Akritas, Florina

Administrative Region : West Macedonia
Regional unit : Florina

Akritas (Ακρίτας ) Florina

Akritas (formerly Boufi) is a mountainous picturesque village in the regional unit of Florina, just 16 km from the city of Florina.

Description

It is located at an altitude of 1,050 meters on the slopes of Mount Varnouda. Akritas belongs to the Municipal Unit of Kato Kleines of the Municipality of Florina and its population, according to the 2011 Census, amounts to 100 inhabitants. It is located in a hilly area northwest of the city of Florina. To the west of the village rises the eastern side of Mount Varnounta, Vigla as it is called in these places. The village is surrounded by a rich forest of 32,000 acres, where there is the spring Soupourka at an altitude of 2,000 meters. and the Brazilian source. The peak of Peristeri is located at 2,100m. altitude.

A special view is offered by Varteska, from where you can see the whole plain of Pelagonia and the lakes of Prespa. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in the area and is located in the eastern folds of Varna. It has less than 150 inhabitants today, when more than 3,500 people lived here during the interwar period. Akritas is the most architecturally interesting village in the area.

Chronology
Turkish rule

Buffy was a Vlach village [1], which during the Turkish occupation was one of the largest villages in the area. The whole area around the village was called by the Turkish Buff-col (okolia: administrative division of the time). It seems that the village was originally built under the chapel of Agios Georgios and the movement of the inhabitants from there took place in the 15th century.

Greek Revolution of 1821

The Boufiotes took part in the Greek Revolution of 1821 and many went to the Peloponnese (200 fighters are mentioned) to continue the struggle [2]. Lazaros Melios mentions that 81 Boufiotes formed a battalion and fought the Turks in the Peloponnese, during the revolution of 1821. In 1866 60 Boufiotes hurried to fight in Arkadi during the Cretan revolution.

Macedonian Struggle

In Buffy until the 19th century the Vlach dialect was spoken and then the inhabitants were enslaved linguistically, as happened in many parts of Macedonia [3]. In 1886, according to Professor Nikolaos Schoinas, the Owl lies in a fortified position and consists of 250 Greek families with strong men and patriots.

After the founding of the Bulgarian Exarchate, the owl "joined the schism, because the bishop, the deputy of the Metropolitan of Pelagonia, then a synodal, in order to collect the hierarchical grant, sent such inhuman means to collect it that the is patriarchal and joins the schism to avoid the harshness of the measures taken.

In 1896, the Bulgarian komataatz of the EMAEO, George Petrov, arrived in Buffy to prepare the inhabitants for revolutionary action against the Ottomans. At that time, EMEO had not yet turned against the Greeks. In his book "Materials on the Study of Macedonia", Petrov writes: "The leaders and support in the other villages were the village of Boufi. .one or a girl is being watched by the Turks, she is sent to Buffy to be protected ... Buffy has shown many brave people. The most glorious was the "pope from Buffy", who died in Kyustendil the year before. This was his type. An old Bulgarian rebel. The inaccessibility of the area acts as a fortress ... the battle against the Turkish villages around them makes them so united. "

Shortly before 1903, the village had more than 240 houses, but after 1903 many Buffy residents left the village and emigrated to the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Its inhabitants took part in the Ilinden uprising. On July 31, 1903, this heroic village in the Florina region was attacked by the Ottoman army, numbering thousands. During this attack, the hordes of Ottomans burned the old church of Agios Georgios. The Ottoman army burned it again on August 2, 1903 and killed many of its inhabitants. On August 28, 1903, sixty rebels from the village fought with numerous Turkish troops for about 6 hours, after which the owl was destroyed again. On September 7, 1903, villagers from Boufi reported to the British consul of the Monastery the rape of fifteen girls from the village by Ottoman soldiers [Dragoumis, 280]. On September 28, 1903, many Buffy residents reported to the consuls of Great Britain, Russia, and Austria at the Monastery the murder of Pope Basil and four of their fellow villagers by the Ottoman army [Dragoumis, 298]. Komitatzis Naoum Buffseto comes from the same village. Naum gathered a group of 80 people from the villages of Kratero, Paroreio, Polyplatano, Ethniko and Agia Paraskevi and took part in the Ilinden uprising. After the suppression of the uprising, Naoum Buffetto left for Bulgaria, to return to Macedonia and die in a battle with the Turkish army in November 1905. The settlement was completely burnt down in 1903 and then rebuilt.

In mid-November 1904, three komitatzides were killed by the Greek organization near the village of Boufi. [SKRIP newspaper, 18/11/1904]. Violent action of the Greek corps against collaborators of the Bulgarians took place in Buffy at the end of February 1906 [Dakin, 342] On October 8, 1907, 200 Bulgarian komitatzis led by the komitatzids Acef, Traiko, Tsocheo and Lero (Leo). Many of them were from Buffy and other villages in the area. Most of the inhabitants of Rakovo (Kratero) were absent from the bazaar at the Monastery. [Vlachos, 506. Vakalopoulos B, 295. Karavitis, 666-668]. Greek guerrilla forces wanted to attack Boufiou for the destruction of Rakovo (Krateros), but calm prevailed.

