Kato Nevrokopi ( el, Κάτω Νευροκόπι "Lower

Nevrokop Gotse Delchev ( bg, Гоце Делчев ), is a town in Gotse Delchev Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria. In 1951, the town was renamed after the Bulgarian revolutionary hero Gotse Delchev. It had hitherto been called Nevrok ...

i") is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and town within that municipality in the northwest section of the Drama 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 ...

. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was the largest municipality in all of Greece, covering an area of 873.552 km² (337.28 sq mi). The 2011 census reported a population of 7,860 inhabitants. The region is known for the very low temperatures during the winter and for its famous agricultural products such as potatoes and beans. The area has several features to attract tourists: the ski center of Falakro, the traditional settlement in the village of Granitis (pop. 78), the historical bunker of Lise, the artificial lakes of Lefkogeia and Potamoí, the spectacular routes in the forests, the old churches. The forest paths offer excellent views to hikers. The largest towns are Kato Nevrokopi (the municipal seat, pop. 2,157), Volakas (1,028), Perithorio (898), Lefkogeia (465), Kato Vrontou (554), and Ochyro (514). On the territory of the municipality are located several abandoned villages, including Monastiri and

Mavrochori Mavrochori ( el, Μαυροχώρι(οv), meaning "black village"; before 1928: Μαύροβον - ''Mavrovon'') is a village on the shores of Lake Orestiada in Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Gr ...

History

Under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, the village was predominantly settled by Slavs, with small numbers of Turks and

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

. Following the

Asia Minor Catastrophe Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and the subsequent population exchange, it was settled by large numbers of Greek refugees from Asia Minor. In 1927, its name was changed from (, ) to Kato Nevrokopi,Name changes of settlements in Greece
/ref> after the neighbouring town of

(present ''Gotse Delchev'') in Bulgaria. On 18 April 1945, during fighting related to 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 ...

, many

Slavic 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 ...

inhabitants left the area. Many of them resettled in

Štip Štip ( mk, Штип ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the city ...

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 ...

Climate

Kato Nevrokopi has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

. It is one of very few locations in Greece with this climate and is one of the coldest places in the country. It has cold and somewhat snowy winters and warm to hot somewhat humid summers. Precipitation tends to be balanced throughout the year, although there is a small Mediterrannean climate influence resulting in July and August being, to a small degree, drier than the rest of the year. Temperatures of -20C or below have been recorded numerous times in the past. However, there has been a warming trend in the last few years and such temperatures occur less often. Downpours and hail happen sometimes in form of showers in spring and summer. Blizzards and thick fogs in the wintertime have been reported occasionally.

Notable people

* Armen Kouptsios * Theodosius Gologanov

References

External links

Official website
Municipalities of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Populated places in Drama (regional unit) Chech Bulgaria–Greece border crossings {{EMacedoniaThrace-geo-stub