Preveza

Coordinates: 38°57′27″N 20°45′06″E / 38.95750°N 20.75167°E / 38.95750; 20.75167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Preveza
Πρέβεζα
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
481 00
Area code(s)26820
Vehicle registrationΡΖ
Websitewww.dimosprevezas.gr

Preveza (

undersea tunnel in Greece– was completed in 2002. The 1,570 m (5,150 ft) long immersed tunnel connects Preveza in the north, to Aktio of western Acarnania to the south. The ruins of the ancient city of Nicopolis
lie 7 kilometres (4 miles) north of Preveza.

Origin of the name

The name is attested, along with the town itself, in 1292, in the Chronicle of the Morea (Greek: Πρέβεζα, Italian: Prevesa, French: la Prevasse, la Prevesse).[2][3] The name is commonly regarded as deriving from the Slavic word prěvozъ, meaning 'passage', but transmitted via an Albanian form prevëzë, 'transportation, crossing'.[4][3][5] These words correspond to the ancient Greek word pereosis (Greek: περαίωσις), which means passing through, pointing to it as a likely ultimate origin of the name.[6]

An alternative derivation is that proposed in 1857 by Panagiotis Aravantinos as coming from Italian prevesione, which means 'provision, supply'.[7] This is still sometimes considered a possible derivation.[8][5]

Municipality of Preveza

View of the port of Preveza, seen from the East

The present form of the Municipality of Preveza was established in 2011, through the Reform Legislation for Local Government, which merged the following three former municipalities, which in turn became its Municipal Units. (The constituent communities are mentioned in brackets):[9]

  • Former Municipality of Louros (Ano Rachi, Kotsanopoulo, Louros, Neo Sfinoto, Oropos, Remmatia, Skiadas, Stefani, Trikastro, Vrysoula)
  • Former Municipality of Preveza (Flamboura, Michalitsi, Mytikas, Nicopolis, Preveza)
  • Former Municipality of Zalongo (Cheimadio, Eklissies, Kamarina, Kanali, Kryopigi, Myrsini, Nea Sampsounta, Nea Sinopi, Riza, Vrachos)

The municipality has an area of 380.541 km2, the municipal unit 66.835 km2.[10]

History

Antiquity

The Battle of Actium, by Laureys a Castro (1672); oil painting in National Maritime Museum of Greenwich, London (Director's Office)
The Battle of Preveza (1538) by Ohannes Umed Behzad, painted in 1866

In

Berenice, named after his mother-in-law Berenice I of Egypt.,[12][13] Today, it is believed that Berenike lies on the hills near the village of Michalitsi, following the excavations by Sotirios Dakaris in 1965. The Ionian Sea, near Berenike, was the site of the naval Battle of Actium, on 2 September 31 BC, in which Octavian's forces defeated those of Mark Antony and queen Cleopatra of Egypt. The city of Nicopolis (Νικόπολις, "Victory City") was built nearby by Augustus to commemorate his victory.[14] The city is believed to have, at its peak, a population of 150,000.[15] In AD 90, Epictetus arrived at Nicopolis, after he had been banished by the Roman emperor Domitian and established a school of philosophy. One of his students Arrian became a famous historian and recorded all of his works.[citation needed
]

Medieval period

See also: Byzantine Greece, Despotate of Epirus, and Frankokratia

The name Preveza was first attested in the

Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos raided its port of Saint Nicholas.[16][17][18] However, it likely dates to the abandonment of Nicopolis after the Uzes raids in Greece in the 1060s.[18]

Preveza is not mentioned thereafter until the 15th century, indicating that it was likely abandoned or was of negligible importance.[3] No medieval monuments survive, either.[3] The modern city likely traces its sources to a foundation (or at least fortification) after the Ottoman conquest of the region, likely c. 1486\7, followed by a second fortification in 1495.[3][18] Therefore, it is most unlikely that Preveza constitutes the continuation of ancient Nicopolis, as earlier scholars have suggested.[19]

First Ottoman period

The Ottomans refounded Preveza probably in 1477, with a subsequent strengthening of the fortifications in 1495.[20] The naval Battle of Preveza was fought off the shores of Preveza on 29 September 1538, where the Ottoman fleet of Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated a united Christian fleet under the Genoese captain Andrea Doria. This day is a Turkish Navy National Holiday, and some of today's Turkish submarines are called "Preveze".

