Didymoticho
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Didymoticho municipality Δήμος Διδυμοτείχου (Διδυμότειχο) |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : | East Macedonia and Thrace | ||
| Regional District : | Evros | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 41 ° 21 ′ N , 26 ° 30 ′ E | ||
| Area : | 569.45 km² | ||
| Residents : | 19,493 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 34.2 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Post Code: | 68300 | ||
| Prefix: | (+30) 25530 | ||
| Community logo: |
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| Seat: | Didymoticho | ||
| LAU-1 code no .: | 0302 | ||
| Districts : | 2 parishes | ||
| Local self-government : |
2 city districts 20 local communities |
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| Website: | www.didymoteicho.gr | ||
| Location in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace | |||
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Didymoticho ( Greek Διδυμότειχο [ ðiðiˈmɔtixɔ ] ( n. Sg. ), Bulgarian Димотика Dimotika , Turkish Dimetoka ) is a small town in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in northeast Greece and a municipality of the same name in the regional district of Evros . The city has around 9,000 inhabitants and around 19,500 people live in the municipality.
The city of Didymoticho got its name because of the double city wall ( Greek δίδυμος τείχος didymos tichos 'twin wall '), which was formerly built for defense. Part of this fortification wall can still be seen today.
geography
The municipality extends on both sides of the river Erythropotamos (Bulgarian: Луда река Luda Reka ), which flows into the Evros from the northeast . The town of Didymoticho is located on the north bank of the Erythropotamos, about three kilometers northwest of the mouth, in the Evros plain. The Evros forms the eastern boundary of the municipality, which is here at the same time the state border with Turkey with the border municipality Uzunköprü . To the west it borders the Bulgarian Oblast Chaskowo . The neighboring Greek communities are Orestiada in the north and Soufli in the south. Didymoticho is about 100 kilometers north of the Aegean coast with Alexandroupoli and 50 kilometers south of Edirne .
Panoramic view from the castle
religion
Greek Orthodox Christianity
The religious diversity of the Byzantine and later the Ottoman Empire has been partially preserved. Didymoticho is the bishopric of the metropolis Didymoticho, Soufli and Orestiada, Damaskinos Karpathakis has been bishop since 2009. Damaskinos succeeded Bishop Nikiforos Archangelidis, who was enthroned in 1988 and held the office until 2009. The bishop is hierarchically subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople.
One of the city's architectural landmarks is the Metropolitan Church, built in 1994, the Panagia Elefterotria (“Liberating Virgin Mary”). The church was built in neo-Byzantine style and is 35 meters high. The patronage festival is celebrated every year on October 28th.
The Roma community
The Mufti for the Evros Regional Unit is based in the city. Mehmet Şerif Damadoğlu (Μεχμέτ Σερίφ Δαμάδογλου) was Didymoticho's Mufti from 1986 to December 2016. Osman Hamza (Οσμάν Χαμζά) was appointed acting head in December 2016. The city’s Muslims are all Roma, who have lived here since the 16th century. Some local Roma families are also of Christian faith. Integration into society and general life is slow, despite attempts such as building projects and language courses by local government. Outside the city, in the villages of the community, there are hardly any other Muslims, so the mosque in the city is the only one in the entire community.
Armenian community
There has been a relatively large Armenian community in Didymoticho since the 18th century. The cultural center of the Armenians is located in the historic church of St. Georgios Paleokastris (Αγιός Γεώργιος Παλεοκαστριτής).
Judaism
Over the centuries Didymoticho had a large Jewish community, one of the oldest in Greece. During the First World War it lost many members. During the Second World War, 731 Jews were deported by German troops to occupied Poland on May 4, 1943 , and became victims of the Holocaust . Only 33 people escaped deportation. The last member of the community died in 1987. At times before the expulsion by the National Socialist occupiers, the Jewish community was so large that it had a Jewish school in operation. a. Hebrew was taught.
history
Ancient and Middle Ages
Archaeological finds date the foundation of the place to the 7th century AD. As the birthplace of the Byzantine emperor John III. Dukas Batatzes , Johannes V Palaiologos and Basil II. The city bears witness to a rich Byzantine history and was several times the regent seat of the Byzantine emperors. Basil II, known as “the slayer of Bulgarians”, used the city as a warehouse and headquarters for his policy of annexation against the First Bulgarian Empire .
