Servia, Greece

Servia has given its name to the prehistoric settlement site beside the former bridge across the Haliakmon river to the west and now submerged deep below the surface of Lake Polyphytos. This was first reported by Alan John Bayard Wace[8] and first excavated by the British School at Athens under the direction of Walter Heurtley in 1930.[9] Renewed excavations were jointly conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service and the British School at Athens under the direction of Aikaterina Rhomiopoulou and Cressida Ridley[10] between 1971 and 1973;[11][12] in advance before the completion of the Polyphytos hydro-electric dam and the flooding of the valley, to create Polyphytos lake.

The site is a low mound created by the debris of successive phases of human occupation, starting in the Middle Neolithic period before 5000 BCE. The square or rectangular buildings, one or two storeys in height, were framed with massive oak posts and the walls were created with wattle and daub. The 'classic' red on cream ceramic repertoire of this phase[13] is closely related to that of Thessaly at such sites as Sesklo and Achilleion. Typical shapes are fruitstands, shallow bowls and beakers. Bone and stone tools are frequent while ornaments of stone and sea shell (Spondylus gaederopus and Glycimeris) are quite frequent. Occupation continued for a thousand years until the early stages of the Late Neolithic period, characterised by black burnished and grey-on-grey pottery. Occasional fragments of pottery of other styles, together with occasional pieces of obsidian from Melos show that long distance 'trade' links had been established with coastal Thessaly and Eastern Macedonia. After a long interval, occupation resumed in the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC)when the ceramic repertoire suggests a cultural orientation towards Central Macedonia rather than Thessaly.[12][14]

Palaeobotanical studies of seeds and other plant remains recovered from all periods at the site and studied by R. Housely and R. Hubbard provide important information about early Greek agricultural practices.[11]

The town hall of the city of Servia.

During ancient times, Servia served as a fort for the passageway between Macedonia and Thessaly, hence its name. As time passed people settled around the area and the town of Phylacae was created. People that have passed through the then town of Servia, include Alexander the Great, on his way to Thebes in 335 B.C., and Apostle Paul during his journey to Macedonia in the first century A.D.

Servia reached its peak as part of the Eastern Roman Empire when it developed as a strong castle-city (Greek: καστροπολιτεία) guarding the ancient passage from Macedonia to Thessaly. In October 1256, Theodoros II Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea, married his daughter Maria to Nicephorus Angelos, son of the despot of Epirus Michael II Komnenos. As a wedding gift, Theodoros was given the cities of Servia and Dyrrachium.[15] As Servia was a prosperous Byzantine town due to trade, it is mentioned in a large number of medieval texts, by writers such as emperor Constantine VII in the mid 10th century, and by Emperor John VI in the 14th century. Servia is also mentioned in the Chronicle of the Morea.

The Ottoman Turks captured Servia in 1393. In 1519 (Hijri 925) the town had 49 Muslim and 646 Christian households; it was a zeamet of Mevlana Ahmet Çelebi.[16] In 1745 the seat of the Bishop of Servia was moved to the nearby city of Kozani being renamed as the Holy Diocese of Servia and Kozani. At the start of the Greek revolution in 1821, the Ottomans ordered Turkish and Albanian irregular military to plunder the region and prevent the formation of links with Greek revolutionaries of the Olympus and Vermio regions.[17] After the collapse of the Greek revolution in Macedonia, revolutionaries of the region moved to the South, where they joined fforces with Greeks in the Peloponnese.[18] A prominent revolutionary from the town was Zisis Sotiriou. In 1864, the town became the seat of the Sanjak of Serfiğe in the Manastir Vilayet, and the town was known as Serfiçe (also written as Serfidze) in Ottoman Turkish.

Servia, WWI

The bridge of lake Polyphytos near Servia; the Pieria mountains can be seen in the background.

The Greek army entered Servia on 10 October 1912, during the First Balkan War, after its victory against the Ottoman army in the Battle of Sarantaporo. On the same day, 117 prominent citizens of Servia were gathered and executed by the Ottomans who were leaving the city, 75 to 90 severed human heads were lined up on either side of one of its streets.[19] From then on the main road of the town leading to the Town Hall is called "117 Εθνομαρτύρων" (117 ethnomartyron), i.e. "Of the 117 National martyrs", in remembrance of this dreadful event. Servia was granted to the Kingdom of Greece by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.

During the Second World War, on 6 March 1943, Italian troops set the town on fire in response to the defeat and capture of an Italian battalion at the Battle of Fardykambos by the Greek Resistance.[20] After this fire the whole town was left in ruins and most of Greek neoclassical architecture was lost apart from 3 houses which remain until today. One of them was turned into the Folk Museum of Servia.

Today Servia stands as one of the main towns and agricultural centres of the surrounding region, with its extended Servia-Velventos municipality having a population of 14,830 people (2011 census).[4] Main road access into Servia is provided by Greek National Road 3, which passes through the town and is part of the European route E65, connecting the cities of Florina and Kozani with Larissa.

A recent historical event that occurred in Servia, was a holy liturgy, celebrated by Metropolitan Paulos of Servia and Kozani at the 7th century Metropolitan Church of St. Demetrius (now in ruins). The event which took place during the summer of 2008 was the first liturgy at the site after 600 years. On Thursday 28 June 2012, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Servia taking part in Great Vespers at the Church of Agia Kyriake and afterwards visited the old Basilica of Agios Demetrios and the Byzantine castle-city of Servia. The patron Saint of the town is Agia Kyriake.

The church of Saint Kyriake, patron saint of the town of Servia.