- Evros Prefecture
Infobox Pref GR
name = Evros
name_local = Νομός Έβρου
flag_reg =
periph =East Macedonia and Thrace
capital =Alexandroupoli
population = 150,580
population_as_of = 2005
pop_rank = 21st
pop_dens = 35.5
popdens_rank = 44th
area = 4,242
area_rank = 6th
postal_code = 68x xx
area_code = 255x0
licence = ΕΒ, ΟΡ
provinces = 1?
municip = 13
commun =
ISO = GR-72
website =The Evros Prefecture ( _el. Νομός Έβρου "Nomos Evrou") is the northernmost of the prefectures of
Greece . It is located in the eastern and northeastern part of the region of Thrace, and bordersTurkey at the Evros river. Evros bordersBulgaria to the north and the northwest. TheRhodope prefecture borders it to the west. Evros is the northernmost prefecture in Greece. Its capital town isAlexandroupoli .The name of the prefecture is derived from the Evros river (Hebros), which appears to have been a
Thracian hydronym .Municipalities
ee also
*
List of settlements in the Evros prefecture Geography
Evros is one of the largest prefectures of Greece and is the largest in Thrace, covering over 45%, of
Western Thrace , one of the three regions of Northern Greece (the other two are Macedonia andThessaly ) covering over half of the entire region in Greece. Its length is about 150 km from north to south (with Samothrace and water 200 km, the length from the Gulf of Corinth to Larissa); almost as long as the Larissa and theAetolia-Acarnania prefectures, up making up one of the longest such lengths in Greece. Its width ranges from 70 to 100 km from east to west and is almost the same as the Larissa prefecture, while the prefecture includes the small island ofSamothrace . Its second river is theArda .The
Rhodope mountains lie to the west and to the southwest, the foothills and the hills to the centre and northern parts, and a plain and farmland taking in the Evros valley to the east, with the Aegean to the south. Samothrace is mountainous.Climate
The areas that mainly experience Mediterranean climate conditions are at the southern and central portions. Its climate is mainly continental with cold winters in higher elevations and the northern part.
History
Before it was annexed to the
Kingdom of Macedonia , the area was ruled by theThracians . Macedonian rule lasted until the revolution of the 310s BC, when it became a part of theSeleucid Dynasty that ruled until 90 and 80 BC. It joined theRoman Empire and the province of Thrace and was under its rule until 395 AD, at which time Rome split into the Western and theEastern Roman Empire . Thrace was to be ruled with the Eastern Roman Empire, ending in the 15th century. TheGoths invaded the area and shortly afterwards it was invaded by theSlavs . It became a part of theOttoman Empire , and a battle and revolt during theGreek War of Independence was lost. The modern prefecture was invaded byBulgaria during theBalkan Wars and annexed to that country. The area did not became fully Greek until the war of 1920 ended non-Greek rule over the area. It became a part of the prefecture ofThrace which was not subdivided until 1947, one of these new areas being the modern Evros prefecture. During theGreco-Turkish War (1919-1922) , many Greek refugees relocated to the sporadic parts of the modern prefecture including towns and villages some areas formerly inhabited by the Turks and others , and with the new city of Orestiada, its economy slowly improved. AfterWorld War II and theGreek Civil War , one of the few areas of which to be spared Alexandroupoli, many structures were rebuilt. Its economy was reconstructed, but some of its inhabitants left for larger towns and cities in Greece, and abroad in the mid to late 20th century.The river area was devastated by floods in the 1950s and the 1960s, devastating villages around
Orestiada ; it was affected again with flooding ofLavara andDidymoteicho in late-1997, with a recurrence betweenFebruary 17 toFebruary 22 2005 , and again fromMarch 1 toMarch 4 , 2005.The prefecture was hit by a forest fire on Monday
July 30 ,2007 , burning forests filled with pines and fir (Greek Fir ) in the area of Aisymi or Aissymi, 40 km north of the city of Alexandroupoli. It took tens of fire trucks, firefighters, helicopters and planes to battle the blaze; it calmed and was brought under control . Another natural disaster occurred onAugust 6 , days after the fire, to the south of the village ; a tremendous rainstorm brought across with the low pressure systems ofCentral Europe . It brought heavy rains during the morning hours and was heavy enough to flood homes and damage properties, even cutting off a bridge and splitting Mesimvria in two. Several mudslides were reported and properties flooded in the prefectural capital city of Alexandroupoli. Near Alexandroupoli along its main railway linking west toThessaloniki and cutting the entire Evros Prefecture's railway into two, a bridge was washed away by its stream leaving nothing but tracks; residents watched the phenomenon next to the train tens of metres from where the bridge had stood. The area's highway, the Egnatia Odos, was also shut off to traffic. Off theThracian Gulf , by the coasts of Makri near its campground and beach, a trailer floated as far as 1 km away from the seashore. The rainstorm also affectedDikella and the surrounding areas, particularly by the coastline.Transport
*GR-2/
E90 ,Via Egnatia , old and new, SW, S, SE
*GR-51/E85 , SE, E, NE
*GR-53, SW, W, NW
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