The decline of the city and with it the end of its history within the Empire of Byzantium was also the decline of the empire itself. The 3rd, 4th and 5th crusades of the Western Church weakened Byzantium and offered a target for later occupiers. The city of Didymoticho suffered from these crusades and the destruction caused by Emperor Barbarossa, among others . In June 1206, the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan tried to take the city after the residents had allied themselves with the Crusaders against him. He changed the direction of the river Erythropotamo. At the end of August 1206 the second siege of Didymoticho took place. The city was captured and destroyed. In the following years, the city was again conquered by Byzantine troops and the city was rebuilt. Around 1340 Didymoticho became the seat of the anti-emperor John VI. His coronation in Didymoticho sparked another civil war, which was ultimately won by John V in 1354. The Italian chronicler Matteo Villani reports that the city was conquered by the Ottomans for the first time in 1359. In November 1361 it finally fell into Ottoman hands and briefly replaced Bursa as the residence of the Ottoman sultans. Didymoticho was their first capital in Europe (until 1366, then Adrianople (Edirne) until 1453). Villani describes Didymoticho as the second most important Byzantine city in Thrace, after Constantinople. The conquest Didymotichos followed the subjugation and destruction of fortresses in the Eastern Rhodope , including Perperikon , Ljutiza at Ivaylovgrad , Ustra and Wischegrad in Kardzhali . In February 1713, Charles XII. of Sweden during his stay in the Ottoman Empire of Sultan Ahmed III. arrested in Adrianople. From there, the Ottomans moved the house arrest to Didymoticho in November 1713.
Modern times
Didymoticho belonged to the Ottoman Empire until 1912 before it was occupied by Bulgarian troops during the First Balkan War and initially ceded to Bulgaria. When the Second Balkan War broke out, the Bulgarian troops lost. Because of the threat of annexation to Bulgaria, resistance formed in the Muslim-Turkish population of Western Thrace, which with 185,000 inhabitants made up the majority in the region. The resistance resulted in the establishment of the government of Western Thrace .
As a result of the Second Balkan War, the Ottomans got the city back again in 1913, but finally ceded it to Bulgaria in 1915 in order to persuade Bulgaria to join the First World War on the side of the Central Powers . After the defeat of the Central Powers, Bulgaria finally had to cede Western Thrace and Didymoticho to Greece in 1919. In the following population exchange, 53,000 Bulgarians left Greece. Conversely, 46,000 Greeks left Bulgaria.
Didymoticho and the prefecture of Evros remained Greek as an enclave even during the Second World War , as they were under German military administration. The regions of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia further to the west, on the other hand, were annexed by Bulgaria again from 1941 to 1944.
Heavy rains caused a flooding of the region around the Evros River and the city on February 17, 2005. The tide slowly ebbed from March 4th, causing major damage. The railway line was also badly affected, so that train traffic had to be shut down for several months. In 2010, as part of the Kallikratis program, the western neighboring municipality of Metaxades was incorporated into the municipality of Didymoticho.
Culture and sights
The remains of the ancient settlement
Agia Petra rises between the city's train station and the Erythropotamos and Evros rivers . Excavations have shown that this place can be identified with the ancient city of Plotinoupolis , which the Roman Emperor Trajan founded and named after his wife Pompeia Plotina . The ruins of the ancient settlement can be viewed there today. The excavations are ongoing and the finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Komotini . The floors of the patrician houses are well preserved and have revealed high-quality mosaics with representations from ancient Greek mythology during excavations since 2009 . In 1965 a gold bust of Septimius Severus was accidentally found while the Greek army was building a trench. In the vicinity of the city excavations are ongoing at several Greco-Thracian tombs, such as B. Thyrea. Remains of the Pythion Fortress are also nearby.
The castle
The main attractions include the castle and the fortifications of medieval Didymoticho. The mountain was fortified in the epoch of Justinian I in the period 527-565 and had to undergo constant changes in the coming epochs of the Byzantine emperors . The castle documents the geostrategic importance of the city over the centuries. The famous "princess tower " ( Pyrgos tis Vasilopoulas , Πύργος της Βασιλοπούλας), where, according to legend, the young princess of a Byzantine imperial family threw herself to her death because she wanted to escape a forced marriage, is the castle's best preserved tower. A total of 24 towers are still preserved today, most of which have stone monograms from various Byzantine imperial dynasties . The castle gate is also well preserved. During the Ottoman rule, the Christian population, i.e. the Greeks, Armenians and Bulgarians, lived “above” (= inside the castle), while the Muslim residents of the city lived “below”, around the mosque.
