Negovani
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Flampouro (, before 1928: Νεγοβάνη – ''Negovani''; ; ) is a village in the central part of Florina regional unit, northern
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, part of the
Perasma Perasma (, before 1926: Κουτσκοβαίνη – ''Koutskovaini''; Bulgarian and Macedonian Slavic: Кучковени, ''Kučkoveni'') is a village and a former municipality in Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 ...
municipal unit.


History

Negovani was established between 1860/1861. It was the second village after Belkameni within the area to be founded by an Albanian population along with some
Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...
. The village population originated from Konitsa kaza (district) in Epirus, mainly from the Albanian village of
Plikati Plikati (, , ) is a village in the municipal unit of Mastorochoria, Ioannina regional unit, Greece. It is one of the northernmost villages in Epirus. The village is situated at the foot of the Grammos mountains, at 1,240 m elevation, close to th ...
and others from nearby Aromanian villages of Mount
Gramos Gramos ( or Γράμμος; ; , , or ) is a mountain chain situated on the border of Albania and Greece. Part of the larger northern Pindus mountain range, its highest peak, ''Maja e Çukapeçit'', rises at an elevation of . Geography From ...
, having together left due to pressure from Muslim Albanians of the
Kolonjë Kolonjë is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas, Novoselë, Qendër Ersekë and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of ...
region in the mid nineteenth century. "The Arvanitovlachs cohabited not only with other Vlachs
romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
but also with Arvanites. In 1841, some Arvanitovlachs, together with some numerous Arvanites and a few Greki, established the village of Drossopiyi (formally Belkameni), and in 1861 the village if Flambouro (formally Negovani, ''Niguváńl’i''). The first settlers in those two villages near Florina had come from Plikati in the Konitsa area, on the southern slopes of Grammos. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, a period when various settlements were being destroyed and numerous Christian population groups both Vlach and non-Vlach, were on the move, Arvanites and Arvanitovlachs from Dangëlli and Kolonjë sought refugee there. They may also have included Vlachs from the ruined Vlach villages on Grammos, Grammousta and Nikolicë. However, most of the population of Plikati was Arvanite. In 1839, pressure from the Arnauts of Kolonjë drove much of the population of Plikati were enduring then must have been similar to those which resulted in the destruction and depopulation of Bitskopoulo at that time. The Arvanitovlach families who ended up in Drossopiyi and Flambouro must have come from, or had some earlier connection with, various parts of Epiros, not just Plikati, such as Parakalamos and Fourka in Ioannina prefecture, as also various villages in southern Albania, mainly in the Kolonjë area, such as Frashër, Radimisht, Barmash, Qafzez, Shtikë, Qytezë, and Dardhë. In about the same period, or a little earlier, some Arvanitovlachs went to Lehovo, another Arvanite village near Florina. Liakos reports that the Vlachs who helped to establish Flambouro and Drossopiyi had sought refuge in Plikati, and also in the neighbouring villages of Playa and Hionades, after their previous homes in Valiani had been destroyed. Valiani was an Arvanitovlach settlement on the western (now Albanian) side of Mount Grammos, east of Ersekë. Though Plikati is said to be the only Arvanite village in Konitsa province today.
Negovani was a mixed Albanian speaking and Aromanian speaking village of the Florina area. In statistics gathered by
Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a geographer, ethnographer and teacher who served as Minister of Education of Bulgaria. Early life and education Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school i ...
in 1900, Negovani was populated by 620 Christian
Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
and 100
Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...
. The village refused Bulgarian moves for it to become involved in the
Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...
(1903) against the Ottoman Empire. Diplomats from Greece considered Negovani secure and unaffected by Bulgarians and instead were concerned about Romanian propaganda in the village. Negovani, with its population of hellenised Albanians, participated extensively on the Greek side of the
Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...
in the late Ottoman period. "Negovani (another village of hellenized Albanians in the same district)". Several local villagersI.S. Koliopoulos, I.D. Michailidis, K. S. Papanikolaou, Αφανείς Γηγενείς Μακεδονομάχοι (1903-1913), Thessaloniki, Society For Macedonian Studies – University Studio Press, 2008, p. 176-177
Some of these men were the guerilla leaders Georgios Seridis and Ilias Pinopoulos, Konstantinos Vassos who was executed by the komitandjis in 1905, Ilias Kolepina who was member of Ioannis Poulakas group, Georgios Nikolaidis who also fought as a minor guerilla leader during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
etc
joined the Macedonian Struggle as fighters or agents. Some villagers from Negovani immigrated to
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. In the early twentieth century, the majority of the migrant Albanian community (some 200 people) in
Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...
was composed of people from Negovani and nearby Belkameni. Migrants from Negovani and Belkameni in Brăila founded a society (1904) named ''Djalëria'' (The Youth) and it was financed by Romanian Prince
Albert Ghica Albert Ghica (1868-1928) was a Romanian writer and socialite. He was a member of the Ghica noble family. Later in life he changed his name to the Albanian form ''Gjika'', for more credentials in his quest for the Albanian throne.Paul Cernovodeanu ...
. Another society named ''Saint George'' was founded (1910) in Brăila by people from Negovani. In 1905, Orthodox priest Kristo (Harallambi) Negovani in his native village conducted the divine liturgy in the Albanian Tosk dialect and his efforts on using
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
in mass were condemned by Bishop Karavangelis who ordered his murder. The village of Negovani was attacked (February 1905) by Greek guerillas (andartes) and Kristo Negovani along with four other villagers (one was his brother Theodosius Harallambi who was fighting to preserve the Aromanian language) were killed (beheaded). Theodosius Harallambi's wife, Vaia Florica, and two of her children (Zaharina, married Pandele and ... fled to Braila immediately afterwards and another child of his (Lambru Harallambi) left on his own and ended up in Australia. para. 7, 8, 26. Vasil, another Orthodox priest from Negovani used Albanian in village church services until 1909 and later was killed by authorities from the Orthodox Patriarchate Church. Following the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
(1909), the Greek clergy's prominent position in places like Negovani was contested by Aromanian and Albanian nationalists. In Negovani, its Albanian population used force to safeguard the position of the Patriarchate Church within the village. An Albanian school was founded (1912) in Negovani and at its inauguration, mass was conducted by a Bulgarian priest as an Albanian priest was unavailable. There were also discussions for establishing a Romanian school with a Romanian teacher in Negovani. During the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) the area came under the control of the Greek forces. The Treaty of London would allot the area to Greece, and the borders were confirmed by the
Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Paris () is the capital and largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the 30th most densely pop ...
. World War II engulfed Europe and Flambouro, like the rest of Greece was affected. In the
Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...
(6–30 April 1941), the country faced three Axis powers:
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
and the
Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...
. Their alliance won the conflict and established an Axis occupation of Greece. The men of Flambouro went on to fight the German occupation as women took control of the village and defended it. Following the German devastation of Flambouro, the people of the village set out to rebuild it to its original state. From April 1944 till April 1947 the villagers rebuilt Flambouro. The end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was followed in Greece by the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...
between the
Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; , ΔΣΕ; ''Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas'', DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At its height, it had a strength of around 50,000 men and w ...
and the
Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...
. In the first stages of the civil war many communist-led guerrillas used the village as a hiding place. On April 7, 1947, the Greek government under
Dimitrios Maximos Dimitrios E. Maximos (; 6 July 1873 – 17 October 1955) was a Greek banker and politician. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Greece after World War II. Life Maximos was born on 6 July 1873 in Patras. He began his career in banking in ...
adopted a policy of forced relocation for certain villages that were strategic for the guerrillas. As the village of Flambouro was already loyal and occupied by the Hellenic Army, still, many children were sent to communist countries such as
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, and the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
as refugees. These children were known as Flambouro's lost generation. Other village natives fled with the aid of the
Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine is a Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy that pledges American support for democratic nations against Authoritarianism, authoritarian threats. The doctrine originated with the primary goal of countering ...
to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in hope of finding employment to send money home to the rest of their families. In the 1950s and 1960s a new era was coming about in Greece, it was the time of emigration. Many families, because of economic conditions, from all around Greece started to emigrate, becoming part of the Greek diaspora. Individuals and families who emigrated from Flambouro mostly went to the United States, Canada, West Germany, and Australia in search of a new life. Some went with the intention to make money and return, but many did not return to Greece and left their villages in their past. In the late 1990s, some Arvanite customs were revived by villagers in Flambouro. At present, the cities of Rochester (
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
) and
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
(
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
) have the largest concentration of immigrants and families that trace their roots from Flambouro. Many Flambouryiotes still visit Flambouro. The present village has a hotel where many Greeks from other regions of Greece come to the Florina region for camping, relaxation and to see local fauna and flora of Macedonia. Over the decades, the village population has undergone depopulation. The village's year round population is estimated at 500 people, but in the summer it grows to nearly 700.


