Florina (regional Unit)
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Florina ( el, Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Φλώρινας, ''Perifereiakí Enótita Flórinas'') is one of the
regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municipa ...
. It is part of the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western ...
, in the
geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of Macedonia, Greece. Its capital is the town of
Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...
with a population of around 49.500 (2019)


Geography

Florina borders the regional units of
Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...
to the east,
Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...
to the south and Kastoriá to the southwest. At the Greek international borders, it is adjacent to
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
(
Korçë County Korçë County ( sq, Qarku Korçë, italic=unset), officially the County of Korçë ( sq, Qarku i Korçës, italic=unset), is a county in the Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the seventh most populous of ...
) to the west,
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
(
Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
and Resen municipalities) to the north and
Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece ...
to the northwest, where the two borders cross each other.
Lake Vegoritida Lake Vegoritida ( el, Λίμνη Βεγορίτιδα, ''Limni Vegoritida''), also known in the past as Lake Ostrovo ( el, Λίμνη Οστρόβου, ''Limni Ostrovou''), is a large natural lake in western Macedonia, northern Greece. It is situa ...
is situated in the east. Mountains in the regional unit include
Verno Verno ( el, Βέρνο) or Vitsi ( el, Βίτσι) is a forested mountain range in the southern part of the Florina and the northeastern part of the Kastoria regional units in Western Macedonia, northern Greece. The elevation of its highest pea ...
(),
Varnous Varnous or Varnoundas ( el, Βαρνούντας, also called ''Peristeri'') is a mountain in northern Florina regional unit, Greece, situated between the town of Florina and Lake Prespa, and just south of the border with North Macedonia. Its hig ...
() and
Voras The Voras Mountains ( el, Όρος Βόρας; also Boras), also known as Nidže ( mk, , tr, Nice Dağı)http://www.chinci.com/travel/pax/q/787674/Nid%C5%BEe/MK/Macedonia/0/#. ''Nidže'', Accessed 7 May 2012 are a mountain range situated on the ...
().


Administration

As from 2011 the regional unit of Florina is subdivided into 3 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): *
Amyntaio Amyntaio ( el, Αμύνταιο, before 1928: Σόροβιτς - ''Sorovits''; Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Суровичево, Сорович), is a town and municipality in the Florina regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. The population of Amyntaio p ...
(2) *
Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...
(1) *
Prespes Prespes ( el, Πρέσπες) is a municipality in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 7,380. The seat of the municipality is in Laimos. It was named after Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located o ...
(3)


Prefecture

Florina was created as a
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
( el, Νομός Φλώρινας, ''Nomós Flórinas'') in 1915. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Florina was created out of the former prefecture Florina. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.


Demographics

The demographic composition of the area the 19th and early 20th centuries is unclear as many factors contributed to the ethnic orientation of the people; out of these religion was particularly important thus giving rise to a proselytism struggle between the Greek
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
and the
Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
(established in 1870). In 1886, 78.4% of the Christian population of the Florina ''
kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...
'' (district) - a part of Manastir Vilayet (province) - was aligned with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and 21.6% with the Bulgarian Exarchate, however by 1900 the Patriarchatists had dropped to 50.9% and Exarchatists had risen to 49.1%.Richard Clogg, ''Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society'', pp. 123-124 In 1914 the majority of the Christian population of the Florina district was recorded as Exarchist Bulgarian (59%), 70% of whom were monolingual in Bulgarian only. The 1920s was a period of migration, displacement, deportation and a voluntary exchange of populations between Greece and Bulgaria, during which the Greek government aimed to remove Slavic-speakers with fanatic Bulgarian sentiments from Greek Macedonia. In 1925, according to the Prefect of Florina 52% of the population were schismatics (up from about 20% in 1886), 25% were Patriarchists, 15% were
refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
, 6% were Vlachs (
Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Alba ...
) and 3% were indigenous Greeks. According to government sources, in 1925 there were 45,527 Slav speakers, of whom 34,234 former Exarchists and 11,293 former Patriarchists; 7449 Greek refugees; 3590 Vlachs (Aromanians); 1882 indigenous Greeks; 349 Jews and 27 Muslim Albanians. According to Kollopoulos in 1925 the recorded Slav Macedonians were 64,465 and constituted 64% of the population of the district of Florina, of whom 28,673 were schismatic. The 1928 census showed 38,562 Slavic speakers in the nome of Florina or 31% of the population, but according to contemporary Greek authors the numbers of this census "clearly" do not reflect the actual strength of the minority as a result of official policy and Greek government of reluctance. According to the Prefect of Florina, P. Kalligas, in 1930 there were 76,370 (61%), of whom 61,950 (49% of the population) lacked Greek consciousness, while his successor V. Balkos estimates those speaking Bulgarian as 75-80% of the population of the nome in 1931. According to the Prefect of Florina, in 1935 of 11,683 families 56% had Slavic national consciousness , while 41.3% were "foreign speakers" with Greek national consciousness. According to the 2011 census, the population of Florina regional unit was 51,414 people. The local
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
population includes a linguistic minority of bilingual Slavophones, who in the early 1990s formed about 64% of the rural population and about 16% of the prefecture's total population.
Anastasia Karakasidou Anastasia Karakasidou ( el, Αναστασία Καρακασίδου) is an American scholar. Her expertise is archeology and anthropology. She is currently appointed as professor of Anthropology at the Wellesley College. Early life Karakasi ...
estimated that 80% of the population of Florina Prefecture is either Slavic-speaking or descended from Slavic-speaking families. There are also around 1,200 Slavophones—approximately 2% of the local population—who profess an
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
identity. There also exist smaller communities of
Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Alba ...
and
Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settlers ...
, which today mostly have an ethnic Greek identity. A diverse range of
dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
are spoken in the regional unit alongside the official
standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and local Macedonian varieties of
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. A minority of people speak the local
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
and especially the
Lower Prespa dialect The Lower Prespa dialect ( mk, Долнoпреспански дијалект, ''Dolnoprespanski dijalekt''), is a member of the western subgroup of the western group of dialects of Macedonian. This dialect is mainly spoken on the Eastern shore o ...
and the
Prilep-Bitola dialect The Prilep-Bitola dialect ( mk, Прилепско-битолски дијалект, ''Prilepsko-bitolski dijalekt'') is a member of the central subgroup of the western group of dialects of Macedonian. This dialect is spoken in much of the Pel ...
.