Venetian intervention

See also: Stato da Màr
The conquest of Preveza by unknown painter (17th century)
Preveza and other Venetian possessions of the Ionian Sea

Preveza was hotly contested in several

Kosmas visited Preveza where it is said he founded a Greek school, which would be the only school of the city during the 18th century.[22] At the end of the 18th century, Preveza became a transit center of trade with western Europe (particularly France), which resulted in the increase of its population to approximately 10,000–12,000.[23]

Year of French rule (1797–1798)

See also: French Revolutionary Wars
The Venetian clock tower of the city

Following the

Revolutionary France. 280 French grenadiers arrived in Preveza under the commands of General La Salchette. The people of Preveza welcomed the French troops, and formed a pro-French civic militia.[citation needed] Around this same time the poet Rigas Feraios
was combining support for the ideas of the French Revolution with calls for a Greek uprising against Ottoman rule. He was intercepted and killed by the Ottoman authorities when en route to meet Napoleon and directly ask for his help for the Greek cause.

Ali Pasha Tepelena – having great ambitions to make himself a semi-independent ruler – attacked Preveza with an overwhelming force. In the Battle of Nicopolis on 12 October 1798 the troops of Ali Pasha and his son Mukhtar completely overwhelmed the French troops and their local allies. Over the next two days, 13–14 October 1798, a major massacre of the French troops and the local Greek population which defended the city took place in Preveza and Port Salaora, on the Ambracian Gulf, starting before Ali Pasha entered Preveza on 13 October but also continuing in his presence.[24] On 14 October, Ali Pasha called on those citizens of Preveza who had escaped to the Acarnanian Mountains to return to the city, and declared that they would be in no danger. However, upon their return, 170 of them were executed by the sword at the Salaora Port Customs.[25] Many prisoners who survived the massacre died from the hardships on the road to Ioannina. In the grand return and reception held for his victorious troops, which Ali Pasha organized at Ioannina, surviving French and rebel prisoners were given the unpleasant role of walking at the head of the procession, holding the cut and salted heads of their companions, under the shouts and jeers of Ioannina's pro-Ottoman residents. From Ioannina, nine captured French grenadiers, and two officers were sent chained to Istanbul for questioning. One of them, Captain Louis-Auguste Camus de Richemont, was later released, possibly mediated by the mother of Napoleon Bonaparte, Maria Letizia Bonaparte, and eventually became a general. Some popularly circulating tales, of doubtful historical authenticity, link this incident with the origins of the Spoonmaker's Diamond, one of the most closely guarded treasures of Istanbul's Topkapı Palace.[citation needed
]

"Lieutenant Richemont shakes down an Albanian horseman, during the battle of Nicopolis, in October 1798" by Felician Myrbach

Though Preveza would remain under Ottoman rule for more than a century, this event – both the short period of Greek militias active in the city and the shock of the massacre that followed – and the influence of the ideas of the French Revolution had a part in the development of Greek nationalism towards the Greek War of Independence, which broke out three decades later.

Second Ottoman period

A 1892 decree signed by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II which documents possession of a state farm in Preveza passing to the Sultan's ownership

From 1798 to 1820, Preveza was under the rule of the semi-independent

Sanjak of Preveze) in 1863, until the year 1912 when the city joined Greece. In 1835, educational activity in the city revived with the foundation of a new Greek school, the Theophaneios, named after its sponsor, Anastassios Theophanis. In the following decades, this school became a centre of education in the surrounding area and in 1851 it also hosted a female and a secondary school.[26]

According to the

Kingdom of Greece. Under this context, five meetings were held in Preveza, between Greek and Ottoman representatives, but all of them failed to reach an agreement.[27] Even before negotiations started, the Ottoman side used a number of Albanian national figures for delaying purposes and appointed Abedin bey Dino, member of the League of Prizren and representative of the Albanian national movement, as Ottoman foreign minister.[28] Moreover, Abedin Dino managed to gather various Albanian personalities in Preveza, from all over Albania and Epirus,[29] who believed that the Ottomans will provide full support to the Albanian movement and were against annexation of Epirus to Greece.[30][31][32][33] They also organized a meeting there in January 1879[34] and on 28 February 1879, signed a petition with a threat to take arms to prevent an annexation of Preveza to Greece.[35] As a result of the unrest created, led by Abdyl Frashëri, another Albanian national figure, the local Ottoman governor was recalled.[36] Abedin Dino was also recalled from Preveza, while the recently arrived Albanians left the city and returned to their homelands.[37]

The discussions between the two sides continued later in Constantinople, but the Ottoman side disagreed with the proposed border by using as an excuse the unrest created by Albanian representatives.[38] In March 1881, the Ottoman side proposed the cession of Thessaly and Arta regions, a proposal that ignored the Albanian positions, and was finally accepted by Greece, although most of Epirus was still outside Greece.[39] On the other hand, the Greek organisation, Epirote Society, founded in 1906 by members of the Epirote diaspora, Panagiotis Danglis and Spyros Spyromilios, aimed at the annexation of the region to Greece[40] by supplying local Greeks with firearms.[41]

