Paleo Agioneri

Local community Paleo Agioneri Τοπική Κοινότητα Παλαιού Αγιονερίου (Παλαιό Αγιονέρι)
Basic data
Country	Greece
region	Central Macedonia
Regional district	Kilkis
local community	Kilkis
Parish	Picrolimni
Geographic coordinates	40 ° 49 ′  N , 22 ° 44 ′  E Coordinates: 40 ° 49 ′  N , 22 ° 44 ′  E
Residents	886 (2011)
LAU-1 code no.	570907

Paleo Agioneri ( Greek Παλαιό Αγιονέρι [ palɛˌɔ aʝɔnɛri ] ( n. Sg. ), About, Old holy water ', formerly Turkish Vırlanca , Bulgarian Верланица , gr. Varlantza Βαρλάντζα) is a village in the municipality of Pikrolimni the town of Kilkis in Central Macedonia , Greece . The distance to Thessaloniki is about 20 km, to the city of Kilkis, the administrative center of the municipality, 35 km.

In terms of population, Paleo Agioneri takes second place in the Pikrolimni district after Neo Agioneri (1,176 inhabitants) and ahead of Mikrokambos (731 inhabitants). It borders the villages of Anthofyto (Ανθόφυτο), Neo Agioneri (Νέο Αγιονέρι), Mikrokambos (Μικρόκαμπος) and Vathylakkos (Βαθύλακκος). The latter is already in the neighboring regional district of Thessaloniki.

history

Before the Balkan Wars , Paleo Agioneri was a village with a majority Muslim-Turkish population, the Christian minority was Aegean-Macedonian mother tongue. In 1912 there were about 1000 Muslims and 40 Christians in the village. With the end of the Balkan Wars, the Muslim villagers fled to Turkey, most of the Christians to Bulgaria. Due to the population exchange as a result of the Greco-Turkish War , which sanctioned the expulsions from wartime, the Pontic Greeks had to leave Anatolia in 1923, most of the Greek government settled in Central Macedonia. In 1928 around 700 refugees lived in the village.

Today the Pontic Greeks (Gr. Pondii Πόντιοι) make up the largest proportion of the villagers. Despite its almost 100-year history in Greece, the village represents a typical community of the Pontier, as it is still often to be found, because the typical Pontic culture, dances, music, festivals and language (especially today by the older residents practiced in the village) have never been abandoned and are an integral part of village life.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain , there was a large influx of returnees, so-called Omogenis (ομογενείς, people of the same origin ), mainly from Georgia and Russia , up until the mid-1990s . Because of their origin, these returnees are colloquially called Rossopondii (Ρωσσοπόντιοι).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 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)
2. ↑ Δημήτρης Λιθοξόου - Πληθυσμός και οικισμοί της περιοχής Θεσσαλονίκης / Β (Greek)