Agios Athanasios, Pella

Greece Greece

Administrative Region : Central Macedonia
Regional unit : Pella

Agios Athanasios (Άγιος Αθανάσιος) Pella

Agios Athanasios is a mountainous village in the prefecture of Pella, very close to the Greek-North Macedonia border. It is built at an altitude of 1,200 meters on the slopes of Mount Kaimaktsalan. It was designated a traditional settlement in 1992.[1]

Agios Athanasios belongs to the municipality of Edessa and according to the 2001 census has 184 residents. Agios Athanasios is developing rapidly in terms of tourism due to its proximity to the Kaimaktsalan ski resort. It has many modern taverns and cafes as well as modern guesthouses. Until 1928 it was called Tsegani or Tsegani.[2][3] It is 30 km from Edessa and 120 km from Thessaloniki.

Together with Neo Agios Athanasios, it forms the local community of Agios Athanasios, which has been classified as a rural mountain settlement with an area of 57.952 km² (2011). [4]

History

The village was built in the late 16th century, probably by herders and builders from Epirus, and was under the control of Ali Pasha of Ioannina, who had granted some privileges to the residents for the self-management of the estates. In 1803, a committee went to Ioannina and delivered a letter in Greek, requesting the favorable settlement of part of their debts.

In the area, ruins of residences and fortifications from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been found, which is justified due to the proximity of the settlement to the Egnatia Odos.

In 1870, a Greek school operated in the village. During the Macedonian Struggle, the wider area was a theater of clashes between Greek and Bulgarian forces, while World War I saw Serbs and Bulgarians vying for the summit of Prophet Elias.

During the Occupation, resistance groups gathered in the village, while during the Civil War it was evacuated by the Greek National Army to cut off the Democratic Army.

After the war, the village's population decreased due to emigration to foreign countries. It was not until the 1970s that the village was connected to Edessa via an asphalt road.

During the 1980s, the village of Neos Agios Athanasios was founded further down the plain, as the old village was deemed geologically unsafe after earthquakes. The old settlement was completely abandoned until the mid-1990s, when guesthouses were built and tourism developed due to the Kaimaktsalan ski resort.

Population
Permanent [4]
Year Population
1991 104 (428)
2001 43 (466)
2011 67 (518)
De facto [5][6][4]
Year Population
1961 997
1971 703
1981 483
1991 94 (436)
2001 184 (644)
2011 65 (512)

(in brackets the population of the local community)

References

"Traditional settlement of Agios Athanasios". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
Pandektis
«Renamings of settlements in Macedonia 1919 - 1971». Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
https://www.statistics.gr/2011-census-pop-hous
PL 1:167

PL 1:447-8

Sources

Encyclopedia Britannica, 1978, 2006 (PL)
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1963 (PL)

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