Village in Gjirokastër, Albania
Bularat (Albanian definite form: Bularati; Greek: Βουλιαράτες; romanized Vouliarátes) is a village in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania.[1] At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality of Dropull.[2] It is inhabited solely by Greeks.[3] It is located just 6 km away from the Greek-Albanian border.
Name
Its name contains the Albanian suffix -at, widely used to form toponyms from personal names and surnames.[4]
History
Archeological findings (clay objects) discovered in 1979 prove that the village has been continuously inhabited since the 3rd century BC. The village has a 16th century Orthodox church, St. Athanasios.[5] A battle occurred near the village during the Greco-Italian War, which resulted in a Greek victory with 15 casualties and 130 wounded (on the Greek side).[6] Following the capture of the village and its surroundings by Greek forces, a temporary hospital was established to heal wounded soldiers, of whom 60 eventually died however. A military graveyard was also erected, for casualties of other nearby battles. This is still open to the public today.[7][5]
The first school was established in the 1700s. It was repaired in 1830 by donations from wealthy Georgios Kouremenos, the name of which was found on an inscription of a slab. In 1905, a girls-only school was established from expenses of architect Vasilakos Kouremenos. In 1935, Albanian authorities temporarily closed the school, resulting in reactions from locals, following clashes with the Albanian gendarmerie on 17 June.[8]
In 1993, Albanian authorities arrested the mayor of the village due to offence caused by waving of Greek flags in the village during annual celebrations commemorating Greece's entry to World War II.[9]
Demographics
According to the local newspaper, Το Γραφικό Βουλιαράτι, the village had 1,308 inhabitants in 1912. According to a 1995 research, the village had 833 inhabitants, all of which were ethnically Greeks.[3]
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Albania