The old town
The old town is located within the city walls. Here are the Byzantine Church of Saint Ekaterini and the historic Church of Saint Georgios Palaeokastritis, in which John VI. Kantakouzenos was crowned. Rock caves are located both in the area framed by the Byzantine fortress walls and in its vicinity. According to legend, two caves next to the Metropolis of Saint Athanasios served as Charles XII's prison . of Sweden. The Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque , the construction of which was started under Murad I (1326-1389) and completed under Bayezid I (1347-1402), is the oldest Ottoman mosque in Europe. It was built when the city was the brief residence of the Ottoman sultan. The building is currently being renovated. You can also visit the complex of the Turkish Hamam , also known in Greek as "Baths of Love" (Λουτρά του Έρωτα). This hammam is dated to the 15th century. You can visit the mausoleum of Oruç Paşa (Ορούτς Πασά), which is located directly behind the current town hall of the city. Oruç Paşa was a general of the Ottoman army and founder of the hamam.
Many neo-classical buildings such as town villas shape the image of the city and have been placed under monument protection. Also common and under monument protection are mansions typical for the region (Greek Αρχοντικά).
The old station was built by the French from 1919 to 1920 under the rule of the Entente , hence its native name "French station" (Greek Γαλλικός Σταθμός). The station complex consists of four buildings that are made entirely of wood and equipped with many details from the era.
Roman mosaic from Plotinoupolis
Gate of Didymoticho Castle
The interior of the Ekaterini Church in the castle
The Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque
Dome in the Oruç Paşa Hamam
Gaida festival
Didymoticho Town Hall
The Byzantine Museum
The entrance of the Icon Museum from the cathedral
Museums
- The newly built Byzantine Museum, inaugurated in 2014, documents in numerous finds from the area Didymoticho's role during the Byzantine Empire , when the city served three times as the residence of the emperors.
- The Folklore Museum was founded in 1967 by teachers from the city. The meeting of the members and friends of the Folklore Museum takes place annually, where donors who have bequeathed individual objects, photos or antique or old tools and costumes from their private collection to the museum are honored. In 2017, the meeting took place for the seventh time in the lecture hall of the Hotel Plotini.
- The military museum mainly attracts army units from surrounding garrisons .
- The cathedral houses an icon museum with rare exhibits from the Byzantine era. The "Chronis Aidonidis" room was inaugurated in the museum rooms of the Metropolitan Cathedral in July 2018 in the presence of the honored Chronis Aidonidis. The inauguration took place in the rooms of the cathedral itself, which will house a permanent exhibition of the honored singer.
- In May 2000 Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and Theodoros Angelopoulos inaugurated the art gallery in the historic Vafiadi house . This museum bears the name of the painter and artist Dimitrios Nalbandi (Δημοτική Πινακοθήκη Δημητρίου Ναλμπάντη), whose works it exhibits, including wall paintings by the artist.
Sights in the surrounding area
The Tsingla forest, which is used by the locals as a recreational area for excursions and celebrations, stretches along the southern hills of the city. In Koufovouno there is a stalactite cave called "Vouvas", which was discovered and explored by cave explorers in 1962. You can visit stalagmites and stalactites in the 30 meter high cave.
Sports
athletics
Konstantinos Gatsioudis is the city's most successful and well-known athlete who has also celebrated international success . The javelin thrower was able to win several medals in international competitions. In his honor, the local sports hall on the northern outskirts was named after him. Since his international successes, many young athletes have emulated him and organized themselves in the Spartacus of Didymoticho athletics club .
The city's athletics club holds its competitions in the city stadium, with training sessions also taking place in the Konstantinos Gatsioudis hall in winter.
In 2016, the first castle run took place in Didymoticho (Αγώνας Δρόμου Κάστρου Διδυμοτείχου), in which 5,000 and 10,000 meters for men and women are run around the old castle and the city in two disciplines. The second run took place in 2017. So you want to have the sporting event take place annually.
Football sport
The city's football club is AE Didymoticho and was able to celebrate undefeated promotion to the third-highest division in Greece in the 2016/17 season. In the past you could win the amateur cup (Κύπελλο Ερασιτεχνικών Ομάδων Ελλάδος) in the 1979/80 final against AONeapoli Pireas 1-0 and celebrate the club's greatest success in the Kaftantzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki . In the youth sector there is a collaboration with the PAOK FC Youth and Development Sections. The AED (ΑΕΔ) was founded in 1933 and has a three-leaf clover as a club emblem. A letter of the club is embedded on each sheet.