Agriculture

Florina is rich in agriculture. The main production are
peppers Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...
,
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s and
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
es. Beans are produced near Lake Prespa.


Transport

The main roads of Florina regional unit are
Greek National Road 2 Greek National Road 2 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 2, abbreviated as EO2) is a single carriageway with at-grade intersections, located in the regions of West Macedonia, Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace. It connects the Albanian ...
(
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
-
Krystallopigi Krystallopigi ( el, Κρυσταλλοπηγή) is a former community in Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Prespes, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal ...
- Florina -
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
- ...),
Greek National Road 3 Greek National Road 3 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 3, abbreviated as EO3) is a single carriageway road in Greece. It connects Elefsina near Athens with the border of North Macedonia at Niki. It passes through Larissa and Florina. At Niki, it conn ...
(
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
-
Niki __NOTOC__ Niki may refer to: People * Niki (given name) * NIKI (singer), Indonesian singer and songwriter * Niki DeMar, American singer * Niki Etsuko (1928–1986), Japanese author of mystery fiction Places * Niki, Hokkaido, a town in Japan * Ni ...
- Florina -
Amyntaio Amyntaio ( el, Αμύνταιο, before 1928: Σόροβιτς - ''Sorovits''; Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Суровичево, Сорович), is a town and municipality in the Florina regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. The population of Amyntaio p ...
-
Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...
- ...) and
Greek National Road 15 Greek National Road 15 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 15, abbreviated as EO15) is a single carriageway road in northern Greece. It connects Agios Germanos, near the border with North Macedonia, with the Greek National Road 6 near Kalampaka. It pa ...
(
Agios Germanos Agios Germanos, ( el, Άγιος Γερμανός), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in West Macedonia, Greece. Agios Germanos is located at an altitude of approximately 1,100 meters (3,606 feet), on a hillside, part of the Varnoundas Mou ...
-
Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...
- ...). The
Thessaloniki–Bitola railway The railway from Thessaloniki to Bitola is a long railway line, that connects the port city Thessaloniki in Greece with Bitola in the Republic of North Macedonia, via Veroia, Edessa, Amyntaio and Florina. The line was opened in 1894 under the ...
runs through the regional unit, as of 2014 used by passenger trains between Florina and
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
.Thessaloniki - Edessa - Florina railway schedule
/ref>


See also

*
List of settlements in the Florina regional unit This is a list of settlements in the Florina (regional unit), Florina regional unit, Greece. * Achlada * Aetos, Florina, Aetos * Agia Paraskevi, Florina, Agia Paraskevi * Agios Achilleios * Agios Germanos * Agios Panteleimonas, Florina, Agios Pant ...
*
Archaeological Museum of Florina The Archaeological Museum of Florina is a museum in Florina in West Macedonia, Greece. The museum is housed in a two-storey building that was constructed in 1969 and renovated internally in 1999. It has prehistoric, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzanti ...
*
Florina Byzantine Museum Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some #Name, alternative names) is a town and Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, ...
*
Florina Museum of Modern Art The Florina Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Florina in Greece. It was founded by the Florina Art Centre in 1977. It is housed in a neoclassical building by the Sakouleva river. The museum's collection is composed of 480 works by 254 artis ...
*
Pisoderi Pisoderi ( el, Πισοδέρι; rup, Pisuderea) is a village 17 km west of Florina, Greece. Nearby, 5 km away, is the ski resort Vigla. The ski center is located on Verno, Mount Verno, and currently has five lifts and ten trails. The summ ...
ski resort


References


External links


Florina Prefecture
*https://web.archive.org/web/20090511214009/http://www.mcm.aueb.gr/ment/spetses/Koutsompogera-Manolopoulou/FLORINA.htm * {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1915 establishments in Greece Regional units of Western Macedonia