Drama, a city with long history

The natural wealth of the city in plenty of running water did not leave anyone unmoved by his passage from this area. Both prehistoric man and one of the historical years organized their lives around the water, making the area of water a connecting factor of the long presence of man in the modern city. The earliest permanent human settlement on the site of present city of Drama was identified after a systematic excavation of the prehistoric settlement of the "Arcadian", south of the park of Saint Barbara. The Neolithic settlement is the first residential heart of the city since the mid-6th millennium BC.

Although Drama, in the mid-19th century, is the Capital of a big region, where there axist the administrative center, the army and the courts, it can not compete with the port of Kavala, a hub of the region. Significant changes are made to the city after 1870, when the production and the trade in tobacco cause population growth and strengthening of the commercial traffic. The operation of the railway station by 1895 and the improval of the road network to the port of Kavala connect Drama with the major centers of the empire and maritime trade routes. Large tobacco firms establish branches in Drama, built warehouses, operate banking offices, and England opens consulate in the city. Soon, new neighborhoods are created around the waters of Santa Barbara and west of the walled area to meet the needs of 6000-7000 residents. The new residents, Muslims, Christians and Jews, constitute separate residential cores according to the standards of the Ottoman period. Christians, who constantly reinforced with families from Western Macedonia and in particular Epirus, number at least 200 families in 1880, located within the old walls and south of this area in Santa Barbara. Muslims are located west of the market and settling Jews in the area of the waters of Santa Barbara. The new public buildings of the city and the private residences reflect the economic strength and influence of European standards. The Greek community differs, from 1870 until the liberation, for the economic development, the establishment of Educational Associations, the rebuilding of schools and the charity associations. In the early 20th century, When the population is already 14,000 people and the economic progress is continuing, sporadic violence of an undeclared war are being recorded, the Makedonian race. The Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Drama, the elders and the people of the town organize the defense of the Greek community.