Mavrolofos, Serres

Mavrolofos is a lowland village of the Regional Unit of Serres [1] at an altitude of 80 meters [2].


Geography - History

Mavrolofos is located at the northwestern foot of Mount Paggaio and south of the plain of Serres. It is 15.5 km south of N.-NA. from Nea Zichni, 43 km SE. from Serres and 44 km SW. from Drama. It is a village with a purely Asia Minor population who arrived there after the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 from the Parla of Iconium and settled next to the village of Draviskos. Opinions on the name Mavrolofos differ. There are two main views. The first invokes the fact that the soil of the hill was dark (black soil = Turkish Kara Kararak) while the second that the hill was full of dry grass which after burning burned the whole hill.
Origin and history of inhabitants

The roots of the inhabitants are found in the village of Parla Pisidia in Central Asia (Turkish Barla) located in a beautiful location by Lake Egirdir. There they were engaged in fishing but mainly in technical professions such as builders, shoemakers, blacksmiths, gladiators. Many also trade in useful items such as kitchen utensils and tools. Some families also produced a scent of roses that were and still are famous throughout the area west of the lake. Women, on the other hand, were wonderful weavers. The art of weaving (mainly carpets) also found a place in the new homeland, housed in the most beautiful building of the village, in the "Tapitourgeio", later "Social Welfare". After the persecution by Kemal, all the Christian residents of Parla, hungry and impoverished, and after incredible suffering, managed to reach the port of Mersin (Turkish: Mersin) on foot. From there they were crowded like-like on a ship that transported them to Greece and specifically to Volos and from there to the Prefecture of Serres where they remained. They were given an area on a hill 80 meters high, next to the village of Draviskos (or Draviskos). Initially, they lived in shacks or tents given to them by the state. These makeshift shelters then replaced houses built of bricks and stones, many of which were taken from the neighboring Turkish and now abandoned settlement of Zavarnikia. Gradually and always through hard work in fields mainly of tobacco and grain tobacco, the Mavrolofinians stood up and created a strong social fabric respected by all the locals of the surrounding villages.

Administratively

As a settlement it is mentioned in 1920 with the name "Kara-Toprak" in the Government Gazette 76A - 02/05/1927 to be renamed Mavrolofos and to belong to the then community of Myrrini [3]. In 1951, with the Government Gazette 130A - 04/05/1951, a community of Mavrolofos was established, based in the settlement, which in 1997 was abolished. According to the Kallikratis plan, it is the Local Community of Mavrolofos, which belongs to the Municipal Unit of Nea Zichni of the Municipality of Nea Zichni and according to the 2011 census has a population of 658 inhabitants [5].

External links

The Mavrolofos website
Short story of Mavrolofos

References

Encyclopedia Nea Domi. Tegopoulos - Maniateas. 1996. p. 228, vol. 21.
"MAVROLOFOS (Village) SERRES - GTP". www.gtp.gr. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
"EETAA-Hellenic Society of Local Development and Local Government SA". www.eetaa.gr. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
"EETAA-Hellenic Society of Local Development and Local Government SA". www.eetaa.gr. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
"Government Gazette of permanent Population Results", p. 10531 (p. 57 of the pdf)

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