Orfeas (), named after the mythical musician
Orpheus
In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...
, is a former municipality in the
Evros regional unit,
East Macedonia and Thrace
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of the country, comprising the eastern part of the region of Macedonia along with the region of Western Thr ...
, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Soufli, of which it is a municipal unit.
Its land area is .
It is located in the north-central part of Evros, and borders both southeastern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and northwestern
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The seat of the municipality was in
Lavara (pop. 747 in 2021). Much of the land is mountainous and forested to the west, extending up to the
Rhodope regional unit. It is linked with
GR-51 (Alexandroupoli – Orestiada – Edirne in Turkey and Svilengrad in Bulgaria). The town of Lávara sits on a plain. It is located SE of
Svilengrad
Svilengrad (; ; ) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria, situated at the tripoint of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality.
Geography
Svilengrad is close to the ro ...
, S of
Edirne
Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
, Turkey and
Orestiada
Orestiada (, Katharevousa, formerly ), is the northeasternmost, northernmost and newest city of Greece and the second largest town of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit of western Thrace, Thrace. Founded by Greek refugees from Edirne a ...
, and 13 km N of
Soufli and 78 km N of
Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...
.
The municipality's next largest towns are Agriani, Mega Dereio and Amorio.
History
The municipality was affected by flooding of the Evros river in February and March 2005. 50 houses were damaged. The rail south of Lavara and near the station were also flooded and was closed that time.
Geography
Forests dominate the river banks and parts of the plain. Much of the area are used for farming. The main production are cattle, fruits and vegetables and some flowers. The mountains dominate further west.
Subdivisions
The municipal unit Orfeas is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
*
Lavara
*
Amorio
*
Kyriaki
*
Mandra
*
Mavrokklisi (Mavrokklisi, Korymvos)
*
Mikro Dereio (Mikro Dereio, Geriko, Goniko, Mega Dereio, Petrolofos, Roussa, Sidirochori)
*
Protokklisi (Protokklisi, Agriani)
Historical population
References
External links
*http://thesaurus.duth.gr/english/moredata.asp?Perioxh_ID=42&Subj=255
Evros floods
– pathfinder.gr
*https://web.archive.org/web/20060219001458/http://orfeas.evros.gr/lavara.htm (in Greek)
{{Orfeas
Populated places in Evros (regional unit)
Soufli
bg:Орфей (дем)
el:Δήμος Σουφλίου#Ενότητα Ορφέα