Orfeas ( el, Ορφέας), named after the mythical musician
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
, is a former municipality in the
Evros regional unit,
East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Soufli
Soufli ( el, Σουφλί) is a town in the Evros regional unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs ...
, of which it is a municipal unit.
Its land area is .
It is located in the north-central part of Evros, and borders both southeastern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and northwestern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The seat of the municipality was in
Lavara
Lavara ( el, Λάβαρα) is a town located in the eastern part of Evros regional unit. In 1821, Lavara participated in the Greek War of Independence and rose up against the Ottoman Empire. It was the seat of the municipality of Orfeas ( el, Ο ...
(pop. 747 in 2021). Much of the land is mountainous and forested to the west, extending up to the
Rhodope regional unit. It is linked with
GR-51 (Alexandroupoli – Orestiada – Edirne in Turkey and Svilengrad in Bulgaria). The town of Lávara sits on a plain. It is located SE of
Svilengrad
Svilengrad ( bg, Свиленград; el, Σβίλενγκραντ; ota, Cisr-i Mustafapaşa) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the h ...
, S of
Edirne, Turkey and
Orestiada, and 13 km N of
Soufli
Soufli ( el, Σουφλί) is a town in the Evros regional unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs ...
and 78 km N of
Alexandroupoli.
The municipality's next largest towns are Agriani, Mega Dereio and Amorio.
History
The municipality was affected by flooding of the Evros river in February and March 2005. 50 houses were damaged. The rail south of Lavara and near the station were also flooded and was closed that time.
Geography
Forests dominate the river banks and parts of the plain. Much of the area are used for farming. The main production are cattle, fruits and vegetables and some flowers. The mountains dominate further west.
Subdivisions
The municipal unit Orfeas is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
*
Lavara
Lavara ( el, Λάβαρα) is a town located in the eastern part of Evros regional unit. In 1821, Lavara participated in the Greek War of Independence and rose up against the Ottoman Empire. It was the seat of the municipality of Orfeas ( el, Ο ...
*
Amorio
*
Kyriaki
Kyriaki ( el, Κυριάκι) is a village and a community of the Livadeia municipality, Greece. Before the 2011 local government reform Kyriaki was an independent community. The 2011 census recorded 2,298 in the community of Kyriaki and 2,185 in ...
*
Mandra
*
Mavrokklisi (Mavrokklisi, Korymvos)
*
Mikro Dereio
Mikro Dereio ( el, Μικρό Δέρειο) is a village and a community in the central part of the Evros regional unit in Greece. It is situated on the left bank of the river Erythropotamos, in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains. The border with Bulg ...
(Mikro Dereio, Geriko, Goniko, Mega Dereio, Petrolofos, Roussa, Sidirochori)
*
Protokklisi
Protokklisi ( el, Πρωτοκκλήσι meaning the first church, bg, Башклисе) is a village and a community in the central part of the Evros regional unit in Greece. Protoklissi is in the municipal unit of Orfeas. In 2001 its populat ...
(Protokklisi, Agriani)
Historical population
References
External links
*http://thesaurus.duth.gr/english/moredata.asp?Perioxh_ID=42&Subj=255
Evros floods
– pathfinder.gr
*https://web.archive.org/web/20060219001458/http://orfeas.evros.gr/lavara.htm (in Greek)
{{Orfeas
Populated places in Evros (regional unit)
Soufli
bg:Орфей (дем)
el:Δήμος Σουφλίου#Ενότητα Ορφέα