Delvinaki

Delvinaki () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Pogoni, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 255.8 km², the community 54.8 km². In 2021 its population was 538 for the village and 1,609 for the municipal unit. Delvinaki is part of the traditional area of Pogoni.

Delvinaki lies along the GR-22/ E853 road, which links Kalpaki with the Albanian border. The border crossing Kakavia is west of town.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit of Delvinaki is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
* Agia Marina
* Argyrochori
* Charavgi
*Delvinaki
*Farangi (formerly Gouveri)
* Kastani
* Kerasovo
* Kryoneri
*Ktismata (Ktismata, Neochori)
* Limni
* Mavropoulo (Mavropoulo, Zavrocho, Chrysodouli)
* Oreino Xirovaltou (Oreino, Xirovaltos)
*Peristeri
* Pontikates
* Stratinista
* Teriachi (Teriachi, Stavrodromi)
*Vissani

Population

Etymology

According to linguist Konstantinos Oikonomou, Delvinaki is a Greek formation and derives from the toponym ''Delvino'', with the Greek diminutive suffix ''aki'' added to it; probably in order to differentiate it from the neighboring settlement of Delvinë. Furthermore, Oikonomou and Phaedon Malingoudis presented ''Delvino'' as deriving from the Slavic noun ''dьlva'' (Proto-Slavic *''dьly'') 'cauldron, pot', which is used in toponyms to denote a 'valley' or 'basin', and the Slavic suffix ''ьnъ''; the ь of the first syllable, denoting /ĭ/, was rendered as /e/ in Greek. Compare to the toponym Δηλίβινον, first attested in 996 northeast of Polygyros (Chalkidiki) in Greece, Delvino in southern Albania, as well as Delvino (Blagoevgrad Province) and Delvino (Kardzhali Province) in Bulgaria.

According to historians Konstantinos Vakalopoulos and Nikos Yfantis, ''Delvinaki'' derives from Albanian and means 'place of vineyards'.

History

From the 14th century to the beginning of Ottoman rule, Delvinaki was among the thriving settlements of the region together with nearby Dipalitsa, Kastaniani and Polytsiani.
During the first decades of the 14th century, Albanians settled in the Pogoni region; their presence is evidenced through some place names, such as ''Gouveri'' (from ''gouva'' 'small pit') and ''Roumpates''. "όπως και από αλβανικές ονομασίες χωριών: Ρομπάτες (= ρόμπα, ένδυμα), Δελβινακίων (= αμπελότοπος), Γούβερη (Γούβα - Κοίλωμα) κ.λ.π." The town was an important commercial centre during the Ottoman period. The church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Delvinaki was erected in 1619. In the late 17th century, Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi passed through Delvinaki observing that it was a "prosperous" town on the border of the district of Pogoni, "inhabited by infidels all Albanians"; it contained 400 houses, 6000 fertile vineyards, 40-50 shops, 10 churches and 3 inns. "Το 1670 στο Δελβινάκι του Πωγωνιού, κατά τον Εβλιγιά Τσελεμπή (1928, σ. 682), «όλοι οι άπιστοι είναι Αρβανίτες»." Çelebi also noted that Delvinaki was a '' hass'' (revenue estate) of an Ottoman admiral and administered by a ''voivode'' with the settlement being "exempt from taxation and state interference." "We returned by another road, passing through prosperous villages. After 4 hours of travelling westwards, we arrived at Delvinaki. It is a prosperous town on the border of the district of Pogonia and consists of 400 houses inhabited by infidels all Albanians and 6000 fertile vineyards. It has 40 to 50 shops, 10 churches and 3 hans. This town is a has belonging to the admiral of the Ottoman fleet and administered by a voyvoda. It is exempt from taxation and state interference." Those Albanian villagers who settled in the southern part of Pogoni were gradually assimilated by the Greek element."Κατά τις πρώτες δεκαετίες του 14ου αιώνα τοποθετείται χρονικά η αλβανική διείσδυση στο χώρο της Πωγωνιανής, που μαρτυρείται και από ορισμένα τοπωνύμια όπως το Δελβινάκι (αμπελότοπος), το Γκουβέρι (γκούβα = κοίλωμα), αλλά και από τις μετακινήσείς αλβανικόν οικογενειών, οι οποίες εξισλαμήστικαν λόγω των σινθηκών που επικρατούσαν. Όσοι αλβανικοί πλιθυσμοί είηαν εγκατασταθεί στο νότιο τμήμα του Πωγωνίου, αφομοιώθηκαν βαθμιαία από το ελληνικό στοιχείο και εξελληνίστικαν. Όλες οι κοινότητες...." British traveler John Hobhouse noted in early 19th century that Delvinaki consisted of 300 dwellings inhabited by Greeks.Vakolopoulos, 2003, p. 323: "Ο Hobhouse αναφέρει ότι στο Δελβινάκι υπήρχαν 300 ελληνικά σπίτια"

Delvinaki joined Greece after the Balkan Wars of 1913.

Culture

Delvinaki is home to Greek polyphonic singing and has a reach music tradition in the wider Pogoni region. It is one of the two main centres of folk music of Pogoni, the other being Parakalamos. An annual festival of polyphonic singing is held in August.

Notable people

* Petroloukas Chalkias, musician.
*Hatzimichalis Dalianis, hero of the Greek War of Independence.
*Evangelos Psimmas, (1905–1962), bishop of Ermoupoli.
* Konstantinos Iroklis Vasiadis, (1821–1890), scholar.

See also

*List of settlements in the Ioannina regional unit

References

{{Delvinaki

Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)
Pogoni