Demographics

Flambouro had 556 inhabitants in 1981. In fieldwork done by anthropologist Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Flambouro was populated by
Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
.
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
was spoken in the village by people over 30 in public and private settings. Children understood the language, but mostly did not use it. Aromanian was spoken by people over 60, mainly in private. para.1. "l’arvanitika (proche de l’albanais)"; Table 3: Flambouro, 556, A, A2; A = Arvanites, A = arvanitika"


Culture

Flampouro has not been influenced by the nearby predominant Slavic musical tradition of the area, and villagers have no knowledge of songs from their neighbours. Dances performed in Flampouro are the Berati, Hasapia,
Tsamiko The Tsamikos (, ''Tsamikos'') or Kleftikos () is a popular traditional folk dance of Greece, done to music of Triple metre, 3/4 meter. The dance The dance follows a strict and slow tempo not emphasising on the steps, but more on the "attitude, ...
, Kalamatiano, along with the
Poustseno Poustseno Macedonian language Пуштено", ''Pushteno'', meaning "to let go" is a traditional Macedonian dance from Florina, Western Macedonia Greece. It is danced in the area of Florina by the native (Greek) Macedonians, and is also known ...
.


Notable people

*
Papa Kristo Negovani Papa Kristo Negovani (), born Kristo Harallambi and also known as Kristo Negovani (1875 – 12 February 1905), was an Albanians, Albanian national figure, priest, poet, teacher, writer and publisher who was killed by Greek nationalists in 1905 fo ...
,
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
religious leader and writer *
Koçi Xoxe Koçi Xoxe (pronounced ; 1 May 1911 – 11 June 1949) was an Albanian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. He was supported by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito ...
, former
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
minister of Defence in
communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the Pa ...
* Georgios Seridis,
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
guerilla leader during the
Greek Struggle for Macedonia The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...


References


Notes

*Part of the article is edited and translated from the Florina Prefecture Historical Society


External links


Omonia Flambouro Society of Rochester, NY
{{Florina div Populated places in Florina (regional unit) Florina Aromanian settlements in Greece Albanian communities in Greece