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Veria

Veria is the capital city of the Prefecture of Imathia and is located in the northern borders of Greece, in the region of Central Macedonia. It is 362,6 km² in size and its population amounts to 47.500 inhabitants. Across the town passes the river "Trippotamos", the rocky banks of which and its special flora create a stunning natural environment. The city of Veria is ancient in origin, it appeared in historical texts around the 5th century BC and kept the same name and location through time. It preserves a significant number of monuments dating from different historic periods. Among those, special position hold its 48 Byzantine and post Byzantine churches with frescos, the oldest dating from the 11th century, and parts from its historic centre. These parts reflect its multicultural character in the past with different communities, mainly of Christians, Muslims and Jews and are characterized by twisting narrow roads, two and three-storey buildings and courtyards in the backside. The buildings are different styles, depending on the time of their erection. Many of them have large projections at their upper floors, typical in the Balkan and the East Mediterranean area in the 18th and the 19th centuries.

Though Veria is rich in cultural assets, their state of preservation is not satisfactory, especially in the case of historic buildings which suffer from abandonment, because they do not respond to the contemporary standards of life. In addition , techniques for their proper conservation and re-adaptation are lacking, as well as trained personnel of different disciplines and trades.

However, the sizes of the buildings and the law building density in the protected areas have a strong potential for a high quality of houses, and better standards of living in the heart of the city, when properly restored and re-adapted. This will also help to the improvement of the image of the historic centre and the development of cultural tourism which has a strong potential in the area, thus helping the local economy, prosperous in the past and in decline nowadays.

Within this scope, the key challenges the Municipality of Veria would like to address within the LINKS project are, amoung others, the development of an action plan which will respond to the above problems by developing methodologies and proposals for :

  • The development of environmentally friendly techniques for the restoration of historic buildings
  • The exploration of administrative and financial tools
  • Facing the needs for proper training
  • The active participation and support of inhabitants and different actors involved in the whole process of protection and restoration
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Reconciling patrimonial and environmental qualities to get a sustainable and desirable housing environment in the heart of the cities for a...
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