Mavrochori | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 40°30′44″N 21°19′13″E / 40.51222°N 21.32028°E | |
Country | Greece |
Geographic region | Macedonia |
Administrative region | Western Macedonia |
Regional unit | Kastoria |
Municipality | Kastoria |
Municipal unit | Makednoi |
Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 1,379 |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Mavrochori (Greek: Μαυροχώρι(οv), meaning "black village"; before 1928: Μαύροβον - Mavrovon[2]) is a village on the shores of Lake Orestiada in Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, Greece.[3]
Today Mavrochori is a tourist destination for a quiet vacation near the lake of Kastoria.[4] In addition to the trade fair, festive events take place on the 13th - 15 August of the Assumption of Mary, where the Monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa celebrates (it was built by General George Palaiologos in commemoration of the victory against the Normans in 1083).[5] The Mavrochori Nautical Club also operates in the village.[6]
It was in existence at least from 1380[5] and is denoted, under the name Mavrobo, in the British Baldwin & Craddock Map of Greece which was published on 1 January 1830.[7] The name Mavros, together with the name Krepeni, is found in a title deed executed by Serbian nobleman Nikola Bagaš.[8]
In the end of the 18th century the patriarch of the Mavrovitis family moved his people from the nearby Krepeni village to Mavrovo in order to avoid a plague pandemic, and it is believed that people were frequently moving between Krepeni and Mavrovo.[5]
The Monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa, originally named Mesonisiotissa (meaning "in the middle of the island"), was built near the village.[5]
Mavrochori had a historical relationship with both the Mavriotissa monastery as well as with the nearby village of Krepeni.[5]
During Ottoman rule, Mavrovo was populated by Christians and Muslims, it had one Greek school and one Muslim school and five inns.[9]
The Greek census (1920) recorded 1062 people in the village and in 1923 there were 450 inhabitants (or 45 families) who were Muslim.[10] Following the Greek-Turkish population exchange, in 1926 within Mavrovo there were refugee families from Asia Minor (55), Pontus (19) and one other from an unidentified location.[10] The Greek census (1928) recorded 1065 village inhabitants.[10] There were 72 refugee families (320 people) in 1928.[10] There were two mosques and two Muslim cemeteries in the village, later all destroyed.[11]