Strovolos

Strovolos Στρόβολος
The municipal theatre with the town hall in the background
Coordinates: 35°09′N 33°20′E / 35.150°N 33.333°E / 35.150; 33.333Coordinates: 35°09′N 33°20′E / 35.150°N 33.333°E / 35.150; 33.333
Country	Cyprus
District	Nicosia District
Government
• Mayor	Dr. Lazaros S. Savvides
Population (2011)
• Total	67,904
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	strovolos.org.cy

Strovolos (Greek: Στρόβολος; Turkish: Strovolos; Armenian: Ստրովոլոս) is a municipality of Nicosia District. With a population of nearly 70,000, it is the second biggest municipality in Cyprus, after Limassol, and the biggest municipality of Nicosia. It was established in 1986.

Strovolos is now a town covering 25 square kilometres (9.7 sq mi) divided into six parishes: Chryseleousa, Ayios Demetrios, Apostle Barnabas and Ayia Marina, Ayios Vasilios, National Martyr Kyprianos and Stavros.

The name Strovolos is said to originate from the Greek word "strovilos" (Στρόβιλος) as in "anemo-strovilos" which means whirlwind or twister. There are references to Strovolos or Strovilos as early as the Middle Ages from the well-known medieval chronicler Leontios Makhairas and from Florius Boustronius a little later. According to these sources, Strovolos was a royal field during the years of Frankish Rule. A major and definitive figure in the history of Strovolos was the National Martyr, Archbishop Kyprianos, who before the 1821 Revolution in Greece, contributed greatly to the preservation of the Greek spirit and Christianity. The Turks hanged Archbishop Kyprianos and other high priests and dignitaries of Cyprus on 9 July 1821.

Strovolos evolved into its present form after the events of 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus and occupied 38% of the island’s territory. This led to the settlement of many refugees within the Municipality.

The Chryseleousa parish was named after the Greek orthodox church of the same name that was built around the 12th Century.