At the end of the 19th century, the Sanjak of Servia, the administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire, which included the kazas of Elassona, Kozani, Kailaria, Anaselitsa, Grevena and Descati, and of course Servia, was of particular importance as it was bordering the Greek State, which had annexed Thessaly and the region of Arta by the provisions of the Convention of Constantinople in 1881. Part of the Muslim population of Thessaly settled in Servia. At the same time, the administrative and military role of the city was upgraded.
From the Greek side, too, there was an attempt to adapt to the new enhanced functions of the city. For this reason, a Greek consulate was established in the city as early as 1882, while the diocese of Servia and Kozani was upgraded to a metropolis in 1882. The Christian element, however, which until the 18th century was dominant in the town of Servia, was outnumbered by the Muslim element throughout the 19th century and was served by only two churches, Agia Kyriaki, and Agios Nikolaos. The 1905 census figures show a population of about 1350 Christians compared to 2000 Muslims in Servia, while in neighboring Velvento, the Christians exceeded 4000. In the mountainous Katafyio, there were 3000 Christians.
After the events of the Macedonian Struggle and the final battle at Portes of Servia, a strategic point with natural advantages that had already been fortified in Byzantine times, Servia was liberated on October 10, 1912. However, during their retreat, the Turks engaged in extensive retaliations and mass massacres.
A period of peace followed for Servia during the interwar period when the population remained within the limits of a small town of about 3500 inhabitants. The events during the German Occupation, however, changed the face of the city of Serbia forever. The Greek partisans took control of the area, hung the Greek flag in the community hall of Servia, burned the wooden bridge over the Haliacmon, and began to retreat into the neighboring mountains for fear of retaliation. Indeed, on 6 March 1943, the Italian forces arrived in Servia and proceeded to kill many residents of Servia and completely destroyed the town of Servia, which continued during the whole period of the construction of the new wooden bridge by the Italian forces. During the burning of Servia, the public buildings of the town and almost all of the nearly 1000 houses were destroyed, of which only a few survived. The German forces completed this destruction by blowing up the large Ottoman administrative building, which was now functioning as a boarding school. They even extended the devastation to smaller villages in the area of Servia.
Servia is today a settlement of about 3000 inhabitants and serves as the seat of the Municipality of Servia. In the modern town, few examples of the older architectural heritage of the settlement are preserved today. A small number of neoclassical houses stand out, two of which have been declared listed monuments as representative examples of local architecture, one at 7 Agios Georgios Street and one at 117 Martyron and El. Venizelos.
The creation of this website is part of the implementation of the Act “Consolidation and Restoration of the Western Tower of the Castle of Servia,” which was implemented by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani and co-funded by Greece and the European Union / European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme “Western Macedonia” of the NSRF 2014-2020.