The competitions of the athletics club and the matches of the city football club take place in the Didymotichou Municipal Stadium. In the summer of 2017, the district government of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace approved an imperative to modernize the playing field and the lawn so that the AED team can meet the requirements of the 3rd Greek Football League. The construction of a tartan track is also being planned, which should be suitable for national and even international competitions according to the standards of the athletics associations. A total budget of around EUR 500,000 is available for the modernization measures.
Events
The annual cultural festival Erythropotamos in September offers folklore as well as dance and music. Another festival that has been taking place for many years is the festival of the Gaida , the traditional Thracian bagpipes . Many Gaida players spread out over the streets and alleys of the city and carry the music into every housing estate. A dance festival will then take place at the center.
Culinary specialties
Kavurma
A delicacy known in Greece but also in neighboring Turkey comes from the region of northern Evros, the fried and sautéed buffalo meat roll Kavourma (Greek: Καβουρμάς). In Didymoticho and its periphery, this specialty is offered by butchers and can also be found in many supermarkets. The kavourma is often prepared in an omelette with eggs or in raw form as a mezze , where ouzo is usually served with it.
Trachana
As Trachana (Gr .: Τραχανάς, Turkish: Tarhana ), fermented and dried mixture of flour and vegetables for the preparation of soup, which is usually prepared for autumn and winter and is considered typical home cooking. There are only guesses as to the origin of the name or origin of the soup. One thesis is based on the origin of the Greek word traganos (Gr.:τραγανός) which translated means crunchy, crispy, another thesis is based on the Persian origin of the name and from the word Tark-haneh. "Tarhana" is widespread in neighboring Turkey. This soup is usually made in two types, the white and the red Trachana, which is different in color because the red Trachana uses peppers, which make the red variety more spicy. Feta and bread are rubbed into the soup according to taste . Side dishes are usually olives and / or spring onions . The Trachana can only rarely be bought industrially prepared and is usually obtained from the weekly markets in the city or the cities of North Evros. The product is offered handmade to this day. The Trachana is considered the soup of farmers and shepherds and is therefore still very popular today, for sentimental reasons, but also because of its taste. The trachana is prepared in summer as it has to dry in the sun. According to this, you can still occasionally see in the courtyards of the houses in the villages of the municipality how extensive the Trachana is. In the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the process of preparing trachana in summer was accompanied by music and dance by the housewives. According to this, the Trachana is deeply anchored in the life of the people and their culture in the mainly rural and agricultural region. In Thracian songs and the same dance culture, there are entire dances and pieces of music on the subject of Trachana, which document the event itself, but also the cultural-historical references.
Babo
The Babo (Gr .: Μπάμπω) is a dish originally from Didymoticho and the surrounding area, which can consist of fine pork , rice , chopped pork liver, leek and various spices as a sausage in the pig's intestine . Variations are possible and are also used from house to house in different forms, with rice and pork always remaining as the main ingredients. Originally a dish for the Christmas holidays and closely related to the Orthodox faith, this dish is served both in a soup or fried.
Lalangites
The Lalangita or Alangita is a pancake made in the region from wheat flour, yeast and eggs in the frying pan , formerly in the clay ovens of houses, and served for breakfast. These are then occupied in two main versions. Either you prefer it sweet, then sugar, cinnamon and nuts are added to the lalangita, or you like the salty type, then grated cheese or whole as a side dish. A spring onion or sausage is often used as an additional side dish.
Mikikia
The yeast dough ring is similar to the Loukoumades , which is widely used in Greece , but the composition of the dough is different. The raw materials are wheat flour , yeast and salt . The dough is then fried in a saucepan with hot sunflower oil and given its final charismatic shape, namely with the hole in the middle. Originally, the Mikikia were topped with sugar or honey . Nowadays, the round dough rolls are also eaten in combination with feta cheese .
Economy and Infrastructure
Agriculture is the main source of income for most residents. The crops grown for agriculture include cotton and corn . The food industry is an important employer in the region. The headquarters of the food company Evrofarma, which is supplied by several large dairies mainly in Evros, but also from all of Thrace, is located on the eastern city limits. Soldiers and officers of the Greek Army serving in the region are boosting retail sales in the city. The city is also the seat of the metropolitan of the region there. There are facilities for training police officers and civil servants as well as a state hospital.
The national road 51 , newly built a few years ago, is the city's main route and connects it with the “ Egnatia Odos ” motorway in the south and Orestiada in the north. A railway line also runs through the town and connects the city with the centers of the country. The railway is mainly used by recruits and soldiers who do their military service in the prefecture. Bus traffic is mainly used by the locals, with several bus routes running daily to Macedonia and Attica .
