Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 11:41, 20 September 2010

Preveza Πρέβεζα
Settlement
Preveza from the air. The cape of Actium and the airport can be seen in the lower left.
Official seal of PrevezaSeal
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Epirus
Area
• Total	66.8 km (25.8 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population
• Total	19,605
• Density	290/km (760/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	481 00
Area code(s)	26820
Vehicle registration	ΡΖ
Website	http://www.dimosprevezas.gr

Preveza (Template:Lang-el) is a town in the periphery of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of Preveza Prefecture, which is part of the periphery of Epirus. An undersea tunnel, which runs between Preveza and Aktio of Acarnania (see Actium), connects the town to western Aetolia in Aetolia-Acarnania. The ruins of the ancient city of Nicopolis lie 5 km north of the city.

Etymology

The name Preveza is of uncertain etymology. It might come from Slavic prevoz meaning "crossing, passage" but its form might point towards an Albanian intermediary prevëzë, itself derived perhaps from the Slavic word.

History

In antiquity, the area of Preveza was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Thesprotians. Near the site of modern Preveza in 290 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus founded the town of Berenikia after his mother-in-law Berenice I of Egypt. The Ambracian Gulf near Berenikia was the site of the Battle of Actium, in which Augustus' forces defeated those of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Nicopolis ("victory city") was built nearby to commemorate Augustus' victory. Nicopolis continued under Roman and later Byzantine rule, experiencing brief periods of Bulgarian rule in the 10th century (920-922, 977-983, 996-997). According to one theory, modern Preveza grew around a military outpost built in the 9th century by the Bulgarians, following their conquest of Nicopolis. The city was first attested in the Chronicle of Morea (1292), however Hammond places the foundation of Preveza much later, at the end of 14th century, possibly by Albanians. After 1204, it came under the Despotate of Epirus (1204–1230, 1241–1338, 1356–1358), the Second Bulgarian Empire (1230–1241), the Serbian Empire (1348–1356), and the Despotate of Arta (1358–1401). It then came under Venetian rule until captured by the Ottomans.

Preveza was refounded by the Ottomans in the late 15th century, with a subsequent strengthening of the fortifications (1495). During Ottoman rule, it was the capital of the Karlı İli sanjak (derived from Carlo II Tocco, Despot of Epirus) which comprised Aetolia-Acarnania), initially as part of the vilayet of Rumelia (1499–1670) and afterwards of the vilayet of Yanya (Ioannina). The Battle of Preveza was fought off its shore in 1538, where the Ottoman fleet of Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated a united Christian fleet under Andrea Doria. Ottoman rule was interrupted twice by periods of Venetian control, during the Morean War (1684–1699) and from 1717 to 1797. At the end of the 18th century Preveza became a transit center of trade that resulted in the increase of its population, to approximately 10,000. At the Treaty of Campo Formio, it was ceded to France. The prosperity came to an end when at 1798 troops of the local Ottoman governor Ali Pasha attacked and finally conquered Preveza and major slaughter occurred against the French troops and the local Greek population that defended the city.

According to the treaty of Berlin in 1878 Preveza was to be ceded to the Kingdom of Greece by the Ottoman Empire. The local Albanian Committee of Preveza, a committee of the League of Prizren, under the leadership of Abedin Dino, one of the founders of the League, was against this turn of events. In January 1879, 400 Albanian representatives gathered in Preveza to attend an assembly organized by the League of Prizren and its local committee. A month later on February 28, 1879 forty-nine delegates representing the Albanian population of the Ottoman Empire signed a petition in Preveza arguing that if Preveza was awarded to the Kingdom of Greece, they would fight to prevent its annexation.

The city remained under Ottoman control until captured by the Greek Army on 3 November 1912, during the First Balkan War. It formally joined Greece along with the rest of southern Epirus per the Treaty of London. Along with the rest of Greece, it was occupied by Italy (1941–1943) and Germany (1943–1944) during World War II. Today Preveza is a commercial harbor and tourist hub, benefiting from its proximity to the nearby Aktion National Airport and the nearby island of Lefkada, a major tourist destination. The Aktion-Preveza Undersea Tunnel, an important work of infrastructure for what has traditionally been a remote and underdeveloped region, was inaugurated in 2002 and links Preveza to Actium (Template:Lang-el, Aktio) on the southern shore of the Ambracian Gulf, greatly shortening the distance of the trip to Lefkada.

Notable people from Preveza

• Evaggelos Avdikos, archaeologist and sociologist.
• Abedin Dino, founding member of the League of Prizren and leading figure of the Albanian National Awakening.
• Ahmed Dino, military leader and politician.
• Ali Dino (1890–1938), famous Albanian cartoonist and member of the Hellenic Parliament.
• Rasih Dino (1865–1928), diplomat and signatory of Albania to the Treaty of London.
• Shahin Dino, deputy of the sanjak of Preveza in the Ottoman Parliament and later Minister of Interior of Albania.
• Jannis Kallinikos, scholar and intellectual.
• Nikolaos Konemenos (1837-1906), scholar.
• Kleareti Malamou-Dipla (1898–1977), poet and writer.
• Theodoros Grivas (1797–1862), hero of the Greek War of Independence.
• Athina Papayianni, athlete.
• Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos (1897–1989), Hellenic Army chief and ambassador.
• Athanasia Tsoumeleka, athlete and Olympic Games winner.
• Alexios Vlahopoulos, hero of the Greek War of Independence.

