Arnissa (, before 1926: , Ostrovon;,Name changes of settlements in Greece ) is a town in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. It is located near the Lake Vegoritida and Mount Kaimakchalan and is the seat of the Vegoritida Municipality. It has a population of 1,370 (as of 2021).

During the ancient period it was called Arnissa ()Ptolemaeus, Geography, 3.12.17 and Arnisa ().Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 4.128

History The settlement is first mentioned by Thucydides as one of the most ancient Macedonian cities, which is identified with the ancient ruins near the present-day village of the same name, specifically on the small peninsula of Lake Vegoritida, where various archaeological findings (architectural members and inscriptions) were found.Δημήτρης Κ. Σαμσάρης, Ιστορική γεωγραφία της ρωμαϊκής επαρχίας Μακεδονίας (Το τμήμα της σημερινής Δυτικής Μακεδονίας), Θεσσαλονίκη 1989 (Έκδοση της Εταιρείας Μακεδονικών Σπουδών), σ. 168-169

Thucydides writes that during Brasidas's strategic retreat through a difficult mountain pass following a confrontation with Arrhabaeus and his allies in the region of Lyncus, he managed to reach Arnisa safely. Arnisa was within Perdiccas's territory, who was his ally.

The region came under the control of the Roman empire in the 1st century BC.

At the beginning of the 11th century, Ostrovo was a Bulgarian fortress, attacked unsuccessfully by the troops of the Byzantine emperor Basil II around 1015 and around 1017. The fortress fell under Byzantine control after the mass capitulation at the end of the Bulgarian-Byzantine war.Krsmanović, Bojana, Zdravković, Vladan. From Pax Basiliana to Pax Byzantina, in: Barbarians, rhomaioi and those in between. Integrating the Christians of the Central Balkans into the Byzantine Empire (late 10th – mid-13th century), Volume I, Editor Bojana Krsmanović, Belgrade, 2025, p. 331. The Battle of Ostrovo was fought near the town in 1041.

At the end of the 14th century, with the Ottoman conquest, Ostrovo became the seat of a mudirlik. In 1798 it came under the jurisdiction of Ali Pasha.Συλλογικό, Μακεδονικός αγών - Εκατό χρόνκ,ξκλιλνια από τον θάνατο του Παύλου Μελά - επιστημονικό συνέδριο, Θεσσαλονίκη 12-13 Νοεμβρίου 2004, ΕΜΣ, Θεσσαλονίκη 2006, σ. 218.

At the end of the 19th century, approximately 300 families lived in the settlement, of which 200 were Christian and the rest Muslim, while the population was Slavic-speaking. At the same time, tensions had begun between the patriarchal and Bulgarian Exarchists, with the latter occupying by force the two most important holy sites of the village.Μακεδονικός αγών - Εκατό χρόνια από τον θάνατο του Παύλου Μελά, 2006, σ. 219 - 222. The survey "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne" by Dimitar Mishev concluded that the Christian population in 1905 was composed of 768 Bulgarian Exarchists and 272 Bulgarians, subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.D.M.Brancoff. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, pp. 190-191.

During the Macedonian Struggle, some Ostrovites participated in the Greek guerrilla forces, with the main Macedonian fighters being the chieftain Christos Stogiannidis.Ιωάννης Σ. Κολιόπουλος (επιστημονική επιμέλεια), Αφανείς, γηγενείς Μακεδονομάχοι, Εταιρεία Μακεδονικών Σπουδών, University Studio Press, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2008, σελ. 121 Clashes took place in the area between the Greek and Turkish armies on 3 and 4 November 1912 during the Balkan Wars.Σταματελάτος Μιχαήλ - Βαμβά Σταματελάτου Φωτεινή, Γεωγραφικό Λεξικό της Ελλάδας, ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 2012, Α' τόμος, σελ. 101.

Sights In 1953, when the waters of the lake receded, the ruins of a prehistoric necropolis were revealed, which are also one of the attractions of the area. The holy churches of the Assumption (1860) and of the Holy Trinity (built in 1865)Μακεδονικός αγών - Εκατό χρόνια από τον θάνατο του Παύλου Μελά, 2006, σ. 219. are also worth mentioning .

Geography Arnissa is located at an altitude of 560 meters, it is 20 km from Edessa and is located on the border with the prefecture of Florinis, while a short distance away, at an altitude of 1,150 meters, is the old settlement of Agios Athanasios, one of the most famous tourist places in the area.

Economy Arnissa is known for its apple crops, while there is also a women's cooperative that produces, using traditional means, pasta, spoon sweets, pickles, paprika and compotes.

Transport The settlement is served by Regional and Proastiakos services to Thessaloniki and Florina.

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