Trikala greece hellas hellenic republic thessaly periphery thessalia democracy litheos pertouli dimos trikaion trikkh triki trikki asklipios asclipion fortress byzantium ancient greece city 3,500 B.C. town of Trikala,triki,statues monuments buildings civilization Trikala (Greek: Τρίκαλα) 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. Located in the fertile plain of Thessaly in central Greece, modern Trikala is the Homeric Trikka (or Trikki), the birthplace of three of the Argonauts and the birthplace of Asclepius (Asklepios). Ruins of an old sanctuary to the physician-god, an Asklepieion, or healing place, are located between the central square and the church of Saint Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) in Trikala; it is the oldest Aesculapium of Greece - a kind of medical centre, from which the worship of Aesculapius gradually spread. There are other late Hellenistic and Roman period remains to be seen, mosaic floors, a stoa, and baths. Dominated by its Byzantine fortress on Hellenistic foundations occupying the ancient Acropolis, the picturesque city is divided in two by the river Lithaios, with the churches of Agios Demetrios and Agii Anargyri lending more Byzantine character to the modern town. She was managed by First Bulgarian Empire (920-922, 977-983, 996-997) due to occupations by Simeon I and Samuil. She was part of Great Wallachia (1204--1215), Despotate of Epirus (1215--1335), Despotate of Thessaly, who was a branch of one of Epirus, (1230--1335) (Suzerenity of Second Bulgarian Empire between 1230--1241, Nicean Empire between 1241--1261 and Byzantine Empire between 1261--1335), Serbian Empire (1348--1373), Byzantine Empire (1335--1348, 1373--1394, 1403--1411) and Ottoman Empire (1394--1403 and 1411-1881). Trikala was ceded to Greece in 1881 after the Treaty of Berlin. It was captured again by Ottomans during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 on April 28 for six months. Trikala is home to the General Hospital of the Trikala Prefecture. The Physical Education and Sport Science department of the University of Thessaly is also located in Trikala, and was founded in 1994, with the first students being admitted in the academic year 1994-1995; it was originally housed in the Matsopoulos Park facility, but moved to the new Karyes campus in July 1999. Trikala has over 20 schools of secondary education, and a modern night technical school also functions in the town. Since December 2005, the Municipality of Trikala offers its residents free high speed Wireless Internet connection. As of 2007, around 95% of the total area of Trikala has access; this is one of the few European cities to offer such a service for free. Since 2009 tele-medicine is available for its residents, to track serious conditions without the need to visit hospitals.

• published: 24 Jul 2011
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