Landmarks

• Nicopolis
• Pantokrator Castle
• Actium

Municipal districts

• Flampoura
• Michalitsi (Michalitsi, Agios Nikolaos)
• Mytikas
• Nikopoli (Nikopoli, Mazoma)
• Preveza (Preveza, Agios Thomas, Kalamitsi, Neochori, Psathaki)

Transportation

Preveza is linked by road to Igoumenitsa and other coastal settlements through the E55 national road, and is also linked with other cities in Epirus such as Ioannina and Arta. The Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel links Preveza by road to Aetolia-Acarnania in Central Greece. Preveza also has a small commercial and passenger port and is served by the nearby Aktion National Airport, which also serves the island of Lefkada.

Historical population

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

Preveza is a founding member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 23 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.

Other twinnings

• Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia

See also

• Actium
• Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel
• Assembly of Preveza
• List of settlements in the Preveza prefecture
• Nicopolis
• Preveza Prefecture

References

Notes

1. De Facto Population of Greece Population and Housing Census of March 18th, 2001 (PDF 39 MB). National Statistical Service of Greece. 2003.
2. Max Vasmer, Die Slaven in Griechenland, 1970 (reprint), p. 64 "Preveza"
3. Green, Peter (1993). Alexander to Actium: the historical evolution of the Hellenistic age. Hellenistic culture and society. University of California Press. p. 123. ISBN 0520083490.
4. Guide Bleu, Greece. Hachette-Livre, 2000. p.680
5. Isager Jacob. Foundation and destruction, Nikopolis and Northwestern Greece. Danish Institute at Athens, 2001, ISBN 9788772887340, p. 47.
6. Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey (1967). Epirus: The Geography, The Ancient Remains, The History and the Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford University Press. p. 46. Retrieved 2010-06-10. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. Isager Jacob. Foundation and destruction, Nikopolis and Northwestern Greece. Danish Institute at Athens, 2001, ISBN 9788772887340, p. 60.
8. Mikropoulos A. Tassos.Elevating and Safeguarding Culture Using Tools of the Information Society: Dusty traces of the Muslim culture. Earthlab. ISBN 9789602331873, p. 313-315.
9. Fleming Katherine Elizabeth. The Muslim Bonaparte: diplomacy and orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece. Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-691-00194-4, p. 99
10. Jelavich, Barbara (1989). History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Joint Committee on Eastern Europe Publication Series. Cambridge University Press. p. 365. ISBN 0521274583.
11. Skendi, Stavro (1967). The Albanian national awakening, 1878-1912. Princeton University Press. p. 70.
12. Gawrych, George (2006). The crescent and the eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913. I.B.Tauris. p. 54. ISBN 1845112873.
13. "Douzelage.org: Home". www.douzelage.org. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
14. ^ "Douzelage.org: Member Towns". www.douzelage.org. Retrieved 2009-10-21.

External links

• Official website (in Greek)
• http://www.prevezanet.gr/
• Preveza Weather Station SV6GMQ - Live Weather Conditions (in English and Greek)
• Preveza (municipality) on GTP Travel Pages (in English and Greek)
• Preveza (town) on GTP Travel Pages (in English and Greek)
• TEI (Technological University)- Department of Finance and Auditing

Template:Preveza

v t e   Prefectural capitals of Greece

Agios Nikolaos Alexandroupoli Amfissa Argostoli Arta Athens Chalcis Chania Chios Corfu Corinth Drama Edessa Ermoupoli Florina Grevena Heraklion Igoumenitsa Ioannina Kalamata Karditsa Karpenisi Kastoria Katerini Kavala Kilkis Komotini Kozani Lamia Larissa Lefkada Livadeia Missolonghi Mytilene Nafplion Pallini Patras Piraeus Polygyros Preveza Pyrgos Rethymno Rhodes Serres Sparta Thessaloniki Trikala Tripoli Vathy Veria Volos Xanthi Zakynthos

v t e European Union: Members of the town twinning "Douzelage"
Current members	Agros  Altea  Asikkala  Bad Kötzting  Bellagio  Bundoran  Chojna  Granville  Holstebro  Houffalize  Judenburg  Kőszeg  Marsaskala  Meerssen  Niederanven  Oxelösund  Preveza  Rokiškis  Rovinj  Sesimbra  Sherborne  Sigulda  Siret  Škofja Loka  Sušice  Tryavna  Türi  Zvolen
Former members	Karkkila (1997–2016)  Prienai (2008–2018)

• Preveza
• Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece
• Greek prefectural capitals