From 1881 to 1912 the main sectors of the local economy witnessed dramatic decline and the port of the city lost most of its former commercial significance. However, education was still flourishing with two schools operating: one boys' and one girls' school. The school system of the city was primarily financed by Anastasios Theofanis, notable member of the diaspora.[42]

Balkan Wars

See also: Greece in the Balkan Wars
Greek armed forces in Preveza during the First Balkan War at the castle of Saint Andrew

The city of Preveza remained under Ottoman control until finally taken by the

Frederic Boissonnas, and a lot of photographs from this period are available today. Preveza along with the rest of southern Epirus formally became part of Greece via the Treaty of London
in 1913.

After the Balkan Wars the harbor of Preveza became a significant regional commercial center in western Greece. Moreover, local labor unions were created during the Interwar period.[42]

Second World War

Along with the rest of Greece, Preveza was

EAM-ELAS. The fights stopped after the Convention of Cazerta
between Great Britain and the two main Greek resistance groups, EDES and ELAS.

Modern period

The port
View of the promenade

Today Preveza is a commercial harbor and tourist hub, with a marina, four museums, two cinemas, an open theatre, a music Hall (OASIS), many clubs, taverns, and cafes, benefiting from its proximity to the nearby

Aktio-Preveza Immersed Tunnel, opened on 2002, is an important work of infrastructure for what has traditionally been a remote and underdeveloped region, and links Preveza to Actium (Greek: Άκτιο, Aktio) on the southern shore of the Ambracian Gulf, greatly shortening the distance of the trip to Lefkada
.

In July 2022, Preveza was affected by the

large wildfires.[45]

Notable sights

Canoeing in Acheron river
Ancient Cassope
The Roman aqueduct of Nicopolis

Notable natives and residents

Transport

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

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 statistics

Year Community Municipal unit Municipality
1981 13,624 – –
1991 13,341 16,886 –
2001 17,724 19,605 –
2011 20,795 22,853 31,733
2021 21,099 22,868 30,841

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Greece

Twin towns – sister cities

Preveza is a founding member of the

town twinning association of 24 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.[47][48] Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia and Tryavna
in Bulgaria).