Villages of the municipality
The population of most of the parish's villages is declining, while the population of the parish centers is growing. However, Greeks from the diaspora return to their villages of origin as pensioners.
Pythio
The only remaining border crossing for train traffic between Turkey and Greece is in the town of Pythio . The Byzantines called the place Empythion. On the outskirts there is a castle from the 14th century which was built in 1331–41 by Johannes VI Kantakouzinos and is a testimony to the military architecture of the last years of the Hellinist-Byzantine Empire. The castle is well preserved with two towers and parts of the fortifications. The plant was u. a. also used as a treasury. In 1361 the castle was occupied by the Ottomans and used as a base for the operations against Didymoticho.
At the train station of Pythio, which was also a stop of the legendary Orient Express , there has been a memorial in honor of the fallen French soldiers of the 45th Infantry of the French Army since the First World War . The location of the monument was chosen so that the passengers of the Orient Express could have seen it from the car on the train. In 2018 and 100 years after the First World War, representatives of the French embassy visited the memorial and honored the fallen soldiers.
Neo Sofiko
The beginnings and the early years
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The village of Neo Sofiko ( Greek Σοφικό ) was in the fertile plain on the Greek side of the Evros river by Greek refugees from the places Kostikioi (today Turkish Serem), Louloukioi (today Turkish Akcadam), Kawakli, Karaile, Giaoup, Kourti (today Turkish Kurdu), Nantirli, Derekioi and Megalo Zaloufi. These villages were in and around the municipality of Uzunköprü (Greek Μακρά Γέφυρα ) in what is now Turkey. The village of Louloukioi was first mentioned in an ecclesiastical document from 1878, which testifies to a Greek Orthodox church, a school and 56 families for the place. The escape from the village began according to the Turkish-Bulgarian Treaty of Sofia in September 1915. 15,130 Greeks from the Uzunköprü region (out of an estimated 150,000 Greeks in the wider area of eastern Thrace) became refugees. The refugees from Louloukioi and Kostikioi stayed on the Greek side of the Evros River in Didymoticho until 1919 and some of them were still able to cultivate their old fields. After the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), further resettlements were carried out, including by the Turkish population from the region around Didymoticho to Turkey. After several floods, the Greek refugees gave up their fields and their settlement called Soflar, settled further upstream and founded their place in the summer of 1923, initially with the names Neo Lili and Neo Kosti. From the former place Megalo Zaloufi only 7 families settled in Neo Kosti. The other families of the place settled in the surrounding villages like Neo Chimonio and Sakkos and up to the border with Bulgaria. The village of Megalo Zaloufi was mainly populated by Arvanites , who not only brought their own dialect, but also architecture and trade. Most of the Arvanites built and managed mills and warehouses.
The second half of the 20th century and emigration
Today's Neo Sofiko was given this name in the course of a local reform in 1961 and consists of two districts, Kosti and Lili. With almost 800 inhabitants, it is the most populous village in the municipality of Didymoticho. One village center was formed around the large church of St. Dimitrios, the other, larger one was built in Kosti, with traditional kafenions.
In 1976 a film team from the state broadcaster ERT visited the site. Its documentary shows the history and cultural heritage of the village. Another film crew from the state broadcaster ET-3 documented a folklore group staging a traditional wedding and showing off local customs in 1989. It is evidence of contemporary history which historians, linguists and musicologists use to depict the culture of the Greeks in Eastern Thrace , especially in the area around Didymoticho. Old and rare rhapsodies , songs and melodies from the region are recorded in these documentaries : a spoken and sung tradition that would otherwise have been lost over the decades and generations.
There are three churches in the village. The largest church is that of St. Dimitrios. A small chapel of the Panagia Sofikiotissa (Παναγιά Σοφικιοτισά) was inaugurated in 1994 near the sports facility of the AES Orfeas Sofikou (AEΣ. Ορφέας Σοφικο) . Over the years, the small park "Lilikosti" was created at the chapel, named after the two districts. Since 2008 a new church adorns the eastern border of the village.
In the village there was a primary school and a kindergarten until the 1990s, and in the 1980s there was even a grammar school, which also took in young people from the surrounding villages. When student numbers fell, the elementary school and high school closed in the mid-1990s.
More and more Sofikiotes emigrated to other European countries as a result of the financial crisis from the end of 2010. Preferred destinations are the Netherlands , Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany . It is the third major wave of emigration in the Didymoticho region, following the first major emigration in the 1950s and the second emigration in the late 1960s / early 1970s when many residents moved across the United States of America and as far as Australia .
