# Grevena

Grevena (Greek: Γρεβενά, Grevená; Aromanian: Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 12,515 citizens (2021). It lies about 420 kilometres (261 miles) from Athens and about 180 km (112 miles) from Thessaloniki. The municipality's population is 25,905. Grevena has had access to the A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos) since the early 2000s, which now connects Igoumenitsa with Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli at the border with Turkey. Mountains surround the municipality, which is situated by the river Greveniotikos, which itself flows into the Aliakmon. Other significant towns in the municipality are Amygdaliés and Méga Seiríni. Grevena Municipal Museum is located in the town.

## History
### Ottoman period

Under Ottoman rule, Grevena was a small administrative and military centre, the seat of a kaza belonging to the Sanjak of Serfiğe within the Vilayet of Manastir. According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"), 600 Greek Christians, 500 Turks, 200 Greek Muslims, 150 Aromanians and 100 Romani lived in the town in 1900.
Grevena was a mixed town and a part of its population were Greek-speaking Muslim Vallahades. The 1920 Greek census recorded 3,108 people in Grevena, and 200 inhabitants (40 families) were Muslim in 1923. Following the Greek–Turkish population exchange, Greek refugee families in Grevena were from East Thrace (6), Asia Minor (33) and Pontus (16) in 1926. The 1928 Greek census recorded 3,747 town inhabitants. In 1928, the refugee families numbered 52 (194 people).
Due to its small size, the town's Ottoman past, represented through a few public buildings and the homes of Muslims located in the urban centre, all disappeared during the 20th century. A mosque and a madrasa remained in Grevena until the population exchange; later both were destroyed. Another mosque existed in Grevena and was converted into a church in 1927; later it and its minaret were demolished, and the church of Agios Achillios built on the site. Military barracks remained until World War Two, and were later destroyed. The large granite fortress residence (konak) of Veli Bey was destroyed after the population exchange.

### 1995 earthquake

The earthquake that occurred in the region on 13 May 1995 was 6.6 on the Richter magnitude scale, but it caused only material damage. The worst hit area was the county of Ventzia. There were two foreshocks of lesser intensity that preceded the main earthquake by a few minutes and warned people. These warnings sent the population out of their houses. When the main earthquake came, it destroyed nearly all the houses in several villages of the Ventzia County – the houses collapsed to the ground – but all the inhabitants were outside.
Another earthquake on 5 January 2005 measured 4.9 near Grevena. It took place at 20:00 local time (EET), and no damage was reported. Another earthquake with a measured intensity of 5.4 occurred on 17 July 2007 at 21:23 local time (EET) and was followed by weak aftershocks. Some older buildings were lightly damaged in villages northeast of Grevena.

## Administrative division
### Municipality

The municipality Grevena was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 13 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
* Agios Kosmas
* Dotsiko
* Filippaioi
* Gorgiani
* Grevena
* Irakleotes
* Mesolouri
* Samarina
* Smixi
* Theodoros Ziakas
* Ventzio

### Municipal unit

The municipal unit of Grevena is divided into the following communities:
* Agioi Theodoroi
* Amygdalies
* Elatos
* Elefthero
* Felli
* Kalochi
* Kyrakali
* Megalo Seirini
* Myrsina
* Rodia
* Megaro
* Vatolakkos

### Community

The community of Grevena consists of three separate settlements:
* Doxaras (population 190 in 2021)
* Grevena (population 12,293)
* Kalamitsi (population 30)

## Education

Two departments of the university of Western Macedonia based in the city, the departments of Statistics and Insurance Science and Business Administration.

## Economy

In the area, there is large production of mushrooms, collected in the Valia Calda area. It is also the place of production of Anevato cheese.

## Climate

Grevena has a mediterranean continental climate characterized by a great diurnal temperature variation. Winters are cold with frequent snowfalls, whereas summers are hot during the day and cool during the night.
Climate data for Grevena (510m) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 8 (46) | 14 (57) | 18.6 (65.5) | 24.1 (75.4) | 29 (84) | 31.5 (88.7) | 32.4 (90.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 22.5 (72.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 10.6 (51.1) | 20.2 (68.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.8 (21.6) | −2.1 (28.2) | 0.4 (32.7) | 4 (39) | 7.6 (45.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 14.5 (58.1) | 14.4 (57.9) | 11.3 (52.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 3.4 (38.1) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.8 (42.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 50 (2.0) | 40 (1.6) | 27.2 (1.07) | 56.6 (2.23) | 29.6 (1.17) | 20 (0.8) | 20 (0.8) | 10 (0.4) | 30 (1.2) | 50 (2.0) | 80 (3.1) | 87 (3.4) | 500.4 (19.77) |
| Source: http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/grevena/ (2019 – 2020 averages) ||||||||||||||

## Historical population

| Year | Community | Municipal unit | Municipality |
| 1981 | 7,739 | — | — |
| 1991 | 9,345 | 14,986 | — |
| 2001 | 12,037 | 16,421 | — |
| 2011 | 13,374 | 17,610 | 25,905 |
| 2021 | 12,515 | 15,716 | 21,421 |

## People

* Theodoros Ziakas, fighter in the Greek revolution
* Konstantinos Dimidis, printer, gunsmith, fighter in the Greek revolution
* Charissios Tziogas, fighter in the Greek revolution
* Nicolaos Tsolakis, chieftain of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia
* Nicolaos Zamkinos, leader of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia
* Georgios Boussios, fighter of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia, politician, minister of the Interior (Greece)
* Kostas Koutsomytis, director
* Kostas Papanikolaou, former NBA player
* Miltiadis Tentoglou, Olympic and European champion long jumper
* Eva Chantava, volleyball player