Florina Περιφερειακή ενότητα Φλώρινας | |
|---|---|
 Municipalities of Florina | |
 Florina within Greece | |
  Florina | |
| Coordinates:40°45′N21°25′E / 40.750°N 21.417°E /40.750; 21.417 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Geographic region | Macedonia |
| Administrative region | Western Macedonia |
| Seat | Florina |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,924 km2 (743 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 44,880 |
| • Density | 23.33/km2 (60.42/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 53x xx |
| Area code | 238x0, 246x0 |
| Vehicle registration | ΡΑ |
| Website | www |
Florina (Greek:Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Φλώρινας,Perifereiakí Enótita Flórinas) is one of theregional units of Greece. It is part of theregion ofWestern Macedonia, in thegeographic region ofMacedonia, Greece. Its capital is the town ofFlorina. The total population is around 45,000 (2021).
Florina borders the regional units ofPella to the east,Kozani to the south andKastoriá to the southwest. At the Greek international borders, it is adjacent toAlbania (Korçë County) to the west,North Macedonia (Bitola andResen municipalities) to the north andLake Prespa to the northwest, where the two borders cross each other.Lake Vegoritida is situated in the east.
Mountains in the regional unit includeVerno (2,128 m or 6,982 ft),Varnous (2,117 m or 6,946 ft) andVoras (2,524 m or 8,281 ft).
%2c_Florina_prefecture%2c_Greece_-_From_the_Northwest_(National_Road_2_to_Vigla)_-_02.jpg)
As from 2011 the regional unit of Florina is subdivided into three municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):[2]
Florina was created as aprefecture (Greek:Νομός Φλώρινας,Nomós Flórinas) in 1915. As a part of the2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Florina was created out of the former prefecture Florina. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.[2]
| New municipality | Old municipalities | Seat |
|---|---|---|
| Amyntaio | Amyntaio | Amyntaio |
| Aetos | ||
| Variko | ||
| Lechovo | ||
| Nymfaio | ||
| Filotas | ||
| Florina | Florina | Florina |
| Kato Kleines | ||
| Meliti | ||
| Perasma | ||
| Prespes | Prespes | Laimos |
| Krystallopigi |
The demographic composition of the area the 19th and early 20th centuries is unclear as many factors contributed to the ethnic orientation of the people; out of these religion was particularly important thus giving rise to a proselytism struggle between the GreekEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and theBulgarian Exarchate (established in 1870). In 1886, 78.4% of the Christian population of the Florinakaza (district) - a part ofManastir Vilayet (province) - was aligned with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and 21.6% with the Bulgarian Exarchate, however by 1900 the Patriarchatists had dropped to 50.9% and Exarchatists had risen to 49.1%.[3] In 1914 the majority of the Christian population of the Florina district was recorded as Exarchist Bulgarian (59%), 70% of whom were monolingual in Bulgarian only.[4]
The 1920s was a period of migration, displacement, deportation and a voluntary exchange of populations between Greece and Bulgaria, during which the Greek government aimed to remove Slavic-speakers with fanatic Bulgarian sentiments from Greek Macedonia.).[5] In 1925, according to the Prefect of Florina 52% of the population were schismatics (up from about 20% in 1886), 25% were Patriarchists, 15% wererefugees, 6% were Vlachs (Aromanians) and 3% were indigenous Greeks.[6] According to government sources, in 1925 there were 45,527 Slav speakers, of whom 34,234 former Exarchists and 11,293 former Patriarchists; 7449 Greek refugees; 3590 Vlachs (Aromanians); 1882 indigenous Greeks; 349 Jews and 27 Muslim Albanians.[7] According to Kollopoulos in 1925 the recorded Slav Macedonians were 64,465 and constituted 64% of the population of the district of Florina, of whom 28,673 were schismatic.[8] The 1928 census showed 38,562 Slavic speakers in the nome of Florina or 31% of the population, but according to contemporary Greek authors the numbers of this census "clearly" do not reflect the actual strength of the minority as a result of official policy and Greek government of reluctance.[9] According to the Prefect of Florina, P. Kalligas, in 1930 there were 76,370 (61%), of whom 61,950 (49% of the population) lacked Greek consciousness, while his successor V. Balkos estimates those speaking Bulgarian as 75-80% of the population of the nome in 1931.[9] According to the Prefect of Florina, in 1935 of 11,683 families 56% had Slavic national consciousness , while 41.3% were "foreign speakers" with Greek national consciousness.[10]
The localGreek population includes a linguistic minority of bilingualSlavophones, who in the early 1990s formed about 64% of the rural population and about 16% of the prefecture's total population."[11][12]Anastasia Karakasidou estimated that 80% of the population of Florina Prefecture is either Slavic-speaking or descended from Slavic-speaking families.[13] There also exist smaller communities ofAromanians andArvanites, which today mostly have an ethnic Greek identity.
A diverse range ofdialects are spoken in the regional unit alongside the officialstandard and localMacedonian varieties ofGreek.[14] A minority of people speak the localethnic Macedoniandialects and especially theLower Prespa dialect and thePrilep-Bitola dialect.
According to the 2021 census, the population of Florina regional unit was 44,880 people.[1] In the 2009 European elections in Greece, 1,195 people from Florina Prefecture voted for theRainbow Party.[15]
Florina is rich in agriculture. The main production arepeppers,beans andpeaches. Beans are produced near Lake Prespa.
The main roads of Florina regional unit areGreek National Road 2 (Albania -Krystallopigi - Florina -Edessa - ...),Greek National Road 3 (North Macedonia -Niki - Florina -Amyntaio -Kozani - ...) andGreek National Road 15 (Agios Germanos -Kastoria - ...). TheThessaloniki–Bitola railway runs through the regional unit, as of 2014 used by passenger trains between Florina andThessaloniki.[16]
The Prefect of Florina (P. Kalligas) to Venizelos, Report No. 3394, 26 February 1930, VA File 107. His alarmist successor estimates those speaking "Bulgarian" as 75-80% of the nome's population. See the Prefect of Florina (V. Balkos) to Venizelos, 10 March 1932, WA File 110. 68.
(in Greek)Administrative division of theWestern Macedonia Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regional unit ofFlorina |  | |
| Regional unit ofGrevena | ||
| Regional unit ofKastoria | ||
| Regional unit ofKozani | ||
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Authority control databases: National |
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