Giannitsa

City in Macedonia, Greece

Giannitsa (Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Giannitsa has an area of 208.105 km2. Its population is 32,410 people (2021 census). It includes a few outlying villages (Mesiano, Melissi, Pentaplatanos, Archontiko, Ampelies and Damiano). The municipality Pella as a whole includes many villages and has 57,039 inhabitants. The city is located in the center of Macedonia between Mount Paiko and the plain of Giannitsa, and is the economic, commercial and industrial center of the Pella regional unit. European route E86 (Greek National Road 2) runs along the south of the city. The former shallow, swampy, and variable sized Giannitsa Lake or (ancient) Loudias Lake, fed by the Loudias River and south of the city, was drained in 1928 1932 by the New York Foundation Company. It or the surrounding marshland were sometimes called Borboros 'slime' or Borboros Limen. About from Giannitsa are the ruins of ancient Pella, birthplace of Alexander the Great and capital of ancient Macedonia. The city is from Thessaloniki.

The city was founded as Yenice i Vardar Ottoman Turkish يڭيجۀ واردار 'new (town) of Vardar' in around 1383 – 1387. It was sometimes called Evrenos Beg yöresi 'Evrenos Bey's town'. The Turkish name, in the form Yenitsa (Γενιτσά), was used until February 1926 when its name was Hellenized as Giannitsa (Γιαννιτσά). In other languages, the city is called: Ottoman Turkish Yenice i Vardar ('new town of Vardar', as opposed to Yenice i Karasu, modern Genisea, near Xanthi and known for tobacco), Turkish Yenice or Vardar Yenicesi, , Enidzhe Vardar or Пазар Pazar, , Enidzhe Vardar.

In the area of "Old Market", on the southern hill of the city, there was an Early Neolithic settlement (late 7th to early 6th millennium BC). Giannitsa was also inhabited through the Bronze and Iron Ages. Incidental findings, such as coins, inscriptions, and sculptures indicate that the area was inhabited during the Hellenistic period (323 30BC). In ancient times, the area was called Bottiaea. In the vicinity of the city ancient towns of Pella and Kyrros and medieval metropolitan centre of Giannitsa were presented.

Though there was probably a pre existing Byzantine castle in the vicinity, the importance of the city of Giannitsa begins with its foundation by Gazi Evrenos in around 1383 – 1387. Giannitsa became the base of the ghazi followers of Evrenos who took Macedonia and later Albania. The city (known as Vardar Yenicesi or Yenice i Vardar under the Ottomans) was an important Ottoman cultural center and sacred area in the 15th and 16th centuries. Starting in the mid 15th century, Giannitsa became a center of literature and the arts. Under Ahmet Bey, a descendant of Gazi Evrenos, many mosques, schools, workhouses and charitable projects were founded. In 1519 (Hijri 925), its population consisted of 793 Muslim, 25 Christian and 24 Jewish households and it was a zeamet of Mevlana Ahmet Çelebi. Although Persian was widely studied in the Ottoman held Balkans (Rumelia), Vardar Yenicesi differed from other localities in the Balkans insofar as that it was a town where Persian was also widely spoken. However, the Persian of Vardar Yenicesi and throughout the rest of the Ottoman held Balkans was different from formal Persian both in accent and vocabulary.

Giannitsa "retained its emphatically Turkish character up to 1912" and members of the Evrenos family lived in the city in a large palace in the center of town until then. During this period in the city is formed Bulgarian action committee and later Central Bulgarian macedonian committee, headed by the local citizen Georgi Kayafov. Also a Thessaloniki bulgarian club branch was formed by locals Georgi Yankulov, Perikle Gyupchinov, Hristo Panayotov and Georgi Kayafov.

Giannitsa was an important center in the Ottoman period, and several important monuments survive, such as the Tombs of Gazi Evrenos (built in 1417) and Gazi Ahmed Bey, the Kaifoun Baths, the Great Mosque, the Army Mosque, the hammam of Evrenos, and the Clock Tower, built from 1667 to 1668 by the Ottomans. (The choice of location was made with military criteria because they wanted to control the commercial activity that took place across the city and throughout central Macedonia.) These monuments have been declared historical monuments by the Greek Archaeological Service. Points of interest include also the Cathedral Church of Giannitsa (achieved in 1860), the Neoclassical Multicenter, the Filippeio tourist center, the Macedonian tombs, and the prehistoric settlement of Archontiko.

The Folklore Museum of Giannitsa (opened in October 1977) by the "Philippos" History and Folklore Association to promote local history and traditions. The Military museum of Giannitsa (opened 24 February 2012), displays photographs, texts, weapons, uniforms, medals and other materials, with a particular emphasis on the Battle of the Swamp and the Balkan Wars 1912–1913.

Black Statue The Memorial of Giannitsà, erected at the eastern entrance to the town in 1926 in honor and remembrance of the battle of Giannitsà (Sculptor: Gregory Zevgolis). Mass Grave, a list of the residents who were executed at the 1st Primary School on 14 September 1944 by German troops. Alexander the Great, near the Cultural Center, unveiled on 20 October 2009, the anniversary of the liberation of the city and the Day of the Macedonian Struggle. Philip II of Macedon, located in the park of the "Filippio" tourist center. Near the statue, there is a relief depicting the Macedonian phalanx. A bust of the Makedonomachos Gonos Yiotas in Gonou Yiota Square.

About northwest of the city is the spring of Aravissos, which produces drinking water. The surrounding grove and creek include a popular park.

Giannitsa is predominantly a rural area. The draining of the Lake Giannitsà left fertile soil for agriculture, leading to population growth in the region.

The focus of the social life of the city is at the central pedestrian street, where people gather to eat and drink or to take a walk. Giannitsa was one of the first cities that founded Open Theatre (3000 seats) and became an institution for cultural events and big names in theater and music, every year, the last month of summer giving a culture festival character Also various theatrical and musical events take place in a closed theater located internally of the Cultural Centre which has a modern architecture. In the first days of September there is a big market for about a week. The DI. K. E. P. A. P. (ΔΗ. Κ. Ε. Π. Α. Π) is a charitable non profit cultural organization founded in 1996 that develops music, visual arts, dance, film and other arts.

Seven kilometers south of the center is the Loudias River, which has a sailing center. The Nautical Club of Giannitsa (NOG) teaches canoeing, kayaking, and rowing.

The most popular team is the Anagennisi Giannitsa football team which plays at the Municipal Stadium. There is a motocross track northwest of the city, in the foothills of Mount Paiko, where local, Greek, and European races are run. At the river Loudias, there are rowing races in which the Nautical Club participates.