The struggles of the inhabitants for freedom continued until the last phase of the Macedonian Struggle, where the Macedonian warrior Konstantinos Hadjipapavasilis, son of Papa-Vassilios, who was killed by the Ottomans after the revolt of the Prophet Elias, was distinguished. [4]

Release

In later years, Akritas was a village in Kefalonia with 3,500 inhabitants, many of whom emigrated abroad in 1920. In 1913 it had 2,288 males, 1,175 males and 1,113 females (Census 1913). The owl of Florina was a homonymous community in 1918 (Government Gazette 259 / 21.12. 1918). In 1920 it had 1,709 people, 751 males and 958 females, 299 families (Census 1920). In 1928 it had 1,760 people (827 males and 933 females), one of whom was a refugee who came after 1922. There were 1,729 immigrants, 14 foreigners and 17 foreigners 17. 122 other citizens were enumerated elsewhere (Census 1928). In 1940 it had 1,989 people, 952 males and 1,037 females (1940 Census). In 1955 the village was renamed Akritas (Government Gazette 287 / 10. 10. 1955). [5]

Akritas today

The village is inhabited by 100 people in the winter who grow to 180 in the summer, who are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. A festival is held on the feast of the Holy Spirit, which combines the beauties of nature with a feast. This is one of the biggest festivals of the Regional Unit of Florina.

Churches of the village are of the Holy Trinity, of Agios Georgios, of Profitis Ilias and of Agios Nikolaos (1872). The old Nursery School of Akrita houses the Folklore Collection where a taste of the once prosperous community is presented. Traditional costumes, agricultural tools, metalwork, coins and so much more that bridge the present with the past.

Architecture

The local architecture is interesting, as the houses are made of stone with a loggia and beautiful cornices on the roof. There are many single-storey or two-storey brick and stone houses of the 19th century, many well-preserved specimens of the beginning of the last century and many stone carvings and decorative motifs in the houses of the interwar period. In the middle of the village there are the watermills Soutari Fotiou and Serviki Antoniou, while in front of the school there is a fountain. The residential complex of Akrita constitutes a special case in relation to the other settlements of the area, since there coexists a large number of buildings belonging to a wide range of architectural styles. Next to the traditional adobe or stone one-storey or two-storey houses of the late 19th century, one finds well-preserved examples of the neoclassical architecture of the early 20th century. Also, the eclectic influences are evident in the stone carvings and other decorative motifs of several houses of the interwar period in the center of the settlement.

Akrita Primary School

A real Diamond is the Primary School, a listed and unique building, of 1910, with eight classrooms, a multi-event space, offices and teachers' bedrooms. This building is a special and rare example of public architecture both for the villages of Varnounta and for the wider area.

The older residents of the village recount that the community decided in 1907, due to population growth and the need to house students, to build a new school building and therefore turned to the well-known master Bran (who had also built the church). of Agios Nikolaos in 1872). The plan envisaged the construction of a two-storey building with a total of eight classrooms, teachers' offices and bedrooms, ancillary spaces in the basement, etc., with the prospect of housing 800 - 1,000 students. The construction of the school began in May 1908 with a workshop of 40 people and the contribution of the villagers and was completed in 1910, at a total cost of 3,200 pounds. In its final form, apart from the classrooms, there was a large event space to the east, while on the outside there was a balcony above the main entrance door. Its morphological features have strong neoclassical influences, with the main axis of symmetry emphasized and rhythmic repetition of the openings on either side of the entrances, which are crowned with circular decorative lintels. All these architectural and morphological peculiarities, in combination with the uniqueness of the building in the area, led in 2000 the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace to the characterization of the Primary School of Akrita as preservable.

Traditional Costume

Akrita's traditional costume is characterized by its clear and harmonious line, and is expressed with the dark colors on the upper clothes, contrasting with the white shirts below.

male

Men's shirts reach to the knees, collars and extra sleeves are embroidered, the sleeves of the garment are quite wide from the shoulder to the elbow. The upper garment is sleeveless, along the length of the shirt, tied at the waist with a woolen cloth belt, the edge of which falls in front. The predominant colors are black and dark blue. For decoration are used chains that are placed on the lapel, Gaitani (thin long embroidered strip) in light color or a series of buttons. The socks (socks) are white, reaching above the knees.

female

Characteristic is the traditional Boufiot women's costume [6] In the women's costume the embroideries, which stand out on the dark colors of the upper garment are with red and white threads. It has strong similar embroidery on a horizontal line on the aprons, which reach below the knees. The women's shirt is snow white made of hemp or linen, embroidered on the bottom, on the sleeves and around the bodice. The tulip (thin handkerchief) on the head is white, often embroidered with beads or small coins, which are most often found in children's costumes.

Sources - References

The linguistic idiom of the regions of Macedonia, Dimitrios E. Evangelidis, Antivaro, 2008
Lazaros An. Melios, From the History of Florina, 1998
The linguistic idiom of the regions of Macedonia, Dimitrios E. Evangelidis, Antivaro, 2008
"Invisible, Indigenous Macedonian Warriors, scientific supervisor Ioannis S. Koliopoulos, Society for Macedonian Studies, University Studio Press, Thessaloniki, 2008, p. 162
Pandektis-Renaming of settlements in Greece
Konaki Traditional Costume Workshop, Boufi Costume

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