Promachonas ( el, Προμαχώνας, bg, Драготин, ) is a village and a former community in the Serres regional unit,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Sintiki Sintiki ( el, Σιντική) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Sidirokastro. The municipality has an area of 1,103.431 km2. Municipality The municipality was forme ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 42.212 km². Population 140 (2011). A major border crossing with

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 ...

is located here. The Bulgarian town opposite Promachonas is

Kulata Kulata ( bg, Кулата , , el, Κούλα or Κούλατα) is a village in Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border chec ...

History

The village was annexed in 1913 by Greek forces during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

. During the years of

Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

, the village was known by its Bulgarian name ''Dragotin''. After the events of the

Greek genocide The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christians, Christian Ottoman Greeks, Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, refugees settled in the village. In 1927 the village was renamed Promachonas. Around the village, there are also the villages of Kapnotopos and

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sche ...

. In 1928 the village numbered 463 inhabitants. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the village numbered 1,528 inhabitants, but with the beginning of the

Greek-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

, the village and its other 2 settlements were evacuated. After the liberation of Greece from the Axis and the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, the refugees settled (from the other two settlements) in Promachonas, and thus the village has 245 inhabitants. In the national census of 1961, the village numbered 416 inhabitants. Promachonas-Topolnica is an important

Late Neolithic In the archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding the Chalcolithic. It is some ...

settlement and cult site that straddles the Greek-Bulgarian border a few kilometers from the community of Promachonas.

Monument

Outside Promachonas, on the Thessaloniki-Promachonas highway, is a monument dedicated to the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

of the Macedonian dynasty

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(Monument of the Battle of the Key). At the top of the monument is placed the symbol of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

, the double-headed eagle, while on the marble column, an inscription has been engraved. The site of the Battle of the Key where Basil II defeated the Bulgarian army in 1014 is now inside Bulgaria.

Transport

Road

Motorway 25 passes through the village, which connects

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 ...

with

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

and Promachonas.

Rail

There is also the

Promachonas railway station Promachonas ( el, Προμαχώνας, bg, Драготин, ) is a village and a former community in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of whi ...

that connects the village with Thessaloniki.

References

External links

Populated places in Serres (regional unit) Bulgaria–Greece border crossings Neolithic settlements in Macedonia (region) Neolithic settlements {{CentralMacedonia-geo-stub