Pella (municipality)

For the capital of ancient Macedon, see Pella. For other uses, see Pella (disambiguation).

Pella Πέλλα
Fountain in the centre of Pella Fountain in the centre of Pella
Pella
Location within the region 250x250px
Coordinates:
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Regional unit	Pella
Government
• Mayor	Grigoris Stamkos
Area
• Municipality	668.6 km2 (258.1 sq mi)
Elevation	36 m (118 ft)
Population (2011)
• Municipality	63,122
• Municipality density	94/km2 (240/sq mi)
• Municipal unit	6,798
Community
• Population	2398
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	580 05
Area code(s)	23820
Vehicle registration	ΕΕ
Website	www.giannitsa.gr

Pella (Greek: Πέλλα) is a village and a municipality in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. It is located on the site of ancient Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander The Great. The capital of the municipality is Giannitsa, the largest town of the regional unit. On the site of the ancient city of Pella is the Archaeological Museum of Pella.

Municipality of Pella/ Giannitsa

History

File:Modern statue of Euripides in Pella city (6914853392).jpg

A bust of Euripides.

Statue of Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus and carrying a winged statue of Nike (Alexander the Great Square).

Ancient Pella was a vast city. However, the city was ravaged by the Romans during the 1st Century BC and lost its significance. By the 19th century, Agii Apostoli occupied a site near the upper city, and the lower city extended down to the wetlands of Mavroneri.

During the time of the Macedonian struggle, it was contested between Greek and Bulgarian nationalists. A survey by Vasil Kanchov in 1900 revealed that the population of Pella was 520 Bulgarian exarchists. The village however, was taken by the Greek army during the Second Balkan War.

The village fell under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian exarchate and another survey conducted by Dimitar Mishev in 1905 claimed that in the village there were 720 Bulgarian excharchists.

Name

During the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, the town was known in Greek as Άγιοι Απόστολοι (Agii Apostoli) 'Holy Apostles' and in Ottoman Turkish as Allah Kilise 'God's Church'. Locals referred to the village as Postol, (South Slavic: Постол). The name Pella was revived in 1926.

Municipality

The municipality Pella was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

• Giannitsa
• Krya Vrysi
• Kyrros
• Megas Alexandros
• Pella

The municipality has a population of 63,122 and a land area of 668.58 km². The capital of the municipality of Pella is Giannitsa (population 29.789 at the 2011 census). Other towns Krya Vrysi (pop. 6.535), Mylotopos (pop. 2.605), Pella (pop. 2.450), Galatades (pop. 2.339), Karyotissa (pop.1.999), Aravissos (pop. 1800), Ampeleíai (pop. 1,095), Melíssion (983), Pentaplátanon (956), and Paralímni (816).

Famous people

• Alexander the Great (356–323BC) King of Macedon who created the biggest Greek empire that ever existed.
• Philip II of Macedon Father of Alexander the great and king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC.
• Krste Misirkov (1874–1926), philologist and publicist.