TURKISH SCHOOL
The historic building of 5,000 sq.m. dominates for more than 140 years at the northern entrance to Servia, becoming a point of reference for the region and a monument of great architectural value.
It escaped demolition and arson and stands tall to this day, impressing the visitors.
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After the liberation of Thessaly in 1881, Servia became a military centre of the region and rapidly expanded. Khalil Pasha had just been appointed the new "Mutesarif" (Prefect) of the region and, whenever he was accompanying a high-ranking member of the Ottoman administration, he would choose to enter the city of Servia from its northern entrance. There he used to stand and proudly demonstrate to his high guest the 'Intandieu', the Turkish School. It had just been built and was operating as a high school for the children of the Turkish elite in the area. Khalil Pasha boasted of it, mentioning that this building, the people who encircled it, but above all what it offered to the youth of the region, were the hope of the aging Ottoman Empire. History, however, had different plans for the school and for the Ottoman Empire.
It had just been built and was operating as a high school for the children of the Turkish elite in the area. Khalil Pasha boasted of it, mentioning that this building, the people who encircled it, but above all what it offered to the youth of the region, were the hope of the aging Ottoman Empire.
History, however, had different plans for the school and for the Ottoman Empire.
In 1912, Servia was liberated by the Greek army. The "Turkish School" kept on operating with both Greek and Turkish children from the area. In 1924, the exchange of populations will leave only Greek students in the classrooms of the school, which will cease to operate a few years later. But the worst was yet to come.
The decade of the 1940s comes along with the Nazis, whose needs convert the school building into a granary. A few years later, during their retreat, they burn it down, and along with it the moments of the people who passed through it, their laughter and their dreams.
Its stoned walls, however, will endure, and they will wait for five whole decades, specifically the first years of the 1990s, when it will be completely renovated by the Municipality of Servia and thus take its present form.
Today, about 140 years after its initial construction, this historic building of exceptional beauty of 5,000 square meters, operates as an exhibition center and is an architectural landmark of our region, since it is one of the few remaining buildings of that period.
HALIACMON RIVER
It is the longest river in Greece, gathering the water of the mountains of Western and Central Macedonia, and giving life to a large part of the country before flowing into the Gulf of Thermaikos.
- The Castle
- The Town
- The River
Folklore Museum
Housed in the home of Dr. Aristidis Christakis, the purpose of the museum is the preservation and dissemination of the historical heritage and tradition of the region.
Servia
The name “Servia” derives from the Latin verb "servo" meaning "to watch, observe", reflecting the city's position as an impregnable fortress in earlier times.
Haliacmon River
It is the longest river in Greece, gathering the water of the mountains of Western and Central Macedonia, and giving life to a large part of the country before flowing into the Gulf of Thermaikos.
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