VOLOS
Volos is a city situated at the centre of the Greek
mainland, about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km
south from Thessaloniki. It is the capital of Magnesia
prefecture.
Built at the innermost point of the Pagasetic Gulf and
at the foot of Mount Pilio or Pelion (the land of the
Centaurs), it is the only outlet towards the sea from
Thessaly, the country's largest agricultural region.
Volos is one of the major commercial ports of Greece,
but also gains much traffic because it is connected by
ferries as well as by hydrofoils with the nearby
Sporades Islands, Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos. The
city also boasts an industrial area in its outskirts.
The greater Volos conurbation has a population of about
160,000 and includes the Municipalities of Volos, Nea
Ionia and Iolkos, as well as smaller suburban
communities. The economy of the city is based on
manufacturing, trade, services and tourism.
Modern Volos is build on the area of the ancient cities
of Demetrias, Pagasae and Iolkos. Demetrias was
established by Demetrius Poliorcetes, king of Macedonia.
Iolkos or Iolcos or Iolcus was the homeland of hero
Jason who boarded the ship Argo accompanied by the
Argonauts and sailed in the quest for the Golden Fleece
to Colchis. To the west of Volos there are the neolithic
settlements of Dimini with a ruined acropolis, walls and
two beehive tombs dated between 4000-1200 BC and Sesklo
with the remains of the oldest acropolis in Greece (6000
BC), as well as the foundations of a palace and mansions
among the most typical examples of neolithic
civilisation.
According to a Byzantine historian of the 14th century
Volos was called "Golos". The most widely accepted
theory for the derivation of the city's name is that
Volos is a corruption of the Mycenaean Iolkos, which was
distorted through the ages to "Golkos", then "Golos" and
subsequently "Volos". Others claim that it originates
from Folos, who according to mythology was a wealthy
landlord of the region.
Volos is a relatively new city, that began growing in
the mid 19th century where an insignificant Turkish
hamlet used to be. After its annexation to Greece from
the Ottoman Empire in 1881, it had a population of only
4,900 but rapidly grew within the next 4 decades.
Merchants, businessmen, craftsmen and sailors moved to
Volos from the surrounding area. In the 1920's there was
a large influx of refugees in Volos, especially from
Ionia, but also from Pontus, Cappadocia and Eastern
Thrace. In the 1920 census, Volos had 30,046 inhabitants
but according to the 1928 census, its population grew to
47,892. In detail: Volos had a total population of
41,706 and the refugees of the "Asia Minor Catastrophe"
were 6,779 (percentage of refugees in Volos 16.25%). In
the Nea Ionia district, the total population was 6,186
and the refugees were 5,166 (percentage of refugees in
the district of New Ionia 83.51%). Thus the total number
of refugees in the Municipality of Pagasses (Volos and
Nea Ionia) was: 11,945 and the percentage of refugees in
the Municipality of Pagasses (Volos and Nea Ionia) was:
24,94%.
The development of the city was closely connected with
the establishment of the industrial estate, the
upgrading of the port and the growth of tourism due to
the geographical position of Volos near scenic Mt.
Pelion (home of Chiron the Centaur) and the beautiful
beaches of Magnesia prefecture, especially those of the
Northern Sporades islands. The city has been linked with
various social and other movements in the past, such as
the early teaching of Dimotiki by A. Delmouzos in the
early 20th century (when Katharevousa was the officially
sanctioned version).
Volos has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, banks, a
post office, a beach and squares (plateia) including the
Riga Fereou Square. |