Administrative Region : East Macedonia and Thrace
Regional unit : Drama
Pyrgoi (Πύργοι) Drama
Pyrgoi is a mountainous village in Eastern Macedonia in the Drama Regional Unit.[1]
Geography - History
Pyrgoi is located on the southwestern slopes of Mount Falakro at an altitude of 630 meters[2] while it is 21 km. NW. from Drama and 12 km. N.-NE. from Prosotsani (seat of the municipality). East of the village passes the Sositsa stream which further south passes through neighboring Petroussa and ends at the Aggitis River. Its residents are engaged in livestock farming, are known for their livestock products and celebrate every year on August 6 the Transfiguration of the Savior, honoring their recently renovated post-Byzantine church. Northwest of the village is the EOS Prosotsani Mountaineering Shelter, while to the north is the homonymous gorge[3] and the climbing fields of Central Falakro, as well as the natural hang gliding track. The Cultural Association of Drama Towers is active in the village.[4]
The village and its surrounding area have been inhabited since the Middle Ages, it was a road junction and there were additional settlements (Karydia or Koutsa or Kontsen, Grandsen, Selisti) that have now been abandoned. In a mountainous area towards the "Sitna" plateau, above an old aqueduct, are the ruins of a castle intended to control roads and passages. Around Pyrgos, there are three more Macedonian castles that were later improved by the Byzantines and were manned by watchmen to guard the area from raids. To the south, a Macedonian domed tomb has been found, to which a Macedonian road also led.[5] Two of these have been precisely demarcated and declared archaeological sites.[6] In more recent times, Pyrgos has been a stronghold of Hellenism and already in 1891 a Greek school was operating, while later its inhabitants formed a defense committee in the Macedonian Struggle.[2]
Castle ruins in Pyrgoi
Administrative
During the Ottoman period, its name was Volvitsi or Vouvlitsi and it is officially mentioned, after the liberation, in 1919 in the Government Gazette 251A - 20/11/1919, that it was annexed to the then community of Plevni (now Petrousis). In 1920, with the Government Gazette 210A - 13/09/1920, it was designated the seat of the homonymous community and in 1927 with the Government Gazette 76A - 02/05/1927, it was renamed Pyrgoi.[7] According to the "Kallikratis" Program, it is the local community of Pyrgoi, which falls under the municipal unit of Prosotsani of the Municipality of Prosotsani and according to the 2021 census, it had a population of 151 residents, down from 274 in 2011.[8]
Folklore
Every year on Epiphany, starting on January 6th and lasting for three more days, the custom of the bears is revived in the village. According to this, the men of the village wear sheepskin coats and bells to dress up as "bears". In this attire they go from house to house and take money or food. Afterwards, they stay up all night having a feast called "davaniska".[9]
External links
Pyrgoi Drama: (Volvitsion) Historical information about the village Archived 2021-05-07 at the Wayback Machine, Evangelos Papathanasiou - Archaeologist at https://destanea.com/ Archived 2021-04-29 at the Wayback Machine..
The circular route "Prosotsani Refuge - F2 - Kartalka - F1 - Refuge" from https://el.wikiloc.com/
The Petrousa Gorge and the village of Pyrgoi Drama at https://www.youtube.com/
References
Encyclopedia Nea Domii. Athens: Tegopoulos - Maniateas. 1996. p. 165, vol. 29.
«PYRGI (Village) DRAMA - GTP». www.gtp.gr. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
"Gorges / Pyrgos-Falakrou Gorge, NaturaGraeca". www.naturagraeca.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
"Cultural Association of Pyrgos Drama". Cultural Associations. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
Natsis, Giorgos. "PYRGOS (Poblitsi): Municipal District of the Municipality of Prosotsani Drama - DRAMAnia.gr". dramania.gr. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
"PERMANENT LIST OF DECLARED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS". listedmonuments.culture.gr. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
"EETAA-Administrative Changes of Settlements". www.eetaa.gr. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
"Official Gazette of the results of the PERMANENT population", p. 10486 (p. 12 of the pdf)
"Bears". mythotopia.eu. Institute for Speech Processing. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
| Municipal unit Prosotsani |
|---|
| Municipal Community Petroussa |
| Petroussa (Πετρούσσα, η) |
| Σταυρός, ο |
| Municipal Community Prosotsani |
| Prosotsani (Προσοτσάνη, η) |
| Community Anthochori |
| Anthochori (Ανθοχώρι, το) |
| Community Grammeni |
| Grammeni (Γραμμένη, η) |
| Community Kali Vrysi |
| Kali Vrysi (Καλή Βρύση, η) |
| Community Kallithea |
| Καλλιθέα, η |
| Community Kokinogeia |
| Αγγίτης, ο |
| Kokinogeia (Κοκκινόγεια, τα) |
| Πηγές, αι |
| Community Mikropoli |
| Mikropoli (Μικρόπολις, η) |
| Community Panorama |
| Πανόραμα, το |
| Community Pyrgoi |
| Pyrgoi (Πύργοι, οι) |
| Community Charitomeni |
| Charitomeni (Χαριτωμένη, η) |
Greece :
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M -
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
| Ancient Greece
Science, Technology , Medicine , Warfare, , Biographies , Life , Cities/Places/Maps , Arts , Literature , Philosophy ,Olympics, Mythology , History , Images Medieval Greece / Byzantine Empire Science, Technology, Arts, , Warfare , Literature, Biographies, Icons, History Modern Greece Cities, Islands, Regions, Fauna/Flora ,Biographies , History , Warfare, Science/Technology, Literature, Music , Arts , Film/Actors , Sport , Fashion --- |
