Larissa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Larissa, Greece)
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about a city in Greece. For other meanings see Larissa (disambiguation).
Larissa  (Λάρισα)
Location
Larissa (Greece)
Larissa
Coordinates 39°38′N 22°25′E / 39.633, 22.417Coordinates: 39°38′N 22°25′E / 39.633, 22.417
Time zone: EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (center): 67 m (220 ft)
Government
Country: Greece
Periphery: Thessaly
Prefecture: Larissa
Population statistics (as of 2001[1])
City Proper
 - Population: 126,076
 - Area:[2] 122.586 km² (47 sq mi)
 - Density: 1,028 /km² (2,664 /sq mi)
Codes
Postal codes: 41x xx
Area codes: 2410
License plate codes: ΡΙ
Website
www.larissa-dimos.gr

Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal 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 around 250,000, and takes in the Municipalities of Nikaia, Giannouli and other smaller suburban communities. According to archaeological evidence, the capital of Thessaly, Larissa, lies atop a site that has been inhabited since the tenth millennium before Christ. A major commercial and industrial centre, Larissa sits in the middle of the plain of Thessaly, a few kilometers off the Athens-Thessaloniki National Road. Legend has it that Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, died here. A well known rhyming quip in Greece runs, 'Λάρισα, Λάρισα σε είδα και λαχτάρισα' , translated as 'Larissa, Larissa, I saw you and yearned for you' ; this was before the city was covered in concrete.

Contents

There are a number of highways E75 and the main railway from Athens to Thessaloniki (Salonika) crosses Thessaly. The region is directly linked to the rest of Europe through International Airport of Central Greece located in Nea Anchialos in a small distance from Larisa.

The Larissa Chasma on Dione, an important location in Roman History when Greece was part of the Roman Empire during ancient times was named after Larissa.

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, and the famous philosopher Gorgias of Leontini died.

When Larissa ceased minting the federal coins it shared with other Thessalian towns and adopted its own coinage in the late fifth century B.C., it chose local types for its coins. The obverse depicted the local fountain nymph Larissa, for whom the town was named, probably inspired by the famous coins of Kimon depicting the Syracusan nymph Arethusa. The reverse depicted a horse in various poses. The horse was an appropriate symbol of Thessaly, a land of plains, which was well-known for its horses. Usually there's a male figure; he should perhaps be seen as the eponymous hero of the Thessalians, Thessalos, who is probably also to be identified on many of the earlier, federal coins of Thessaly.

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. The chief city of ancient Thessaly, Larissa, was annexed in the 4th. Century B.C., by Philip II of Macedon and in 196 B.C. became an ally of Rome. Since the 5th century it has been the seat of an archbishop.

The town was taken from the Byzantine Empire by Bulgaria and later held by Serbia, with which it passed in the 15th. Century under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. 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 here to Pharsala took place on the April 23, 1897. Until 1881 Larissa was the seat of a pasha in the wilaya of Iannina; and known in Turkish as Yenişehr-i Fenar (New Town in Greece). Its long subjection to Ottoman rule has left little trace of antiquity. In the 19th century, there was a small village in the outskirts of town very unusually 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 April 25. 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.

Larissa from space, November 2004
Larissa from space, November 2004
  • 1889: 13,610 (city)
  • 1907: 18,001 (city)
  • 1907: 95,066 (prefecture)
  • 1991: 113,781 (city)
  • 1991: 277,973 (prefecture)
  • 2001: 126,076 (city)
  • 2001: 279,305 (prefecture)

  • Arceological & Byzantine Museum of Larissa
  • Municipal Picture Gallery - I.Katsigras Museum
  • Thessalian Museum of Larissa
  • Mylos Theatre Cultural Complex
  • Municipal Modern Art Gallery of Larissa
  • Historical & Folklore Museum of Thessaly
  • Larissa's Folklore Society
  • A' Ancient Theatre
  • B' Ancient Theatre (Odeon)
  • Ancient City of Larissa
  • Larissa's Castle (Frourion)
  • Alkazar Municipal Park
  • Hippocrates Monument
  • Saint Achellios Cathedral
  • Municipal Sentient Park
  • Pinios River Park
  • Municipal Observatory
  • OSE Railways Park
  • Diachronic Historical Palace (Mosque)
  • Museum-Historical Railways of Tempi & Platamon