Sitohori
The place Sitohori (gr.:Σιτοχώρι) is located in the center of the 13 villages of the so-called Galazowrakidon (gr.:Γαλαζοβράκηδων), which translates or means the "blue pants". These 13 villages are located on either side of the Erythropotamos. The meaning of the term "blue pants" lies in the costumes and the associated cultural similarities of these villages, in the center of which is Sitohori. In the historical literature it is said that the origin of this population comes from the Peloponnese , which is also the most likely, since the blue-heavy costumes are very similar to those of some population groups from the Peloponnese region. State and church archives from the years 1453–1669 already mention this migration, and it is therefore assumed that the population of these 13 villages mainly stems from a migration in the Middle Ages. The current name is based on the agricultural character and environment of the village, and from its cultivation of wheat .
Ellinochori
In the place Ellinochori (Gr.:Ελληνοχώρι) silver coins from the 5th century BC were sold. Found. There is an old silk factory outside the village.
Rigio
The village of Rigio (Gr.:Ρήγιο), near the river plain of the Evros river, has direct access to the agricultural areas there . Now with a significantly decimated population, mainly due to the economic and financial crisis of 2008 , the village has a small number of young people. The village lies between Pythio and Asimenio. There are three graves from the 4th century BC on the village border with Asimenio. Two of these graves are underground, but they were already in a high degree of decay and were robbed when they were examined. Two graves have an entrance area and an anteroom. This architectural orientation is strongly reminiscent of the Macedonian architectural style of the time. The third grave was also badly deteriorated. The few finds that could be made in spite of everything document the burial practices of that time for this region. Today there are natural entrances to the tombs and signs are posted on the side of the local highway. The excavations were carried out in 1995. The original population of the village was many times that of today and the majority consisted of displaced people from the village of Megalo Zaloufi. The old name of the village was Sarakio (Turkish: Saraikioi), which suggests an important place in the Ottoman era . Translated it would mean that it is the village next to the palace. According to this, what the tombs document seems to have been a historical hub since ancient times and up to the Ottoman period.
Evgeniko
This small village nowadays bears its current name in honor of the magnate Evgenios Evgenidis since 1955. The ship magnate provided the place with a modern water supply with personal means, whereupon the place lost its old name Delition and took on the current name. Delition was founded in 1922 and housed refugees from the area around Adrianople, today's Edirne .
Chionades
The place Chionades (Gr.:Χιονάδες) is located between Metaxades and Didymoticho and has always been populated by locals, and is therefore one of the few villages that did not accommodate displaced people from 1922. The place was populated as early as 800 AD, but it was 2.5 kilometers east of today's village. Today's finds in the region attest to this. On the northwestern border of the place is the so-called Toumba, one of many tumuli in the region, which are probably Thracian tombs. Due to its altitude, the village is often covered with snow in winter, hence the name "Chionades" (snow village). On the central street of the village is the pure marble Kri-Pigadi (Gr.:Κρί Πηγάδι), a fountain from the beginning of the 19th century. At the highest point of the village is the old school built entirely of stone, which was considerably destroyed in the years of the civil war. Lessons could not be resumed until 1952. A school in the village has been attested since 1880. The school has been closed for many years.
Administrative division of the municipality
The population figures come from data from the 2011 census.
- Municipality of Didymoticho - 16.078 Ew.
- District Didymoticho - 9.367 Ew.
- Didymoticho (Διδυμότειχο) - 9.263 Ew.
- Nei Psathades (Νέοι Ψαθάδες) - 104 Ew.
- Ellinochori district - 1.373 Ew.
- Ellinochori (Ελληνοχώρι) - 593 Ew.
- Thyrea (Θυρέα) - 160 Ew.
- Lagos (Λαγός) - 620 Ew.
- Local community Asvetades (Ασβεστάδες) - 192 Ew.
- Local community Asimenio (Ασημένιο) - 334 Ew.
- Local community Isaakio (Ισαάκιο) - 407 Ew.
- Local community Karoti (Καρωτή) - 271 Ew.
- Local community Koufovouno (Κουφόβουνο) - 629 Ew.
- Local community Kyani (Κυανή) - 474 Ew.
- Local community Mani - 538 Ew.
- Mani (Μάνη) - 385 Ew.
- Evgeniko (Ευγενικό) - 85 Ew.
- Sitaria (Σιταριά) - 68 Ew.
