Veria

:Beroea redirects here and was also the ancient Greek name of modern Aleppo, Syria
Veria (officially transliterated as Veroia, Greek Βέροια or Βέρροια, also Φέροια in Classical Greek - Βέροια being the Ancient Macedonian equivalent; Ber) is a city built at the foot of Vermion Mountains in Greece. It is a commercial center of Macedonia, the capital of the prefecture of Imathia, the province of Imathia and the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church. Veria is on the site of the ancient city of Beroea (called Berea in some translations of the Bible), which was prominent from the 4th century BC and part of the Kingdom of Macedon. Part of Rome from 168 BC, both Paul and Silas preached there in AD 54 or 55 (see Bereans). Diocletian made the large and populous city one of two capitals of the Roman Province of Macedonia, and it was one of the earliest cities to become the seat of a bishop. Invaded by Bulgars, it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1361, who named it Kara Ferye. It was incorporated into the Greek state in 1912. 
Veria since the 1980s is bypassed and is linked by the superhighway linking to GR-1. GR-4/Via Egnatia runs through Veria and also the road to Edessa. It is located NE of Kozani, S of Edessa, SW of Thessaloniki, NW of Katerini, WNW of Athens and N of Larissa. 
== History ==
The city of Veria is first mentioned in the writings of Thucydides in 432 BCveria.gr, Veria:Its history (greek), accessed June 1, 2008., although there is evidence that the city was populated as early as 1000 BC. left|thumb|200px|right|Ioannis Kottounios was a Greek Professor of Philosophy and was born in Veria,Macedonia in 1577. The city got its name from its mythical creator Ferona or Verona OR from the daughter of the king of Veria (Verita) who is the thought to be the son of Macedon. The first inhabitants are known as the Vriges, who were uprooted by the Macedonians. 
The ancient Macedonians, a Hellenic people, made it their second most important city after Pella. During the Roman empire, Veria became a place of worship for the Romans. Within the city there was a Jewish settlement where the Apostle Paul (greek) hellasportal.gr,Apostle Paul preach in Veria, accessed June 1, 2008. preached after leaving Thessalonica (Acts 17:10-15). Said section provides:
'10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible."
Under the Byzantine Empire the city continued to grow and prosper until it was pillaged in the 9th century by the Bulgarians. During the Crusades it was conquered by the Normans (1185) and the Franks (1204) and in the middle of the 14th century by the Serbs. In Bulgarian, Macedonian Slavic and Serbian it is called Бер, Ber. In 1436, it was besieged and captured by the Ottoman Empire and remained in their control until 1912.
==Culture==
Veria hosts one of the largest and most complete public libraries in Greece. Originally a small single-room library with limited funds and material, it expanded into a four-story building offering multimedia, as well as special and rare editions. Veria's public library collaborates with many international organizations and hosts several cultural events. Every summer (August 15 to September 15) the "Imathiotika" festivities take place with a rich cultural program deriving mainly from Veria's tradition. The site of Elia offers great natural beauty and with an amazing view of the Imathia plain. Neighboring Seli is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city is the Aliakmonas river dam.
==Historical population==
Year	Population	Change 	Municipal population	Change
1981	37,966 	- 	- 	-
1991	37,858 	-108/0.29%	42,910 	-
2001	- 	- 	42,794 	-116/-0.27%
==Sports==
Veria is home to many sports clubs.The most famous is Veria FC which competes in Beta Ethniki. Veria also has two basketball teams. AOK Veria and Filippos Veria which compete in a local and third national division respectively. Most promiment, though, is the handball team of Filippos Veria, competing in the first national division and which has won many championships (both national and international) throughout the years.
==Education==
The School of Urban-Regional Planning and Development Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is located in Veria since 2004.
==Climate==
Typically, Veria experiences cold wet winters and hot summers.
Month 	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum. [°C] 	5 	6 	10 	16 	19 	28 	28 	24 	19 	16 	12 	5
Minimum temperature [°C]	2 	4 	8 	11 	16 	19 	17 	14 	12 	10 	8 	4
Record temperatures [°C]	20 	22 	25 	31 	36 	41 	40 	39 	36 	32 	27 	26
==Famous People==
*Sedat Alp, archaeologist
*Yiannis Arabatzis, footballer
*Pantelis Kafes, footballer
*Konstantinos Kallokratos, teacher and poet
*Pavlos Kontogiannidis, actor, singer
*Ioannis Kottounios, writer and humanist
*Dimitris Mavropoulos, actor and theatrical director
*Patriarch Metrophanes of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
*Patriarch Nephon I of Constantinople, Patriarch of Constantinople
*Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, former football player
*Kostas Tsartsaris, basketball player
==International relations==
===Twin towns — Sister cities===
Veria is twinned with:
Country 	City
Bulgaria	Kazanlak
==Gallery==
File:VeriaPanoramic.JPG|Panoramic view of Veria
File:Mosaic of St. Paul in Veria, Greece.jpg|Mosaic of St.Paul
Image:Snowing in Veria.jpg|Snow in Veria in December 2007
==See also==
*List of communities of Imathia
==References==
==External links==
*Mapquest - Veria, street map not yet available
*Coordinates: 
ar:فيريا
bg:Бер
ca:Véria
de:Veria
el:Βέροια
fr:Béroia
hr:Veria
it:Veria (Emazia)
la:Beroea (Graecia)
mk:Бер
nl:Berroia
nn:Véria
pl:Weria
pt:Véria (Grécia)
ro:Veria
ru:Верия
simple:Veroia
sr:Бер
sh:Ber
fi:Veria
sv:Veria
tr:Karaferye
uk:Верія
war:Veria
wo:Bere
Category:Cities, towns and villages in the Imathia Prefecture
Category:Greek prefectural capitals
 
Category:Jewish history
Category:New Testament places