Aridaia

Aridaía (Greek: Αριδαία; Macedonian: С'ботско, S'botsko; Bulgarian: Съботско) is a town and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Almopia, of which it is a municipal unit.[2] It was the capital of the former Almopia eparchy. It is located in the northwest corner of the Pella regional unit, bordering the southern part of the North Macedonia and the northeast corner of the Florina regional unit. Its land area is 562.910 km2 (217.341 sq mi).[3] The population of Aridaia proper is 7,057, while that of the entire municipal unit is 20,313 (2011 census).[1] Its largest other towns are Prómachoi (pop. 1,740), Sosándra (1,078), Ápsalos (1,121), Loutráki (1,146), Polykárpi (1,049), Tsákoi (961), Voreinó (766), and Χifianí (767). The municipal unit is divided into 17 communities.

Aridaia

Αριδαία
View of the central square of Aridaia with Aggelis Gatsos' statue.
Aridaia
Location within the region
Coordinates: 40°58′N 22°03′E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionCentral Macedonia
Regional unitPella
MunicipalityAlmopia
Districts17
 • Municipal unit562.91 km2 (217.34 sq mi)
Elevation
320 m (1,050 ft)
Highest elevation
98 m (322 ft)
Lowest elevation
70 m (230 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
20,313
 • Municipal unit density36/km2 (93/sq mi)
Community
 • Population7,057 (2011)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
584 00
Area code(s)23840-2
Vehicle registrationΕΕ
Websitedimosalmopias.gov.gr
A street
Old railway station (today a museum)

The town was used to be called "Αρδέα" (Ardea).[4][5]

The Municipal Department of Aridea includes the settlement of Ydrea with a population of 600 inhabitants.

Etymology

There are two possible etymologies of the name Aridea. One is that "Aridea", is a corruption of the old name of the town "Ardea", which comes from the verb "Greek: Αρδεύω, lit. 'Irrigate', which is explained by the multiple rivers, streams, irrigation canals, etc. Another explanation is that the name "Aridea" comes from Philip III Arrideus, half-brother of Alexander the Great.[6]

Sightings

At a distance of 7km from Aridea is the Byzantine Castle of Chrysi which dates back to the 8th century AD. North of Aridea is a historic, though not very well known Monastery of the Province of Almopia, the Holy Monastery of Saint Hilarion, bishop of Moglena. This monastery has as its owner and founder Saint Hilarion himself, who was a great Hierarch of the Church of Greece in the 12th century, who lived and worked in the area of today's Almopia.

At a distance of 10 km from Aridea are the Pozar Baths with impressive natural beauty and thermal waters. It is a tourist destination with many infrastructures and all the amenities in combination with the Kaimaktsalan Ski Center which geographically belongs to the Municipality of Almopia. Next to the tourist village of Loutraki, seat of Loutra Pozar, is the tourist village of Orma from which the road to the Ski Center starts.

Near the New Town Hall there is a Museum of Natural History in the building that once housed the Railway Station. Aridea used to be crossed by the Almopaios river but it was decided to close it. Other rivers in the area are the Belitsa to the south and the Koziakas to the east. Aridea is home to one of the largest dynamic Forest Offices in the country.

In Aridea there are 2 churches, Agios Antonios, and Agios Nikandros and Ioannikios (Patrons of Aridea.) (See relevant maps)

Sports

The Municipal Stadium of Aridea hosts athletics classes of the newly established club "IKAROS ALMOPIAS" and "F.O. Arideas ".

A well-known football team based in Aridea is Almopos Arideas. The "Ethnikos Arideas" club, founded in 1978, has a special football history to show.

The basketball team of Aridea is the "Sports Club" with a history of over 35 years.

Transport

Bus service

The KTEL station is located on Passia Street, on the road to Exaplatanos and Notia. The KTEL of Pella connects Aridea locally with Edessa, with regular itineraries, [7] and there are also routes to Athens, Skydra and Thessaloniki.

