Griva (, Bulgarian and , ) is a village located in the Kilkis regional unit in

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The village hovers on the southeastern portion of

Mount Paiko Mountain Paiko in (Greek language, Greek: Πάικο; in Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Паяк or Pajak) is a small mountain range (surface area: 399 km2) that lies on the border of the Pella (regional unit), Pella and Kilkis (regional un ...

at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Griva, with a population of 587 people (2021), is the largest village in the municipal unit of

Goumenissa Goumenissa ( ) is a small traditional town in the Kilkis (regional unit), Kilkis regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Paionia (municipality), Paionia Municipality, of which ...

besides Goumenissa proper. Because of the complete destruction of the village by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in 1912 during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, there are no structures still existing that were built prior to this period. The village's

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

is the basic standard architecture for nearly all of the towns of the region, with narrow

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

s, small passageways between the buildings, and

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s fit perfectly into the natural environment of the mountainside. According to a Yugoslav study, in 1961 of a population of 1,280, an estimated 1,180 Macedonian speakers lived in the village alongside 100

Pontic Greeks The Pontic Greeks (; or ; , , ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group indigenous to the region of Pontus, in northeastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). They share a common Pontic Greek culture that is di ...

.Todor Simonovski, The Inhabited Places of Aegean Macedonia, Skopje, 1978, p. 278

Demographics

Location

Griva is located northwest of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, north of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and is located within the

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Economy

Local agriculture produces

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

s, sheep, and timber.

Education

Griva had one primary school and one elementary school but they both closed down due to the low number of students.

Culture

Filmography: In 1981, director Tasos Psaras filmed ''The Factory'' (Greek : ''Το Εργοστάσιο'')(French : ''L 'Ucine'') in various places within Griva.

Churches

*Church of St. Athanasius the Great *Monastery of St. Raphael,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

at Griva (established 1992).

References

External links

Official website

e-Press
{{Paionia div Populated places in Kilkis (regional unit) Paionia (municipality)