Small Prespa Lake (, ''Limni Mikri Prespa''; ; , ''Malo Prespansko Ezero'') is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

shared between

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 ...

(138 km² drainage area; 42.5 km² surface area) and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(51 km² drainage area; 4.3 km² surface area). It is the smaller of the two Prespa Lakes.

Details

Small Prespa Lake in particular has been recognized as an important wetland ecosystems favoring breeding and feeding of rare water bird species. It is best known for hosting the largest breeding colony of the

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus''), also known as the curly-headed pelican, is the largest member of the pelican family and among the heaviest flying birds in the world. With a wingspan typically ranging between 2.7 and 3.2 meters (8.9� ...

in the world. The flora in the region is composed of more than 1,500 plant species of which 146 endemic species in the Lake Ohrid and 39 endemic species from the Prespa Lakes. The villages of Rakickë, Shyec, Buzliqen and Tren surround the Albanian portion of the lake. In Greece the villages surrounding the lake are

Agios Germanos Agios Germanos, (), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in Western Macedonia, Greece. The village has traditional architecture of stone houses, Byzantine churches and forests. Agios Germanos is close to both Prespa Lakes and located in a vall ...

Laimos Laimos (, before 1926: Ράμπη – ''Rampi'') is a village in the Florina Regional Unit in West Macedonia, Greece. It is the seat of the Prespes Municipality. Name The village was originally known as ''Rampi'' (Greek: Ράμπη). Among spe ...

, Milionas, Platy, Kallithea, Lefkonas,

Prespes Prespes () is a municipality in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Its population in 2021 was 1,211. The seat of the municipality is in Laimos. It was named after Lake Prespa, in the western part of the municipality. Municip ...

, Karyes, Mikrolimni, Oxia, Pyli and Vrontero. During 1970, significant amounts of water from the Devoll river was diverted into the lake with the intention to use it latter during the summer time for the irrigation purposes. Due to the high suspended solids in the river water significant siltation did occur on the Albanian side. The practice has recently stopped. The Albanian part of this lake has a surface of 420 hectares. In 1999 the Society for the Protection of Prespa received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award for its conservation efforts regarding the Lake Prespa Ramsar site.

Agios Achilleios

Small Prespa Lake contains the island of Agios Achilleios (Saint Achilleus); in February 1948, in the midst of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

, Nikos Zachariadis, the General Secretary of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece (, ΚΚΕ; ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Workers' Party of Greece (SEKE) and adopted its current name in Novem ...

, married Roula Koukoulou, his long-time lover, on this island, in a widely publicized ceremony. Located on Agios Achilleios is also the Basilica of Saint Achillius of Larissa. It is an example of the survival of Early Christian architectural style in the Byzantine period. Agios Achilleios was also an early capital of Bulgarian ruler

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

in the 10th century. The island became a tourist and fishing centre in the 1970s.

Gallery

File:Μικρή Πρέσπα (5).jpg, Mikri Prespa File:Agios Axillios.JPG, Walkway to Agios Achillios islet File:View towards Small Prespa Lake, from St. Achillios Island (6).jpg, View from Agios Achillios File:Βασιλική Αγίου Αχιλλείου.jpg, Ruins of St Achillios Basilica File:Monastery of Pavayia Porfaras.JPG, Exterior of Monastery of Panagia Porfyras, Agios Achillios File:Interior Monastery of Pavayia Porfaras.JPG, Interior of Monastery of Panagia Porfyras, Agios Achillios File:Summit of Agios Axillios.JPG, Marked summit of Agios Achillios

References

Sources

* http://www.ekby.gr/ekby/en/alwet_web/alwet_site/en/alwet_aims_Prespa_en.html

External links