Kilkis lies in
Central
Macedonia; it has a population of some 82,000 residents.
The gateway to Northern Greece, it has two road border stations linking
the country with Europe (
Evzoni
and
Doirani) and one rail
entry-exit point (
Eidomeni).
It shares borders to the north with Yugoslavia, to the east with
Serres
Prefecture, to the south with
Thessaloniki
Prefecture, and to the west with
Pella
Prefecture.
The plain of Kilkis, which is part of the Central Macedonian plain,
is limited to the west by
Mt.
Paikos, to the northeast by the
Kerkini
(Belles) mountains and to the east by
Mt.
Krousia.
The
Axios river
runs through the western section of the district, the
Gallikos,
the gold-bearing Exedoros river of antiquity, the southwest portion.
The region also boasts two lakes:
Doirani
on the Greek-Yugoslav border and
Pikrolimni
where
Thessaloniki and Kilkis
prefectures meet.
Large expanses of the region are covered by forests of willows, oaks
and pines, as well as rarer species of plants and flowers. The climate is continental
with cold winters and hot summers. The economy is based primarily on agriculture,
the most important corps being grains - wheat and maize, and to a lesser extent
barley and rye.
Fields of sunflowers, cotton, tobacco and clover are also common.
The areas of
Goumenissa and
Mouries are notable for their
garden vegetables, fruit (especially apples and peaches), almonds, hazelnuts and
grapes. The wines of
Goumenissa
are of the highest quality and bear the label "d’ origine controlée".
This text (extract) is cited October 2003 from the Greek
National Tourist Organization tourist pamphlet (1992).
