Sklithro (

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 ...

: Σκλήθρο, before 1927: Ζέλενιτς - ''Zelenits'';

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 ...

and Macedonian: , ''Zelenìche'') is a small village located about 40 kilometres southwest 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 ...

, the capital of Florina regional unit in northwestern

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 ...

. It is situated in a valley at the foot of the

Vitsi Vitsi ( el, Βίτσι) is a former municipality in Kastoria regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kastoria, of which it is a municipal unit. It takes its name from Mount Vitsi ...

mountain range halfway along the Amyntaio –

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

local road. Sklithro is currently inhabited by 532 permanent residents (2011 census).

History

In 1845 the Russian

slavist Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...

Victor Grigorovich recorded ''Zelenich'' as mainly

village. At its peak in the first part of the twentieth century, the population of the village had reached about 3,500 inhabitants. There were two

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 Macedo ...

n and one Greek school in the village in the beginning of 20th century.D.M.Brancoff. "La Macedoine et sa Population Chretienne". Paris, 1905, p.176-177. The Greek census (1920) recorded 2,219 people in the village and in 1923 there were 1,100 inhabitants (or 170 families) who were Muslim. Following the

Greek-Turkish population exchange The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the " Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

, in 1926 within Zelenits there were refugee families from East Thrace (23),

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 ...

(53), the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

(10) and three others from an unidentified location. The Greek census (1928) recorded 1347 village inhabitants. There were 87 refugee families (379 people) in 1928. The population decrease can be attributed to many causes including

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the population exchange with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

following the Treaty of Lausanne,

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 opposing ...

, as well as 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 and ...

which affected Sklithro and the surrounding region. Following the Civil War, the village saw an exodus of people migrating to North America, Australia, and other

European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the regions of Europe, various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, ...

, where opportunity and a better way of life existed. Sklithro had 623 inhabitants in 1981. In fieldwork done by Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Sklithro was populated by Slavophones and a

population descended from Anatolian Greek refugees who arrived during the population exchange. Table 1: Réfugiés grecs; Footnote 2: Le terme « réfugié » est utilisé ici pour désigner les Grecs d’Asie Mineure qui se sont établis en Grèce dans les années vingt après l’échange de population entre la Turquie et la Grèce (Traité de Lausanne, 1924); Table 3: Sklithro, 623; S, R; S = Slavophones, R = Refugiés" In the modern period, the village is experiencing a bit of a rejuvenation. Many of the formerly abandoned homes have been or are in the process of being renovated. Agriculture continues to be the mainstay of the village and is celebrated with an annual potato festival in the month of August. During the summer months tourism also plays an important role, with visitors including former residents or their decedents. Also, nearby are the tourist attractions of

Nymfaio Nymfaio ( el, Νυμφαίο, before 1926: Νέβεσκα - ''Neveska'', rup, Nevesca) and in Ancient Greece: Νυμφαῖον or Νύμφαιον (9th century bc), is a village and a former community in Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia ...

and the Arcturos bear refuge.

References

{{Amyntaio div Populated places in Florina (regional unit) Amyntaio