Velestino(Greek:Βελεστίνο;Aromanian:Velescir) is a town in theMagnesia regional unit,Thessaly,Greece.It is the seat of the municipalityRigas Feraios.
Velestino
Βελεστίνο Velescir | |
|---|---|
  Velestino | |
| Coordinates:39°22.9′N22°44.7′E/ 39.3817°N 22.7450°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Thessaly |
| Regional unit | Magnesia |
| Municipality | Rigas Feraios |
| Municipal unit | Feres |
| Elevation | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Community | 3,202 |
| Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
| Postal code | 37 500 |
| Area code(s) | 24250 |
Location
editIt is situated at 120 metres (390 ft) elevation[2]on a hillside, at the southeastern end of the Thessalian Plain. It is 17 km (11 mi) west ofVolosand 40 km southeast ofLarissa.Velestino has a train station on the local line from Larissa to Volos.[3]TheA1 motorway(Athens–Thessaloniki–Evzonoi) passes east of the town. The Greek writer and revolutionaryRigas Feraioswas born in Velestino in 1757.[4]
History
edit
Velestino is built on the site of ancientPherae.[5]The ancient settlement is still attested in earlyByzantinetimes, but was apparently abandoned following theSlavicinvasions of the 7th century.[6]
The current settlement appears with its current name—probably of Slavic origin[7]—for the first time in 1208, in a letter byPope Innocent IIImentioning itsFrankishruler,Berthold of Katzenelnbogen.[6]Inc. 1213it was part of the jurisdiction of theLatinbishop ofGardiki,Bartholomew (Cardicensis episcopus et Valestinensis).[6]At about the same time, it became aGreek Orthodoxepiscopal see as well, being attested thereafter in episcopal lists and acts of thePatriarchate of Constantinople.[6]In 1259 an imperial estate (kouratoria) is attested in the area, as part of the province (thema) ofHalmyros;by the 1280s, Velestino itself is listed as a separatethema.[6]Very few traces remain of the medieval town today.[6]
Under theOttoman Empire,Velestino was calledVelestinorVelsinand was the seat of akazawithin theSanjak of Tirhala.[8][9]With the rest of Thessaly, Velestino was ceded to Greece in 1881 by theConvention of Constantinople.TheBattle of Velestinowas fought here during theGreco-Turkish War of 1897.
Velestino is a village partly populated by people ofAromanianheritage. Reportedly, as of 1911, Velestino was predominantly Aromanian.[10]
References
edit- ^"Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό"[Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^"Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)"(PDF)(in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2015-09-21.
- ^"TrainOSE - 2012 schedules"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-05-11.Retrieved2012-05-29.
- ^Keridis, Dimitris (2009).Historical Dictionary of Modern Greece.Scarecrow Press. p. 67.ISBN9780810859982.
- ^Smith, William (1854)."Pherae (Φέραι) (1)".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.London: Walton and Maber.
- ^abcdefKoder, Johannes; Hild, Friedrich (1976).Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 1: Hellas und Thessalia(in German). Vienna:Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.p. 133.ISBN978-3-7001-0182-6.
- ^Vasmer, Max (1941).Die Slaven in Griechenland(in German). Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 108.
- ^de Vaudoncourt, Guillaume (1816).Memoirs on the Ionian Islands, Considered in a Commercial, Political, and Military Point of View.London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy. p. 147.
- ^Rumeli und Bosna, geographisch beschrieben, von Mustafa ben Abdalla Hadschi Chalfa. Aus dem Türkischen übersetzt von J. v. Hammer(in German). Vienna: Verlag des Kunst- und Industrie-Comptors. 1812. p. 104.
- ^Wace, A. J. B.;Thompson, M. S. (1911)."The distribution of early civilization in Northern Greece"(PDF).The Geographical Journal.37(6): 631–636.Bibcode:1911GeogJ..37..631W.doi:10.2307/1778256.JSTOR1778256.