule has left little trace of antiquity. It was formerly a Turkish military centre and most of the people were of Turkish origin. In the 19th century, there was a small village in the outskirts of town inhabited by Africans from the Sudan, a curious remnant of the forces collected by Ali Pasha. In the 19th century, the town produced leather, cotton, silk and tobacco. Fevers and agues were prevalent owing to bad drainage and the overflowing of the river; and the death-rate was higher than the birth rate. It was also renowned for the minarets of its mosques (four of which were still in use in the early part of the 20th century) and the Muslim burial grounds. A considerable portion of the Turkish population emigrated in 1881. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, Turkish troops entered the city once again in 25 April. After a treaty for peace was signed, they withdrew and Larissa remained permanently in Greece. This was followed by a further exodus of Turks in 1898.
[edit] Historical population
- 1889: 13,610 (city)
- 1991: 277,973 (prefecture)
[edit] Sporting teams
- AEL 1964 (Super League Greece), Greek Champions 1988, Cup Winners 1985
- Apollonas Larissa (Fourth Division)
- Olympia Larissa (Basketball team) (A1 Division)
- GS Larissa / AEL 1964 (Basketball team) (A1 Division)
[edit] Geological features named after Larissa
- Larissa Chasma on Dione, an important location in Roman History when Greece was part of the Roman Empire during ancient times.
[edit] People
- Konstantinos Chalkias (football player)
- Paraskevas Boubourlakas (top model, author)
- Dimosthenis Dikoudis (basketball player)
- Theofanis Gekas (football player)
- Alexis Georgoulis October 6, 1974,( actor)
- Yannis Goumas (May 24, 1975, (football player)
- Kostas Gousgounis (pornographic actor)
- Fani Halkia (runner)
- Dimitris P. Kraniotis (poet, medical doctor)
- Lakis Lazopoulos (actor, comedian, script author & director)
- Georgios Mitsibonas (1962-1997), (football player)
- Thanassis Papakonstantinou (1959 in Tyrnavos)
- Georgios Seremetis (1879 in Skamnia Elassonas - 1950)
- Vassilis Spanoulis (basketball player)
- Anna Vagena (actress)
[edit] Sister cities
[edit] External links
- LarissaTora.comA website on the prefecture of Larissa and the area around Larissa
- ISLsite.comThe International School of Larissa
- Larissa; 1911 Encyclopedia article.
- Larissacity.com-A website on the city of Larissa
- website of the city of Larissa only in Germany with a lot of Pictures
| Municipalities and communities of the Larissa Prefecture |
|---|
| Agia • Ampelonas • Antichasia • Armenio • Elassona • Enippeas • Evrymenes • Farsala • Giannouli • Gonnoi • Kato Olympos • Kileler • Koilada • Krannonas • Lakereia • Larissa • Livadi • Makrychori • Melivoia • Narthaki • Nessonas • Nikaia • Olympos • Platykampos • Polydamantas • Potamia • Sarantaporo • Tyrnavos |
| Ampelakia • Karya • Verdikousa |
