Asprovalta ( el, Ασπροβάλτα, ''Asproválta,'' ) is a town in the regional unit of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It was the seat of the Agios Georgios municipality. Since the implementation of the Kallikratis Plan in January 2011, Asprovalta belongs to the Municipality of Volvi. Its population numbers 2,838 people.

History

Near the modern town, the ruins of a Roman station of the Via Egnatia are preserved which was called Pennana. According to a manuscript of

Simonopetra monastery Simonopetra Monastery ( el, Σιμωνόπετρα, literally: "Simon's Rock"), also Monastery of Simonos Petra ( el, Μονή Σίμωνος Πέτρας), is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. Simonopet ...

in Mount Athos, Asprovalta was built in the 16th century. Its first name was Aspra Valta. After the

Asia Minor Disaster Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, 54 families from Erenköy of

Troas Troas may refer to: Places * The Troad, historical name for a region in the northwestern part of Anatolia * Alexandria Troas, a Hellenistic and Roman city in Anatolia * Troaș, a village in Săvârșin Commune, Arad County, Romania * Troaș, a r ...

(near the ancient city of Ophryneion) were installed forcefully in Asprovalta. Erenköy was located in an important geographical position from a military point of view. During

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

near to the village a Turkish

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

had been settled, which was bombarded by the Allied ships. After the truce of Moudrou (30-10-1918) with which the war ended. The settlement of Asia Minor refugees in Greece was one of the most important events of modern Greek history. Residents of Erenköy (most of them) were installed in rural and urban settlements all over Greece:

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

, Kymi,

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

, Tripoli,

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

Halkida Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. But the most of the Erenkiotes gathered in Asprovalta in the prefecture of

, Kato Lakkovikia ( Ophrynion) and at

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

after the second persecution. In September 1923 they arrived with the ship <<''Elpidoforos''>> to Stavros 54 refugee families from Erenköy who had fled from Imvros.

Testimonies from locals

In 1915, during the second year of war, people were ordered to leave. We went to Karantina where we were waiting for the boats to take us· Greek ships came named <> and <<''Βαρβάρα/Varvára''>>. People who board on the first one went straight to Almyros. The other one that we got ontook us to

Peiraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

and the went to

and we stayed there around 5 years. The persecution came unexpectedly. Nobody expected it. We just had harvested the

vines A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

and stored the wine. One day we heard the town crier that we have to leave from the town by morning. My father took us to Karantina and returned to Erenköy. The next day my mother was concerned, because he was late and she returned to find him drinking with his friends wine. Nobody thought that we would leave for ever. First we went to Krithia they gave us boards and we built shacks. After a while we charted boats and left for

Imvros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...

, but when we realised that the island had become Turkish we left from there also. We went to Asprovalta, and in the beginning we lived in shacks and tents.Testimony from Eleni Dialogi-Petraki

Historical population

Historical Landmarks

Agios Georgios church (St George) was built in 1927-28 by the installed refugees from Erenköy. Divine Liturgy before the church was built was held at a shack and the religious artefacts were kept in 2-3 houses. Unfortunately, the church was demolished at the altar of the leaping tourist development in 1978. And a newer and bigger one was built from cement. Inside the (new) Church are kept historical icons carried by the Asia Minor as heirlooms: two icons of St. George and the Virgin Mary of the 16th - 17th century, the icon of St. Nicholas, two gold-embroidered icons and the school library.

Agios Georgios church (St George) The church was built in the middle of the 16th century and follows the monastic architecture of Macedonia during the Ottoman rule, which does not differ in design and function from that of the Byzantine era. The architectural type that dominates is the so-called Athonite, cruciform inscribed, which has as its main feature the side niches part intended for the dances of the psalters, and the large narthex, the litti. The central area is covered with a large cross-section of excellent construction.

References

Populated places in Thessaloniki (regional unit) Thessaloniki {{CentralMacedonia-geo-stub