City of Thrace, capital of the prefecture of Rodopi. Built in the Thracian plain, at the foot of the Rodopi Mountains, it is an important commercial, economic and transportation hub of Thrace. Thanks to its geographical location, it is also an administrative center, keeping its special character due to the presence of minorities, mainly Muslims.
The original core of the city was the Byzantine fortress. Nowadays, the heart of the city is Eirini Square, and the suburb of Nea Mosinoupolis with its shopping malls and department stores. In the wider area, lies the University Campus and the Industrial Zone.
The existence of the city is attested since the 2nd century AD. After the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), many refugees from Eastern Thrace, Eastern Romilia and Asia Minor settled here. The Muslim population was excluded from the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. Nowadays, the city is a mosaic of Christians, Muslims, Armenians, Jews, and expatriates from former Soviet Union and has a strong multicultural character.
Komotini is known for its roasted chickpeas, its coffee blends and its traditional sweets (malebi, soutzouk lukum). Some districts have a special color with the minarets, the latticed windows and the public market.
Important sights include the Archaeological Museum with exhibits from wider Thrace, the Folklore Museum in Peidis residence with exhibits of local folk architecture, the Ecclesiastical Museum of the Holy Diocese of Maroneia and Komotini, in the Imaret of Komotini, a typical sample of Ottoman architecture with ecclesiastical exhibits dating from the 16th century. Other sights include the Byzantine Museum, the Karatheodori Museum, the Municipal Papadriellios Gallery, the Thracian Museum of Education, the Thracian, Ethnological, Historical and Cultural Museum of Komotini and Thrace, in the neoclassical Skouteri residence, the Byzantine Fortress, the Church of the Assumption of Mary of 1800, the Eski Mosque, the Geni Mosque, the old court house, the Clock Tower, the Tobacco Warehouse at 8 Parnassos Street, the Holocaust Memorial, the World War II Memorial (Sword) and more. In Komotini the Democritus University of Thrace has its headquarters.
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