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Veria Βέροια
Settlement
Nightview of Veria from the Villa Vikela Hill in August 2007.Nightview of Veria from the Villa Vikela Hill in August 2007.
Flag
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Area
• Total	341.1 km (131.7 sq mi)
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Population
• Total	47,411
• Density	140/km (360/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	591 00
Area code(s)	23310
Vehicle registration	ΗΜ
Website	www.veria.gr

Veria (officially transliterated as Veroia, Greek Βέροια or Βέρροια - Véria) is a city in Greece. It is a commercial center of Greek 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 Slavs, 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. Professor Sedat Alp, the first archaeologist in Turkey with a specialization in Hittitology, was born in Veria. In Slavic it is called Бер Ber.

History

Veria had a fairly large Jewish community in the first century A.D. The concern of some of these Jews for careful criticism in the study of the Christian scriptures was commended by Paul (Acts 17:10-13). Paul withdrew to Veria with Silas and Timothy from Jewish persecution at Thessaloniki. When the persecutors followed him from Thessaloniki, he retreated by sea to proceed to Athens (Acts 17:10-15). The Berean Jews were "more noble than those in Thessaloniki, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so." (See Isa 8:20; John 5:39; Gal 1:8-9.) The result was necessarily, "many believed; also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men not a few."

Sopater, or Sosipater, one of them, became Paul's missionary companion (Acts 20:4; Rom 16:21) in returning to Asia from his second visit to Europe, where he had been with him at Corinth. The climate is very hot in the summer with modest rain and occasional snowfalls in the winter. 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 exploded into a four-stories building offering multimedia, special and rare editions. Veria's public library collaborates with many international organizations and hosts several cultural events. Every summer (August 15th to September 15th) the "Imathiotika" festivities take place with a rich cultural program deriving mainly from Veria's tradition. Elia is one of Veria's sites with great natural beauty and with an amazing view of the evergreen Imathia's plain. Neighboring Seli is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city there is the Aliakmonas' river water dam.

Current events

The disappearance in Veria of Alex Mechisvili, an eleven year old boy of Georgian descent living in northern Greece, after revealing to his parents that he had seen "what happens to kids who are not supervised by anyone," has galvanized the Greek public. While five local children have confessed to the murder, the body has never been found, and their story is not universally believed. When the local Roma clan head, reputed to be the crime boss of Veria was questioned by the mother of the missing child about his possible complicity, he is reputed to have answered, "No. We don't steal children that old."

Earthquakes in 2007

An earthquake that took place in Veria on 28th January 2007 caused no anxiety. In February 2007,though, about three new earthquakes took place with the strongest on 21st February 2007 at 03:42 a.m. (4.5 degrees on the Richter scale). Another earthquake of undetermined magnitude took place on Sunday 6th May 2007 at 06:14 a.m. local time. Veria is an area with a relatively low earthquake activity.

Historical population

Climate

Typically, Veria experiences cold wet winters and hot dry summers. Especially the summer of 2007, Veria experienced one of its highest temperatures lately, 44

Famous People

• Pantelis Kafes, Footballer
• Alexandros Alexandris, Footballer
• Yiannis Arabatzis, Footballer
• Kostas Tsartsaris, Basketball Player

References

1. De Facto Population of Greece Population and Housing Census of March 18th, 2001 (PDF 39 MB). National Statistical Service of Greece. 2003.
2. ' Malcolm Brabant, BBC News, Athens: Lost Greek boy 'may be sex victim

External links

• Asyrmato Mitropolitiko Dyktio Verias,The local wireless network
• ProvoleasOnline local and national e-magazine hosted by Dimitrios Provados (in Greek)
• Mapquest - Veria, street map not yet available
• Maporama - Veria, street map available
• Coordinates: 40°31′14″N 22°12′8″E / 40.52056°N 22.20222°E / 40.52056; 22.20222

See also

• List of communities of Imathia

Template:Imathia

v t e   Prefectural capitals of Greece

Agios Nikolaos Alexandroupoli Amfissa Argostoli Arta Athens Chalcis Chania Chios Corfu Corinth Drama Edessa Ermoupoli Florina Grevena Heraklion Igoumenitsa Ioannina Kalamata Karditsa Karpenisi Kastoria Katerini Kavala Kilkis Komotini Kozani Lamia Larissa Lefkada Livadeia Missolonghi Mytilene Nafplion Pallini Patras Piraeus Polygyros Preveza Pyrgos Rethymno Rhodes Serres Sparta Thessaloniki Trikala Tripoli Vathy Veria Volos Xanthi Zakynthos

• Proposed deletion as of 5 September 2007
• Cities and towns in Greece
• Greek prefectural capitals
• Imathia
• Jewish history
• Biblical places