| Serres Σέρρες |
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View of the modern city of Serres from the Acropolis. |
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| Location | |
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Serres
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| Coordinates | |
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Location within the region
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| Government | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Region: | Central Macedonia |
| Regional unit: | Serres |
| Mayor: | Petros Aggelidis |
| Population statistics (as of 2011) | |
| Municipality | |
| - Population: | 75,233 |
| - Area: | 601.5 km2 (232 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 125 /km2 (324 /sq mi) |
| Municipal unit | |
| - Population: | 76,240 |
| - Area: | 253.0 km2 (98 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 301 /km2 (780 /sq mi) |
| Community | |
| - Population: | 76,240 |
| Other | |
| Time zone: | EET/EEST (UTC+2/3) |
| Elevation (center): | 50 m (164 ft) |
| Postal: | 621 xx |
| Telephone: | 23210 |
| Auto: | ΕΡ |
| Website | |
| www.serres.gr | |
Sérres (Greek: Σέρρες, older form: Σέρραι, Sérrai) is a city in Macedonia, Greece. It is situated in a fertile plain at an elevation of about 70 m, some 24 km northeast of the Strymon river and 69 km north-east of the Macedonian capital, Thessaloniki. The Rhodope Mountains rise to the north and east of the city. The city is the capital of the regional unit of Serres and is situated at the eastern edge of Central Macedonia. Its municipal population was 76,240 in 2011.
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The Greek historian Herodotus mentions the city as Siris (Σίρις) in the 5th century BC. Theopompus refers to the city as Sirra (Σίρρα). Later, it is mentioned as Sirae, in the plural, by the Roman historian Livy. Since then the name of the city has remained in plural and by the 5th century AD it was already in the contemporary form as Serrae (Σέρραι). It is known as Ser in both Macedonian Slavic and Serbian, while in Bulgarian it is known as Syar (Сяр) or Ser (Сер), which can be deduced from the spelling before 1947 as 'Сѣръ', thus capturing both the 'ya' and 'e' sounds. The Katharevousa form for the name of the city was Sérrai (Σέρραι). It was known as Serez or Siroz in Turkish.
Serres became the site of a major fortress built by the Byzantine Empire to guard the empire's northern frontier and the strategic Rupel Pass into Bulgaria. It was seized by the Bulgarians in the 15th century. In 1196 in the battle of Serres the Byzantines were defeated by the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Asen I. Nine years later in 1205 the Bulgarian Emperor Kaloyan defeated here an army of the Latin Empire and incorporated the town in the Bulgarian Empire. In 1256 it was captured by the Nicaean Empire. Serres fell to Serbia in the 1345 and became a capital of Stefan Dušan, the Serbian King. Dušan was so satisfied with the capture of the third major Byzantine city that he crowned himself Emperor of Serbs and Greeks. After his death his Empire fell into feudal anarchy and the Empress Consort Helena continued to govern Serres area from 1356. In 1365 she was ousted by Despot Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, who forged a tiny but powerful mini-state in Serres. After the 1371 Battle of Maritsa, the Byzantines retook Serres under their control. Soon, however, in 1383 the Ottomans conquered it. Serres became a sanjak centre in the province of Rumelia between 1383-1826, and afterwards of Selanik Vilayeti between 1826-1912. In the aftermath of the battle of Lepanto in 1571, Turkish reprisals were directed at the Greek populations who had shown sympathy and had sporadically risen up across Greece. The metropolis of Serres was looted along with seven other churches, while land and land titles owned by the Monastery of St John the Baptist were confiscated.[1] At the end of the 18th C, Serres was cotton producing area, exporting 50,000 balls of cotton to Germany, France, Venice and Livorno.[2] The metropolitan (Greek Orthodox bishop) Gabriel founded in 1735 the Greek School of Serres which he directed until 1745. The school was maintained by donations from wealthy Greek merchants, among them Ioannes Constas from Vienna with 10,800 florins and the banker and tragic leader of the Greek revolution in Macedonia Emmanuel Pappas, who donated 1,000 Turkish silver coins. Minas Minoides taught Philosophy and Grammar in 1815-19. The school operated also in the period of the Greek revolution under Argyrios Paparizou from Siatista.[3]
In the early 20th century, the city became a focus of anti-Ottoman unrest, which resulted in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903. A Bulgarian army, which was commanded by Georgi Todorov captured Serres during the First Balkan War on November 6, 1912 but was forced to withdraw by Greek forces commanded by Constantine I during the Second Balkan War on July 11, 1913. The city had to be completely rebuilt after being burned to the ground by the retreating Bulgarians. It was reoccupied by Bulgaria in both the First World War and Second World War and suffered further severe damage. In 1943, its Jewish population was deported to Treblinka and destroyed. Since the war, Serres has benefited from government-led programmes to develop its economy with foreign capital.
The municipality Serres was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[4]
Serres is the capital of a primarily agricultural district and is an important trade centre for tobacco, grain, and livestock. Following the development of a government-sponsored manufacturing area in the late 20th century, it has also become a centre for the production of textiles and other manufactured items.
The city has forests, parks, non-gridded roads and squares. Serres stretches from the ruins of the castle up to the forested hills of Koula. On the road to Koula hills on Exochon (Exochi) Street, two parks, one is the Agioi Anargyroi Park founded near the downtown area. Night clubs and cafeterias are popular attractions, especially in the summertime.
In Serres, gyros and souvlaki are standard forms of Greek cuisine served in many restaurants and taverns. One delicacy that is truly unique to the region is akanes, which is a type of gourmet candy delight prepared according to a secret recipe since the beginning of the 20th century by the Roumbos family. Allegedly, Aristeidis Roumbos, the confectioner who invented this candy, disclosed the recipe to one of his loyal trainees, who then proceeded to establish a rival akanes business. Nevertheless, the Roumbos family, to this day, continues to produce this delight in their quaint workshop, which is reminiscent of life in the 1950s.
| Year | Population |
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| 1981 | 46,317 |
| 1991 | 49,830 |
| 2001 | 56,145 |
| 2011 | 76,240 |
In the city of Serres there is the Technological Educational Institution (TEI) of Serres. It has more than 12.000 Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, three major Faculties and even more Departments. Website
There is also a Department of Physical Education and Sport Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki that operates in the city of Serres. Website (in Greek)
In addition, in the Vocational Training Institute (Greek: Ι.Ε.Κ.) of Serres, various specialisations are being taught in programmes that last for up to two years. Website
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