One of the first cultural groups that inhabited the city of Alexandroupolis were the Armenians. The Armenians first came to Dede Agac, as Alexandroupolis was called at the time, since its creation when the Ottoman Empire decided to make a new harbor and railway. The Armenians used to live in many places of the Ottoman Empire where they had a strong presence, but the ones who arrived in Alexandroupolis came mostly from Edirne. They worked in the railway and settled around the Armenian Church of Saint John the Baptist which was the first church ever built in the city in 1875. An interesting feature of this church is the public fountain, on the outer wall of the temple, one of the first of the city.
The Armenians were one of the most important communities of the city and right next to their church they also built a school and a meeting room for the members of the community. During the 1980’s only a few families remained in Alexandroupolis. The number of the community members increased again with the arrival of Armenians from the former Soviet Union. Today the community counts a few thousand members and the Armenians are some of the most active people of the city.
