Agios Achillios
| Agios Achillios | ||
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| Waters | Small Prespa lake | |
| Geographical location | 40 ° 47 '0 " N , 21 ° 5' 3" E | |
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| length | 1.65 km | |
| width | 400 m | |
| surface | 80.1 ha | |
| Highest elevation | 925 m | |
| Residents | 21st (2011) 26 inhabitants / km² |
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Agios Achillios ( Greek Άγιος Αχίλλειος , pronunciation : [ ˈaʝɔs aˈçiljɔs ]) is a small inland island in the Little Prespassee in northwestern Greece . It is one of the tourist destinations of the Prespes municipality in Western Macedonia and bears witness to two millennia. It is named after Saint Achilles of Larisa († 330), whose bones were transferred to the island at the end of the 10th century.
geography
Agios Achillios is located in the north of the small Prespa lake, about 650 meters from its north shore. The elongated island extends over around 1,650 m in a north-south direction; in its southern part it rises around 72 meters above the surface of the lake. The small settlement of the same name, which in 2011 still had 21 inhabitants, is located at the northern end of the island. Since 2000 a pedestrian pontoon bridge has connected the island with the mainland.
Agios Achillios is part of the transnational Prespa National Park . The area is of particular importance as a bird sanctuary. So breed Krauskopf- and white pelican and pygmy cormorant on the shores of Lake Prespa region, more than half of all counted in Greece bird species sighted in. There are also some endemic fish species living in the lakes.
history
Excavations in 1961, 1999 and 2007 prove the existence of a Hellenistic settlement in the south of the island, which was inhabited until Roman times , but was abandoned at the beginning of the fourth century AD. Inscriptions found here from the Roman imperial period indicate the name Lyka ( Greek πόλις Λυκαίων , city of the Lycaians'). Archaeological finds from the lake led to the assumption that there was a land connection in ancient times.
The island returned to historical awareness during the late period of the First Bulgarian Empire at the end of the 10th century, when Tsar Samuil, after conquering Larisa, had the remains of Saint Achilles brought to the island and a basilica dedicated to the saint was built here. Under the name Prespa, the island was Samuil's residence and thus a power center of the Bulgarian Empire. The church served as the bishopric and possibly as the burial place of Samuil and his successors Gawril Radomir and Ivan Wladislaw . In 1018 the Byzantine Empire recaptured Prespa, in 1072 the island and church were devastated and plundered by mercenaries, the rebuilt church fell into disrepair from the late 14th century, but was used as a place of worship until the 20th century, due to the importance of the saint in Greece Patron feast of the saint on May 15th. After different owners in the 13th and 14th centuries, the island belonged to the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century .
View of the basilica
Reconstructed floor plan of the church
Sarcophagi in the basilica
After the Balkan Wars , the island came to Greece and in 1918, under the name Achillion, it was initially part of the rural community of German (today Agios Germanos ), in 1920 it was renamed Nivitsa (Slav. Nivica, today Psarades ), in 1926 it was renamed Agios Achillios and in 1927 it was an independent rural community. In 1997 this community was incorporated into Prespes, where today it forms a local community together with the village of Pyli, which elects a local representative.
Attractions
In addition to the Achilleios Basilica, there are remains of a few other churches, including St. George, the twelve apostles , St. Demetrios and one of the women's monasteries dedicated to Panagia Porphyra. There are also some hermitages that contain wall paintings. The hotel also organizes art exhibitions.
Economy and Infrastructure
The main livelihoods of the islanders are tourism and agriculture . They run a hotel with eight rooms and an adjoining restaurant, which mainly offers local products, including the fish from the Prespasse. Some old breeds of domestic animals are also kept on the island, such as the Prespa cattle and Greek water buffalo . The settlement of a flock of Florina sheep is planned.
Web links
- Greece currently. Issue of October 29, 2009 with a report on the island (PDF, 570 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ↑ Presentation of the Prespa region ( Memento from February 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (English)
- ↑ Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport (ed.): Report on excavations in 2007 in the Florina prefecture , PDF (Greek, 13.6 MB)
- ↑ Tomo Tomoski: Achilleios, Hagios. in the knowledge database of the University of Leipzig
- ↑ Administrative history on eetaa.gr ( Memento from March 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Website of the hotel (Greek)
- ↑ Entry about the island at arca-net (English)
- ^ Prespa Dwarf Cattle in Albania and Greece. ( Memento from February 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Report of the SAVE soundation 2012, PDF, 748 kB (English)