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Kastoria
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Kastoria
Kastoria (Greek: Καστοριά, Kastoriá [kastoˈrʝa]) is a city in Northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains. The town is known for its many Byzantine churches, Byzantine and Ottoman-era domestic architecture, its lake and its fur clothing industry.
In the 6th century, the historian Procopius wrote the name Kastoria was used for the lake. The first reference to the town of Kastoria is by historian John Skylitzes writing about the late 10th century. The toponym Kastoria means "place of beavers" and is derived from kastori (καστόρι), the Greek word for beaver and an animal whose local habitat was along the shores of lake Kastoria. The name of the town is sometimes written as Castoria, especially in older works. The town is known as Kesriye in Turkish, Kostur (Cyrillic: Костур) in Bulgarian and Macedonian, Kosturi in Albanian and Kusturea in Aromanian.
The municipality Kastoria was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 9 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
The municipality has an area of 763.330 km2, the municipal unit 57.318 km2. The municipal unit consists of the town Kastoria and the settlements Aposkepos, Kefalari and Chloi.
Kastoria has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). As a result of the moderating effect of the lake, it records less extreme temperatures than the rest of Western Macedonia.
Kastoria was the site of previous settlements, the first being Celetrum (or Keletron), a town located near a lake in Orestis and mentioned by historian Livy in reference to the events of 199 BC. Celetrum surrendered to Publius Sulpicius Galba during the Roman war (200–197 BC) against Philip V of Macedon. The ancient town was possibly located on a hill above the town's current location.
The Roman Emperor Diocletian (ruled 284–305 AD) founded the town of Diocletianopolis (Διοκλητιανούπολις) in the vicinity. After Diocletianopolis was destroyed by barbarians, Emperor Justinian relocated it on a promontory projecting into Lake Orestiada, the town's current location, and Procopius writes the emperor "gave it an appropriate name", perhaps indicating that he renamed it Justinianopolis (Ίουστινιανούπολις). References to Justinian's settlement cease during the 7th and 8th centuries, due to the possible abandonment of the location. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus made an anachronistic mention of Diocletianopolis in his work De Thematibus (10th century).
The origins of Kastoria are from the 9th century, as its surrounding walls and oldest churches, such as St. Stephan and the Taxiarchs, date from the era. The first mention of the settlement of Kastoria was by Skylitzes in relation to events of the late 10th century during the Byzantine–Bulgarian wars. The town was in Bulgarian hands until 1018, when it was conquered by Basil II.
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Kastoria
Kastoria (Greek: Καστοριά, Kastoriá [kastoˈrʝa]) is a city in Northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains. The town is known for its many Byzantine churches, Byzantine and Ottoman-era domestic architecture, its lake and its fur clothing industry.
In the 6th century, the historian Procopius wrote the name Kastoria was used for the lake. The first reference to the town of Kastoria is by historian John Skylitzes writing about the late 10th century. The toponym Kastoria means "place of beavers" and is derived from kastori (καστόρι), the Greek word for beaver and an animal whose local habitat was along the shores of lake Kastoria. The name of the town is sometimes written as Castoria, especially in older works. The town is known as Kesriye in Turkish, Kostur (Cyrillic: Костур) in Bulgarian and Macedonian, Kosturi in Albanian and Kusturea in Aromanian.
The municipality Kastoria was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 9 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
The municipality has an area of 763.330 km2, the municipal unit 57.318 km2. The municipal unit consists of the town Kastoria and the settlements Aposkepos, Kefalari and Chloi.
Kastoria has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). As a result of the moderating effect of the lake, it records less extreme temperatures than the rest of Western Macedonia.
Kastoria was the site of previous settlements, the first being Celetrum (or Keletron), a town located near a lake in Orestis and mentioned by historian Livy in reference to the events of 199 BC. Celetrum surrendered to Publius Sulpicius Galba during the Roman war (200–197 BC) against Philip V of Macedon. The ancient town was possibly located on a hill above the town's current location.
The Roman Emperor Diocletian (ruled 284–305 AD) founded the town of Diocletianopolis (Διοκλητιανούπολις) in the vicinity. After Diocletianopolis was destroyed by barbarians, Emperor Justinian relocated it on a promontory projecting into Lake Orestiada, the town's current location, and Procopius writes the emperor "gave it an appropriate name", perhaps indicating that he renamed it Justinianopolis (Ίουστινιανούπολις). References to Justinian's settlement cease during the 7th and 8th centuries, due to the possible abandonment of the location. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus made an anachronistic mention of Diocletianopolis in his work De Thematibus (10th century).
The origins of Kastoria are from the 9th century, as its surrounding walls and oldest churches, such as St. Stephan and the Taxiarchs, date from the era. The first mention of the settlement of Kastoria was by Skylitzes in relation to events of the late 10th century during the Byzantine–Bulgarian wars. The town was in Bulgarian hands until 1018, when it was conquered by Basil II.
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