- Local community Petrades (Πετράδες) - 184 Ew.
- Local community Pimeniko (Ποιμενικό) - 343 Ew.
- Local community Prangio (Πραγγίο) - 304 Ew.
- Local community Pythio 541 Ew.
- Pythio (Πύθιο) - 429 Ew.
- Rigio (Ρήγιο) - 100 Ew.
- Stathmos (train station, Σταθμός) - 12 Ew.
- Local community Sitochori (Σιτοχώρι) - 326 Ew.
- Local community Neo Sofiko (Νέο Σοφικό) - 795 Ew.
- District Didymoticho - 9.367 Ew.
- Municipality of Metaxades - 3.415 Ew.
- Local community Alepochori - 365 Ew.
- Alepochori (Αλεποχώρι) - 237 Ew.
- Polia (Πολιά) - 128 Ew.
- Local community Asproneri - 538 Ew.
- Asproneri (Ασπρονέρι) - 466 Ew.
- Giatrades (Γιατράδες) - 72 Ew.
- Local community Doxa (Δόξα) - 410 Ew.
- Local community Elafochori - 433 Ew.
- Elafochori (Ελαφοχώρι) - 133 Ew.
- Vrysi (Βρύση) - 43 Ew.
- Chionades (Χιονάδες) - 257 Ew.
- Local community Ladi (Λάδη) - 180 Ew.
- Local community Metaxades - 749 Ew.
- Metaxades (Μεταξάδες) - 719 Ew.
- Avdella (Αβδέλλα) - 30 Ew.
- Local community Paliouri (Παλιούρι) - 468 Ew.
- Local community Vrysika - 304 Ew.
- Vrysika (Βρυσικά) - 162 Ew.
- Savra (Σαύρα) - 142 Ew.
- Local community Alepochori - 365 Ew.
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Basil II the slayer of Bulgarians (958-1025) was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 976 to 1025.
- John III Dukes Vatatzes (1193–1254), Byzantine emperor.
- John V Palaiologos (1332-1391), Byzantine emperor.
- Balım Sultan (1457–1517) was the founder of the Muslim Sufi order of the Bektashites .
- Bāyezīd II. (1447-1512) was Ottoman sultan from 1481 to 1512 and the founder of an important mosque in Istanbul.
- Evgenios Evgenidis (1882–1954) was a ship magnate of the early 20th century. Today there is the Evginidio Foundation in Athens , which among other things finances various programs for young people from the diaspora . The Evginidio Foundation supports the city of Didymoticho with cultural events.
- Chronis Aidonidis (* 1928) is a famous folk singer of Thracian songs and Byzantine ecclesiastical psalms and was born in Karoti.
- Konstandinos Gatsioudis (* 1973) is the most successful javelin thrower in the recent history of Greece.
- Giannis Mantzourakis (* 1949) is a football coach for several Greek and Cypriot first division clubs .
- Karyofyllis Doitsides is a well-known folk singer of Thracian songs and was born in Karoti.
- Karyofyllia Karabeti (* 1958) was born in Doxa and is a well-known actress who u. a. in " The Beekeeper " and "120 Decibel - The Real Outcry"
People connected to the city
- Metropolitan Hilarion, 1341-1343
- Dionysius the monk (Διονύσιος ο Μοναχός, † 1518), martyr of the Greek Orthodox Church
- The Ottoman poet Abdurrahman Hibri (1604-1659) taught from 1636 to 1637 at the Madrasa of Didymoticho.
- Deacon Iakovos (Ιάκωβος ο Διάκονος, † 18th century), martyr of the Greek Orthodox Church
- Parthenios of Didymoticho (Παρθένιος εκ Διδυμοτείχου, † 1805), martyr of the Greek Orthodox Church
- Rüdiger von Rosen was made an honorary citizen of Didymoticho on October 4, 2010 for his solidarity and great interest in the city.
- Stefania Limberakakis , a singer and actress who grew up in the Netherlands, comes from Neo Sofiko.
- Pavlos Stamatopoulos , a famous journalist, entertainer and presenter of the Greek boulevard, comes from Neo Sofiko.
Twin cities
- Bansko , Bulgaria
literature
- Nikolai Ovcharow : Средновековните крепости на Източните Родопи ( The medieval fortresses in the Eastern Rhodopes ). Materials related to a documentary (Bulgarian) broadcast by Bulgarian National Television in 2009 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Results of the 2011 census. ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) ( MS Excel ; 2.6 MB) National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ)
- ^ Martin Gilbert : The Routledge Atlas of the Holocaust . Routledge, London, 3rd ed. 2002, ISBN 0-415-28145-8 , pp. 150f.