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ Phourikis 1924, pp. 281–282, 287.
  3. ^ a b c d e Soustal & Koder 1981, p. 242.
  4. ^ Vasmer 1941, p. 64.
  5. ^ a b Savvides 1995, pp. 334–335.
  6. ^ Karabelas 2014, p. 2.
  7. ^ Panagiotis Aravantinos, Chronography of Epirus Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, (in Greek), Athens, 1857, vol. 2, p. 133, sv. Πρέβεζα.
  8. ^ Savvides 1992, pp. 401.
  9. ^ "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  11. ^ Theodora Kontogianni, Kassopi. A brief guide of the archaeological site, Greek Ministry of Culture, Ioannina, 2006.
  12. ^ Plutarch: Life of King Pyrrhus, Kaktos editions, Athens
  13. ISBN 0-520-08349-0. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  14. ^ Plutarch: Life of Marc Antony, vol.III
  15. ^ Konstantinos Zachos: Ancient Nicopolis, The Greek Ministry of Culture, 2003
  16. ^ Phourikis 1924, pp. 281–283, 287.
  17. ^ Phourikis 1930, pp. 218–224.
  18. ^ a b c Savvides 1995, p. 335.
  19. ^ Nikos D. Karabelas, Is Preveza the continuation of ancient Nicopolis? Archived 19 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Preveza, 2014.
  20. ISBN 978-87-7288-734-0
    , p. 60.
  21. ^ Finlay, p. 209
  22. ISBN 978-960-213-371-2
    , p. 306
  23. ISBN 978-960-233-187-3
    , p. 313-315.
  24. ISBN 978-0-691-00194-4
    , p. 99
  25. ^ Nikos Karabelas: "Foreign travellers in Preveza", Newspaper Kathimerini, 28 January 2001
  26. ISBN 978-960-213-371-2
    , p. 306
  27. ^ Kondis, 1976, p. 21: "In February 1879, Greek and Turkish commissioners met at Preveza in accordance with the Congress recommendation; five meetings were held, but all failed completely."
  28. ^ Kondis, 1976, p. 24: "Just before the start of the Berlin Conference the Porte, in order to use Albanian unrest for delaying purposes, appointed a member of the Albanian League, Abded Din Pasha Dino, a big landlord from Epirus, as foreign minister. In secret directives Abded Din Pasha promised to the Albanian League the support of the Porte in its conflict with Greece."
  29. ^ Skoulidas p. 152: "Μεγάλη υπήρξε και η κινητοποίηση του Abeddin bey Dino, ο οποίος συγκέντρωσε στην Πρέβεζα αλβανούς ηγέτες από ολόκληρο τον αλβανικό και τον ηπειρωτικό χώρο, οι οποίοι διαμαρτύρονταν για την ενδεχόμενη προσάρτηση της Ηπείρου στην Ελλάδα. Υπήρξαν ελληνικές εκτιμήσεις, με τη συνδρομή του ιταλού υποπρόξενου Corti, ότι ο Abeddin βρισκόταν στα όρια της χρεοκοπίας και ότι θα μπορούσε να εξαγοραστεί με 100 χιλιάδες φράγκα, όμως οι σχετικές κινήσεις δεν προχώρησαν υπό το πνεύμα μήπως υπάρξουν επιπλοκές στις διαπραγματεύσεις, τις οποίες οι ελληνικές θεωρήσεις"
  30. ^ Medlicott William Norton. Bismarck, Gladstone, and the Concert of Europe Archived 23 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine University of London, Athlone Press, 1956, p. 77
  31. ^ Kondis, 1976, p. 24
  32. ISBN 0-521-27458-3. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  33. ISBN 9780691650029. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  34. ISBN 99927-1-622-3
    .
  35. ISBN 1-84511-287-3. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  36. ^ Ortayli, İlber (1998). Belleten. Vol. 62. Türk Tarih Kurumu. p. 153. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  37. ^ Skoulidas, 2001, p. 157: "Η Υψηλή Πύλη, για άγνωστους λόγους που ενδεχομένως σχετίζονταν με την σημαντική κινητοποίηση και παρουσία Αλβανών στην Πρέβεζα που θα μπορούσε να καταστεί επικίνδυνη για τα συμφέροντα της, ανακάλεσε τον Abeddiii bey Dino στην Κων/λη και στη θέση του έστειλε τον Costali Pasha, προκαλώντας τη δυσαρέσκεια του Vessel bey Dino, του καδή της Πρέβεζας και άλλων αλβανών προκρίτων, οι οποίοι στη συνέχεια αποχώρησαν στις ιδιαίτερες πατρίδες τους..."
  38. ^ Kondis, 1976, p. 25: "In the Berlin Conference as was the case at Preveza and Constantinople matters dragged out. Turkey was willing to make a small concession in Thessaly but she refused to cede any territory from the vilayet of Janina to Greece. Albanian unrest was again used as an excuse."
  39. ^ Skoulidas, 2001, p. 164: "Η στάση της αυτοκρατορίας μεταβλήθηκε στα τέλη του Μαρτίου 1881 όταν και παρουσίασε μία νέα πρόταση: παραχώρηση στην Ελλάδα της Θεσσαλίας και του τμήματος του καζά Άρτας ανατολικά του Αράχθου, αλλά όχι μεγαλύτερο τμήμα από την Ήπειρο. Μία πρόταση, η οποία ήταν και αυτή που εφαρμόστηκε τελικά. Η μεταβολή της στάσεως που ακολούθησε η Οθωμανική αυτοκρατορία δεν μπορεί να εξηγηθεί χωρίς να ληφθεί υπόψη η μεταβολή στις σχέσεις Οθωμανών και Αλβανών, οι οποίες σταδιακά είχαν οδηγηθεί σε ρήξη."
  40. ISBN 978-960-213-371-2. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  41. ISBN 978-960-213-371-2. Archived
    from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  42. ^ a b Πρέβεζα Archived 13 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Η Καθημερινή, Επτά Ημέρες, 2001, p. 7-8
  43. ISBN 0-8160-1854-5
    , page 61.
  44. ^ "Preveza". Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  45. ^ Gct (15 July 2022). "Wildfires Continue To Burn All Over Greece". Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  46. ^ Vitalis, Filaretos (1978). Ειδήσεις για τα σχολεία Πρεβέζης επί Τουρκοκρατίας (PDF). Πρεβεζάνικα Χρονικά (in Greek). No. 1. Municipal Library of Preveza. p. 9. Retrieved 27 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  47. ^ "Douzelage.org: Home". douzelage.org. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  48. ^ "Douzelage.org: Member Towns". douzelage.org. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2009.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Preveza.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Preveza".
  1. ^ Karabelas, Nikos D. (2014). "Είναι η Πρέβεζα συνέχεια της αρχαίας Νικόπολης;". Academia (in Greek).
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