Vatochori

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Wikipedia

Vatochori
Community
Vatochori is located in Greece
Vatochori
Vatochori
Coordinates: 40°40′14″N 21°8′53″E / 40.67056°N 21.14806°E / 40.67056; 21.14806
CountryGreece
Administrative regionWestern Macedonia
Regional unitFlorina
MunicipalityPrespes
Municipal unitPrespes
CommunityVatochori
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Community
10
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Vatochori (Greek: Βατοχώρι, before 1927: Μπρένιτσα – Brenitsa,[2][3] Macedonian: Брезница, Breznica)[4] is a community and village in Florina Regional Unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. The village has an altitude of 880 m (2,890 ft).[5]

Vatochori is located in the Korestia area and situated in mountainous terrain.[6] The total land area of the village Vatochori is 3,011 hectares, with a majority as forest, followed by use for agriculture, grasslands and a small remainder for other uses.[7] Some of the architecture of Vatochori consists of stone houses.[8] The modern village economy is based on lumbering, agriculture and livestock.[8]

A Christian village, most of the inhabitants belonged to the Bulgarian Exarchate.[9] In the late nineteenth century, a few Aromanian families also lived in the village.[10] The population numbered 650 in 1912,[9] 877 in 1920 and 605 in 1928.[11] Several families from Vatochori immigrated to Bulgaria.[9] Reliant on agricultural activities and some remittances from immigrants abroad, the average yearly family income of the village in the late interwar period was 10,700 drachmas.[6] The village population numbered 770 in 1940.[5][11]

In mid–1941 Vatochori along with Slavic Macedonian inhabitants from several villages partook in a celebration commemorating the Battle of Lokvata, fought by Bulgarian revolutionaries (Komitadjis) against Ottoman soldiers in 1903.[12] During the Axis retreat from Greece in World War II, a German military convoy was attacked at Vatochori by guerillas resulting in 2 dead and 32 surrendered.[13] In the Greek Civil War, the village was occupied by the Democratic Army of Greece (DAG).[14]

The population of Vatochori, a Slavic Macedonian village was reduced by 70 percent due to the impacts of the Second World War and the civil war.[15] The population of Vatochori was 232 in 1951, 232 in 1961,[5] 54 in 1981 and 23 in 2011.[11] The modern village population is small and in decline.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ↑ Institute for Neohellenic Research. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Brenitsa – Vatochorion". Pandektis. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  3. ↑ Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government. "Διοικητικές Μεταβολές των Οικισμών: Μπρένιτσα – Βατοχώρι" [Administrative Changes of Settlements: Brenitsa – Vatochori]. EETAA (in Greek). Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Danforth, Loring M. (1997). The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World. Princeton University Press. p. 235. ISBN 9780691043579.
  5. 1 2 3 Laiou 1987, p. 80.
  6. 1 2 Koliopoulos 1999, pp. 47–48.
  7. ↑ Ntassiou 2022, p. 374. "Vatochori; Forest: 1,851, Agriculture: 532, Grasslands: 593, Other: 35, Total area (ha): 3,011."
  8. 1 2 3 Ntassiou 2022, p. 375. "Vatochori, Population < 150 (in 2011 census): YES; Proportion gradual difference 2011–1981 (%): −57; Pre-existing in 1923: YES; Characterization: small and declining; Type of architecture: sporadically stone houses; Assessment of economy type: lumbering, agriculture, livestock"
  9. 1 2 3 Miska, Marialena Argyro (2020). Επώνυμοι Τόποι: Ονομασίες Οικισμών στην Περιοχή της Φλώρινας [Named Places: Names of Settlements in the Florina Region] (Master's thesis) (in Greek). University of Western Macedonia. p. 62. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  10. ↑ Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Zitros Publications. pp. 463–464. ISBN 9789607760869.
  11. 1 2 3 Ntassiou, Konstantina (2022). "Studying abandoned settlements' renaissance in the context of rural geography: perspectives for Prespes, Greece". European Planning Studies. 30 (2): 368. Bibcode:2022EurPS..30..359N. doi:10.1080/09654313.2021.1957085. "Vatochori; Census_2011: 23; Census_1981: 54; Census_1928: 605; Census_1940: 770; Census_1920: 877"
  12. ↑ Michailidis, Iakovos D. (2000). "On the Other Side of the River: The Defeated Slavophones and Greek History". In Cowan, Jane K. (ed.). Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference. Pluto Press. p. 74. ISBN 9780745315898.
  13. ↑ Ready, J. Lee (2024). The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II. McFarland. p. 421. ISBN 9780786493456.
  14. ↑ Laiou, Angeliki E. (1987). "Population Movements in the Greek Countryside during the Civil War". In Bærentzen, Lars; Iatrides, John O.; Langwitz Smith, Ole (eds.). Studies in the History of the Greek Civil War, 1945–1949. Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 80, 82. ISBN 9788772890043.
  15. ↑ Koliopoulos, John S. (1999). Plundered Loyalties: Axis Occupation and Civil Strife in Greek West Macedonia, 1941–1949. Hurst. p. 287. ISBN 9781850653813.