__NOTOC__ Giannitsa Lake ( el, Λίμνη Γιαννιτσών), also known as Loudias Lake ( el, Λίμνη Λουδία) is a former post-glacial lake in

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

, Greece, south of the town of

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Gian ...

and north of Gidas (later renamed Alexandreia). It or the surrounding

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

were sometimes called Borboros 'slime' or Borboros Limen. Shallow, swampy, and variable-sized, it was drained from 1928 to 1932 and became agricultural land.

History

It was fed by the

Loudias River The Loudias ( el, Λουδίας) or Lydias (Λυδίας), popularly called Mavroneri (Μαυρονέρι, "Blackwater", from its Ottoman Turkish name ''Kara Asmak'' قره آصماق) is a river in Central Macedonia that flows through the re ...

and the plain of

Roumlouki Roumlouki ( el, Ρουμλούκι, from the Ottoman Turkish ''Rûmlık'', "place of the Rûm") or Kampania (Καμπανία), is the traditional name of the northeastern part of Imathia located in Macedonia, Greece, specifically the plain of the ...

stretched to its south. In

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

the lake was called Enidzhevardarsko Lake (Ениджева̀рдарското езеро) or Pazarsko Swamp (Пазарското блато). The Lake played a major role in the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

between the Greeks and Bulgarians, as it provided hiding places for the armed bands of both sides. The conflict for control of the Lake is the central historical event of

Penelope Delta Penelope Delta (; 1874, Alexandria, Khedivate of Egypt – 2 May 1941, Athens, Greece) was a Greek author. She is widely celebrated for her contributions to the field of children's literature. Her historical novels have been widely read and hav ...

's 1937 novel ''The Secrets of the Swamp''. The lake was drained in 1928-1932 by the New York Foundation Company.Eugene N. Borza, ''In the shadow of Olympus: the emergence of Macedon'' (1992) , p. 289; Matthieu Ghilardi ''et al.'', "Human occupation and geomorphological evolution of the Thessaloniki Plain (Greece) since mid Holocene", ''Journal of Archaeological Science'' 35:1:111-125 (January 2008)

Gallery

File:Agras-Tellos-Agapinos Nikiforos-Ioannis-Demestihas Kalas-Constantine-Sarros.jpg, Greek revolutionaries

Tellos Agras Tellos Agras ( el, Τέλλος Άγρας, c. 1880 – 7 June 1907) was the ''nom de guerre'' of Sarantis-Tellos Agapinos ( el, Σαράντης-Τέλλος Αγαπηνός), a Greek officer of the Hellenic Army who played a prominent role duri ...

and

Ioannis Demestichas Ioannis Demestichas ( el, Ιωάννης Δεμέστιχας, 1882–1960) was a Hellenic Navy officer. He is best known for his participation in the Macedonian Struggle under the ''nom de guerre'' of Kapetan Nikiforos (Καπετάν Νικηφ� ...

at Giannitsa Lake File:Apostol Petkov ASonnichsen1906.jpg,

revolutionary Apostol Petkov at Giannitsa Lake c. 1906

Notes

External links

Google Earth view of Giannitsa and the drained lakebed
Lakes of Greece Landforms of Central Macedonia Former lakes of Europe {{CentralMacedonia-geo-stub