Rail service

The town does not have a railway station and is served by the railway stations of Edessa and Skydra, while in the period 1916-1936 there was a railway station, since there was a railway line from Skydra to Aridea and Orma that closed in 1936. Railway Station, houses the Museum of Natural History. On February 19, 2019, the construction of the railway line Agios Athanasios – Chalkidona – Koufalia – Pella – Nea Pella – Giannitsa – Galatades – Karyotissa – Dafni – Kalivia – Skydra-Edessa and bypass from Skydra to Aridaia was anounced,[8] however no study has been presented, and it is currently unknown when the project will be completed.[9]

Roads

There is no National Road passing through the town, but there are five (5) provincial roads that connect Aridea with the surrounding settlements. The following streets pass through the town[10]

  1. Edessa - Apsalos - Aridea. (Pella 1)
  2. Aridea - Exaplatanos to Skra and Axioupoli, Evropos Notia and Lagadia. (Pella 6)
  3. Aridea - Pozar Baths. (Pella 7)
  4. Aridea - Tsakona - Polykarpi. (Pella 8)
  5. Aridea - Sosandra - Promachos. (Pella 9)

Air service

In the Prefecture of Pella there is no airport, so Aridea is served by the Airport "Macedonia" of Thessaloniki.

Education - Infrastructure

In Aridea, there is a school for the disabled, 3 Primary schools (+ one special), a Health Center, EPAL, IEK and a Junior High School. (see related maps)

People from Aridaia
gollark: I got a 6 in the møcks, which would be passing in the real exams.
gollark: I hope I don't have to do English exams though. I hate English Literature/Language the subjects and especially the exams. I got higher Latin and Ancient Greek grades than English in the mock exams.
gollark: Ah, so they're maybe postponed then and the government is being ambiguous.
gollark: 🦀 I DON'T HAVE TO DO STUPID ENGLISH LANGUAGE/LITERATURE PAPERS
gollark: 🦀 EXAMS ARE ALSO GONE (or possibly postponed but this is unlikely)

References
  1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (in Greek)
  3. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  4. Πανδέκτης, μετονομασίες, Σούμποσκον - Αρδέα
  5. Πανδέκτης, μετονομασίες, Αρδέα- Αριδαία
  6. Αριδαία ; Δείτε γιατί.... Λουτρά Πόζαρ | Τουριστικός Οδηγός (in Greek). 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  7. "ΤΟΠΙΚΑ ΑΡΙΔΑΙΑΣ - ΚΤΕΛ Ν. ΠΕΛΛΑΣ". ΚΤΕΛ Ν. ΠΕΛΛΑΣ. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  8. Έρχεται το τρένο στα Γιαννιτσά. Πέλλα 24 (in Greek). 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  9. ΤΟ ΤΡΕΝΟ. Μεγαπλάτανος. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  10. "ΝΟΜΟΣΚΟΠΙΟ". www.technologismiki.com. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  11. http://www.segas.gr/index.php/news/102-i-despoina-zapounidou-apo-tin-aridaio-sti-zyrixi
  12. "ΣΥΝΕΝΤΕΥΞΗ - Στην Αριδαία με τους Unboxholics, τους μάστερ του unboxing στην Ελλάδα (pics)". E-Daily.gr. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  13. "Antónis Mínou | National Football Teams". web.archive.org. 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  14. "ΠΑΣΧΑΛΙΔΗΣ ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ". www.enpe.gr. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  15. "Διάσημοι έλληνες καλλιτέχνες, έλληνες μουσικοί. Αρχαίοι, σύγχρονοι, διάσημοι έλληνες μουσικοί". web.archive.org. 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  16. "Πέτρος Δουρδουμπάκης". MusicHeaven (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  17. "Πέθανε ο ευεργέτης της Αλμωπίας Νικόλαος Ξενιτίδης που με το έργο του δίδαξε ανθρωπιά και αλληλεγγύη!". karatzova.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
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