KOZANI PREFECTURE

'Kozani' (Greek: Κοζάνη) is a prefecture in Greece. It is in the western part of Greek Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kozani.

Contents

Boundaries

Provinces

Municipalities and communities

Geography

Climate

History

Kozani until the 1990s

Kozani today

Economy

Transport

Athletic Clubs

See also

Boundaries

It is bounded by the prefectures of Kastoria to the west and northwest, Florina to the north, Pella to the northeast, Imathia and Pieria to the east, Larissa (part of Thessaly) to the southeast, and Grevena to the south.

Provinces

Kozani has three provinces: Kozani, Eordaia and Voio.

Municipalities and communities

Municipality	YPES code	Seat (if different)	Postal code	Area code
Agia Paraskevi	2901	Agios Christoforos	502 00	24630-51
Aiani	2902		500 04	24610-98
Askio	2903	Kaloneri	500 03	24650-71
Dimitrios Ypsilantis	2907	Mavrodendri	502 00	24610-96
Elimeia	2908	Krokos	500 10	24610-63
Ellispontos	2909	Koilada	501 00	24610-90
Kamvounia	2910	Tranovalto	505 00	24640-5
Kozani	2911		501 00	24610-2 through 7
Mouriki	2913	Emporio	500 05	24630-6
Neapoli	2914		500 01	24680-2
Ptolemaida	2916		502 00	24630-27
Servia	2917		505 00	24640-2
Siatista	2918		503 00	24650-2
Tsotyli	2919		500 02	24680-31
Velventos	2904		504 00	24640-31
Vermio	2905	Komnina	500 06	24630-31
Community	YPES code	Seat (if different)	Postal code	Area code
Vlasti	2906		500 09	24630-93
Livadero	2912		505 00	24640-41
Pentalofos	2915		500 07	24680-41

Geography

Its geography features a small valley that stretches from the northern part of the prefecture down to the Aliakmon River and Lake Polyfytos. The mountains are to the west and east especially the area of Kozani, they include Askio to the west, Vermio to the northeast and Voio to the southwest. The northern portion are mined and the western and the eastern portions are forested as well as grassy and barren.

Climate

Its climate ranges from continental to mountainous. Kozani has warm to hot summers and cool winters, cooler than Thessaloniki, the mountainous, the western and the eastern portion receives cold winters and features snow. Its sunshine days are days shorter than the south and by the coastline, it is more rainier than the south. Temeperatures ranges from 25 to 30 C during the summer months.

History

Kozani until the 1990s

The area of the prefecture were made up of several kingdoms including the ancient Eordaia, it was later ruled by the Kingdom of Macedonia and later, the Roman Empire after the Third Macedonian War, it later became a part of the Byzantine Empire after the break up into the West and the East, in the early 14th to the 15th century, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire and lasted until the Balkan Wars of 1913. The modern prefecture was created later on and included the modern Florina, Grevena and the Kastoria prefecture. Refugees from Asia Minor and Pontus during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 to 1922 brought refugees to the area including Kozani and villages and towns that removed the Turkish population to the country which later became only known as Turkey. The economy boomed and was disrupted later on. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, most of the bulildings were repaired. Kozani opened its airport and later its hospital. In 1996, an earthquake rumbled a part of the prefecture. Between 1998 and 2006, the Via Egnatia was under construction and contains tunnels, it was finally opened after the completion.

Kozani today

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The prefecture was affected by a small forest fire that burnt forests in the vicinity of Velventos near Lake Polyfytos, it consumed a part of the area but it was a minor wildfire that lasted hours

Economy

Kozani has been a prosperous area in the course of its history. Its merchants are once known to have dominated the commerce of the Balkan peninsula, expanding their trade activities to the north and along the Danube. Kozani nowadays is still among the most prosperous areas of the Greek province, but for a different reason, its rich mining industry. Kozani produces lignite, which is the main source of the electric power produced in Greece, nitrous salts which are processed into fertilizers, and chromium. There was also an asbestos mine that remained operational until the mid-1990s, which has now ceased its operation. In the prefecture of Kozani there is also the artificial lake and hydroelectric dam of Polyfytos, which further contributes to the electricity production of Greece. The region's vast industrial advancement in a short period of time has raised environmentalist concerns.

Transport

★ National Roads

★
★ Greece Interstate 3, SE, Cen., N

★
★ Greece Interstate 15, SW, W

★
★ Greece Interstate 20, SW, W, Cen.

★
★ Via Egnatia

★ Air transport:

★
★ Kozani National Airport "Filippos", 4km from Kozani (flights to Kastoria, Athens).

★ Rail transport:

★
★ Railway Line Kozani - Ptolemaida ( - Edessa - Veria - Thessaloniki).

Athletic Clubs

★ Lignitorychi - Ptolemaida

See also

★ List of settlements in the Kozani prefecture