Tyrnavos
Encyclopedia
Tyrnavos is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly
region
of Greece
. Tyrnavos is the prefecture's third largest community within the Larissa prefecture. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain. The river Titarisios, a tributary of the Pineios, flows through the town. Tyrnavos is bypassed by the GR-3
(Larissa - Kozani - Niki
) and has an old road connecting the town to Elassona. It will be linked with a superhighway numbered 3 (A3) with an unscheduled opening date. Tyrnavos is located south-southwest of Thessaloniki
and Katerini
, northwest of Larissa
, east-northeast of Trikala
and south-southeast of Elassona
and Kozani
.
. The festival takes place on the first Monday of Lent
(Clean Monday
) and involves eating, drinking, dancing, singing and gigantic wooden phalluses. The pagan fertility festival in honour of the god Dionysus
marks the beginning of the Greek Orthodox fasting period before Easter
and is one of the most famous in Greece. The festival and the town are also famous for the "bourani" spinach soup. Until the 1940s the festival was reserved for men only but gradually women have acquired a more active role. Due to the intense pagan roots of the festival and its irreverence, the Greek Orthodox Church does not approve of the event.
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
region
Peripheries of Greece
The current official regional administrative divisions of Greece were instituted in 1987. Although best translated into English as "regions", the transcription peripheries is sometimes used, perhaps to distinguish them from the traditional regions which they replaced. The English word 'periphery'...
of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Tyrnavos is the prefecture's third largest community within the Larissa prefecture. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain. The river Titarisios, a tributary of the Pineios, flows through the town. Tyrnavos is bypassed by the GR-3
Greek National Road 3
Greek National Road 3 begins from Eleusis and heads north, passing Larissa, Florina and terminates at the border with the Republic of Macedonia in Niki, which from there links with the M3. The road is part of the E65. In the late 1980s, motorway bypasses have been constructed for the towns...
(Larissa - Kozani - Niki
Níki, Greece
Níki is a village situated in the Florina Prefecture, Greece, along the border with the Republic of Macedonia. The village is located 14 km north of Florina at the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing. Its name in Greek means victory....
) and has an old road connecting the town to Elassona. It will be linked with a superhighway numbered 3 (A3) with an unscheduled opening date. Tyrnavos is located south-southwest of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and Katerini
Katerini
Katerini is a town in Central Macedonia, Greece, the capital of Pieria regional unit. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude of 14 m. The town, which is one of the newest in Greece, has a population of 83,764...
, northwest of Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
, east-northeast of Trikala
Trikala
Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala peripheral unit, and is located NW of Athens, NW, of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa...
and south-southeast of Elassona
Elassona
Elassona is a town and a municipality in the Larissa peripheral unit in Greece. During antiquity Elassona was called Oloosson - Ὀλοοσσών and was a town of the ancient "Perrhaebi", known today as Thessaly. It is situated at the foot of Mount Olympus...
and Kozani
Kozani
Kozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...
.
Phallus Festival
The city holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional phallophoric event on the first days of LentLent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
. The festival takes place on the first Monday of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
(Clean Monday
Clean Monday
Clean Monday , also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of the Eastern Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Great Lent...
) and involves eating, drinking, dancing, singing and gigantic wooden phalluses. The pagan fertility festival in honour of the god Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
marks the beginning of the Greek Orthodox fasting period before Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
and is one of the most famous in Greece. The festival and the town are also famous for the "bourani" spinach soup. Until the 1940s the festival was reserved for men only but gradually women have acquired a more active role. Due to the intense pagan roots of the festival and its irreverence, the Greek Orthodox Church does not approve of the event.
Municipality
The municipality Tyrnavos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- AmpelonasAmpelonasAmpelonas is a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tyrnavos, of which it is a municipal unit...
- Tyrnavos
Subdivisions
The municipal unit of Tyrnavos is divided into the following communities (constituent settlements in brackets):- Argyropouleio (Argyropouleio, Ano Argyropouleio, Votanochori)
- Damasi (Damasi, Damasouli)
- Dendra Tyrnavou (Dendra, Agia Sofia, Platanoulia)
- Tyrnavos (Tyrnavos, Kritiri, Lygaria, Perichora)
Population
| Year | Town population | Municipal district population | Municipality population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 11,118 | - | - |
| 1991 | 12,028 | - | 16,923 |
| 2001 | 11,116 | 12,451 | 16,900 |