- ^ David Nicolle : The Ottomans - 600 years of Islamic world empire . Vienna 2008, p. 60.
- ↑ Katrin Boeckh: From the Balkan Wars to the First World War. Small State Policy and Ethnic Self-Determination in the Balkans . Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56173-1 , p. 77.
- ↑ Elizabeth Kontogiorgi: Population Exchange in Greek Macedonia. The Rural Settlement of Refugees 1922-1930 . Clarendon Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-927896-2 , p. 229.
- ↑ a b c d e Dimtrios D. Karakousis: Thraki. Touristikos, Istorikos, Archeologikos Odigos . Arrowhead Studios, Alexandroupolis 1995, p. 307 .
- ↑ a b c d e website of the municipality of Didymoticho. Retrieved May 28, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Σταυρούλα Αγελαδαράκη: 7η Συνάντηση Φίλων και Μελών του Λαογραφικού Μουσείου Διδυμοτείχου. June 9, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Η ιδιαίτερη πατρίδα του απέδωσε την οφειλόμενη τιμή στον Χρόνη Αηδονίδη. July 9, 2018, accessed October 4, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Η Πινακοθήκη Ναλμπάντη - Δήμος Διδυμοτείχου. Didymoticho, accessed May 28, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Γιορτή του Αθλητισμού ο 2ος Αγώνας Δρόμου Κάστρου Διδυμοτείχου. Retrieved May 29, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Το προπονητικό κέντρο του ΠΑΟΚ στο Διδυμότειχο. July 4, 2015, accessed May 28, 2017 (Greek, English).
- ↑ Σταυρούλα Αγελαδαράκη: Την κατασκευή αγωνιστικού χώρου στο Δημοτικό στάδιο Διδυμοτείχ. June 2, 2017, Retrieved June 10, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Δημήτρης Μηλίκας: Πατσουρίδης: Μελέτη 200,000 € για αγωνιστικό χώρο και 300,000 € για ταρτάν! June 2, 2017, Retrieved June 10, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ ΜΑΡΙΑ ΡΙΤΖΑΛΕΟΥ: ΝΕΑ ΜΟΔΑ ΣΕ ΟΛΗ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ - Γιορτή γκάιντας στο Διδυμότειχο. August 18, 2016, Retrieved May 28, 2017 (Greek).
- ↑ Maria Chatzichrisafi: How to do Trachana. Retrieved October 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Thrakiotiki Kouzina. October 2, 2018, Retrieved October 2, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Λαγγίτες Θρακιώτικες! January 12, 2018, accessed October 14, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ ΜΙΚΙΚΙΑ: Παραδοσιακοί λουκουμάδες από τον Έβρο. November 7, 2016, accessed October 15, 2018 (Greek).
- ^ Pythio Castle. Retrieved October 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Ευάγγελος Σ. Σοβαράς: ΤΑ ΑΓΝΩΣΤΑ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΥΘΙΟΥ - ΓΑΛΛΙΚΟ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟ. July 20, 2018, accessed October 14, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Konstantinos A. Wakalopoulos, Nikolaos Moutsopoulos, A. Kesopoulos: Anatoliki Thraki - Konstantinou Poli Anatoliki Anatoliki Thraki- Romilia . In: Alismonites Parties tou Ellinismou . tape 7 . Ekdosis Tziampiris-Pyramida, Thessaloniki, ISBN 960-8060-17-6 , p. 341 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Dimitrios Spanos: Sinorata ki Hariasia . Stilvopress, Grafikes Technes, Didymoticho 2016, p. 19.
- ↑ a b c Konstantinos A. Wakalopoulos: Thraki - Istoria tou Woriou Ellinismou . 3. Edition. Ekdotikos Ikos Adelfon Kiriakidi, Thessaloniki 1993, ISBN 960-343-005-6 , p. 288 .
- ↑ Σιτοχώρι Έβρου. Retrieved October 7, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Ρήγιο Έβρου. Retrieved October 7, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Ευγενικό Διδυμοτείχου. Retrieved October 7, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Χιονάδες Έβρου. Retrieved October 7, 2018 (Greek).
- ↑ Γνωρίστε το σούπερ ταλέντο από το Σοφικό, τη Στεφανία Λυμπερακάκη που ξεσήκωσε το ολλανδικό voice. August 28, 2018, accessed on February 19, 2020 (gr).