  • Sapka Central Square
  • Makariou Square (Tachydromiou Square)
  • Neapolis Square
  • Trigonal Square
  • People's Square (Blana Square)
  • 1st May Square
  • Saint Helias Square
  • Jew Square
  • SS Peter & Paul Square
  • Averof Square
  • Saint Vessarion Square
  • Karaiskaki Square
  • OSE Square
  • Vembo Square
  • Makryjanni Square
  • Livadaki Square

The Municipality of Larissa is divided in 2 Municipal Districts (Larissa & Terpsithea). The Municipal District of Larissa is subdivided into 4 city-districts (29 quartes) & 2 suburban districts (Amphithea & Koulourion). The Municipal District of Terpsithea is subdivided into 2 suburban districts (Terpsithea & Argyssa).

  • 1.Saint Achellios
  • 2.Saint Nikolaos
  • 3.Saint Athanasios
  • 4.Alkazar
  • 5.Hippocrates
  • 6.Papastavrou
  • 7.Ambelokipoi
  • 8.Saints Saranta
  • 9.Lachanokipoi
  • 10.Nea Smyrne-Kamynia
  • 11.Kalyvia-Saint Marina
  • 12.Charavgi
  • 13.Toumba
  • 14.Pyrovolika-Pharos
  • 15.Averof-Sekfo
  • 16.Nea Politia
  • 17.OKE
  • 18.Saint Georgios
  • 19.Pinioupolis
  • 20.Philippoupolis
  • 21.Livadaki
  • 22.Epirotika-Mezourlo
  • 23.Neapolis
  • 24.Saint Konstantinos
  • 25.Stathmos
  • 26.Anthoupolis
  • 27.Saint Thomas
  • 28.Saint Paraskevi
  • 29.Neraida

  • Larissa's Urban Bus System
  • Larissa's Interurban System
  • Central Railstation
  • Mezourlo Railstation
  • Larissa Airport

  • Alkazar Sport Complex
  • Alkazar National Stadium
  • Municipal Swimming Pool
  • Equestrian Club of Larissa
  • Neapolis Palais de Sports
  • Larissa's Nautical Club
  • Alkazar Golf Center

  • CERETETH, Center of Technology Thessaly

v • d • e
Municipalities and Communities of the Larissa Prefecture
Municipalities 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
Communities Ampelakia • Karya • Verdikousa
v • d • e
Flag of Greece   Prefectural Capitals of Greece
Agios Nikolaos • Alexandroupoli • Amfissa • Argostoli • Arta • Athens • Chalcis • Chania • Chios • Corfu • Corinth • Drama • Edessa • Eleusina • Ermoupoli • Florina • Grevena • Heraklion • Igoumenitsa • Ioannina • Kalamata • Karditsa • Karpenisi • Kastoria • Katerini • Kavala • Kilkis • Komotini • Kozani • Lamia • Larissa • Lefkada • Livadeia • Messolonghi • Mytilene • Nafplion • Pallini • Patras • Piraeus • Polygyros • Preveza • Pyrgos • Rethymno • Rhodes • Serres • Sparta • Thessaloniki • Trikala • Tripoli • Vathy • Veria • Volos • Xanthi • Zakynthos
v • d • e
Flag of Greece   Capitals of Peripheries of Greece
• Athens - Attica • Corfu - Ionian Islands •Heraklion - Crete • Ioannina - Epirus • Komotini - East Macedonia and Thrace • Kozani - West Macedonia • Lamia - Central Greece • Larissa - Thessaly • Mytilene - North Aegean • Patras - West Greece • Ermoupoli - South Aegean • Thessaloniki - Central Macedonia • Tripoli - Peloponese
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larissa"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.