Kilkis

Infobox Greek Dimos
name = Kilkis
name_local = Κιλκίς
periph = Central Macedonia
prefec = Kilkis
population = 24812
population_as_of = 2001
area = 306.557
elevation = 280
lat_deg = 40
lat_min = 59
lon_deg = 22
lon_min = 52
postal_code = 611 00
area_code = 23410
licence = ΚΙ
mayor = Dimitrios Terzedis
website = [http://www.dhmoskilkis.gr www.dhmoskilkis.gr]


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Kilkis ( _el. Κιλκίς, local Slavic: Кукуш, "Kukuš", _tr. Kılkış) is an industrial city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2001 there were 17,430 people living within the city and a total of 24,812 people living in the administrative area of the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the prefecture (or "nomos") of Kilkis and the capital of one of the two local provinces (or "eparchia") of its prefecture.

History

There have been important findings excavated at various regions of the prefecture of Kilkis with elements dating back to as early as the Bronze and Iron Age. Their remains as well as ancient tombs of the 2nd millennium BC provide invaluable information about lifestyle at that time. The town of Paeonia, near the Axios River, is cited for the first time in the Homer’s Epics. As early as the 8th century BC, the wider region of Kilkis was established as a Greek region and ruled as part of the Macedonian kingdom. At that time, many towns flourished, such as Idomeni, Atalanti, Gortynia, Fiska, Terpillos, Evropos and Kallindria.

In 148 BC, the Romans take over for two and a half centuries and eventually gave way to invasions of barbaric tribes, such as the Goths, the Huns, the Avars and the Slavs who gradually settled in the Balkan Peninsula.

Kilkis changed hands several times. In the Byzantine era it finally flourished. During the reign of the Palaeologus dynasty in particular, important infrastructure works were realized in this prefecture. The period of prosperity ended in 1430, when Thessalonica and the entire region came under the Ottomans.

First and Second Balkan Wars

In the First Balkan War of 1912 it was briefly taken over by Bulgaria. In the Second Balkan War of 1913, the Greek army captured the city after a three-day battle between June 19 and June 21. Although costly, with over 5,000 casualties on the Greek side and 7,000 on the BulgarianFact|date=August 2008, the Greek victory proved a decisive step towards victory in the war. Kilkis was almost completely destroyed after the battle by the Greek army [ [http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/carnegie/chapter2_3.html Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars, published by the Endowment Washington, D.C. 1914, p. 97-99] ] and virtually all of its pre-war 7,000 Bulgarian inhabitants were expelled into Bulgaria. The new town was built closer to the railway to Thessaloniki, around the Greek church of Saint George, and was settled by Greeks transferred from Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

In the mid-twenties, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe when Greece lost its Asia Minor territories to Turkey, waves of destitute refugees washed into Kilkis, thus giving a new boost to the region and contributing to the increase of its population. Likewise, the Turks (a generic term for the Moslem population) of the region had to leave for the new Turkish state in the exchange of populations. Barely two decades later, the Second World War broke out and devastated the region once again.

World War II

The significance of the Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas can be appreciated by the fact that Greece named a battleship after the city. However, "Kilkis" was sunk by a German Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka) dive-bomber on April 23, 1941, along with its sister-ship, in the third week of the invasion of Greece by Nazi Germany. The city of Kilkis came under the Axis of Bulgarian occupation in 1943 when the Bulgarian zone of occupation was expanded to include the prefectures of Kilkis and Halkidiki. The new authorities pursued a policy of "Bulgarianisation" to annex the region to Bulgaria, but were forbidden from doing so by their German allies, who feared destabilising Greece if the Bulgarians proceeded. The region became a major centre for Greek partisan resistance activity before being recaptured by Greece in 1944.

Municipal districts

*Chorygi
*Kastanies
*Kristoni
*Leipsydri
**Aktopotamia (Ακροποταμιά) [2001 pop: 212]
**Ano Potamia (Άνω Ποταμιά) [2001 pop: 105]
**Kato Potamia (Κάτω Ποταμιά) [2001 pop: 118]
*Megali Vryssi
*Melanthi
*Mesiano
**Dafnochori (Δαφνοχώρι) [2001 pop: 63]
**Leventochori (Λεβεντοχώρι) [2001 pop: 266]
*Stavrochori
*Vaptisti (Βαπτιστής) [2001 pop:456]
**Kyriakeika (Κυριακαίικα) [2001 pop: 55]
*Krousson (Κρουσσών)

ubdivisions

*Gavra
*Argyroupoli (Αργυρούπολη) [2001 pop: 591]
*Xirovryssi (Ξηρόβρυση)
*Zacharato (Ζαχαράτο) [2001 pop: 101]
*Kolchida [2001 pop: 371]
*Metalliko (Μεταλλικό), [2001 pop: 371]
*Sevasto (Σεβαστό) [2001 pop: 150]

Famous inhabitants of Kilkis

*Giorgos Floridis, Greek politician, ex minister
*Savvas Tsitouridis, Greek politician, ex minister
*Dimitris Basis, Greek singer
*Pantelis Savvidis, journalist, tv-presenter
*Kiltidis Kostas, Greek politician, sub-minister of Agriculture
*Gotse Delchev, BMARC/SMARO revolutionary (1872-1903)
*Ivan Hadzi Nikolov, Bulgarian Revolutionary (1861-1934)
*Aleksandar Stanishev, Bulgarian physician, scientist and politician (1886-1945)
*Hristo Smirnenski, Bulgarian poet (1898-1923)
*Lazaros Pavlidis, Greek author (1929 - 2004)
*Dimitris Markos, Footballer

References