Ormenio Ορμένιο | |
|---|---|
 Ormenio train station | |
  Ormenio | |
| Coordinates:41°43′N26°13′E / 41.717°N 26.217°E /41.717; 26.217 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | East Macedonia and Thrace |
| Regional unit | Evros |
| Municipality | Orestiada |
| Municipal unit | Trigono |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 344 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Ormenio (Greek:Ορμένιο,romanized: Orménio;Turkish:Çirmen;Bulgarian:Черномен,romanized: Chernomen) is the northernmost place in all ofGreece. It is part of the municipal unit ofTrigono in theEvros regional unit ofThrace. It is situated near the right bank of the riverEvros, which forms the border withBulgaria here. On the other side of the Evros, 6 km to the north, lies the Bulgarian townSvilengrad. Nearby villages in Greece arePtelea to its southeast andPetrota to its southwest.
In 1371 Ormenio was the site of theBattle of Maritsa in which theSerb army underIvan Uglesha and his brotherVukashin was decisively defeated by theOttomans. It was known as "Çirmen" during Ottoman rule and was asanjak centre until 1829.[2] In 1878 it was inhabited by 870 Bulgarians and 120 Muslims.[3] After theBalkan Wars, the village was annexed to Bulgaria as "Chernomen" until 1919, when the village was ceded to Greece in theTreaty of Neuilly. In 1997 under theKapodistrias reform, the community of Ormenio became part of the new municipality of Trigono with 12 other former communities. At the 2011 Kallikratis reform, Trigono became a municipal unit of the municipalityOrestiada.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 990 |
| 1981 | 846 |
| 1991 | 967 |
| 2001 | 807 |
| 2011 | 557 |
| 2021 | 344 |
Ormenio is bypassed by theGreek National Road 51/European route E85 (Feres - Soufli - Orestiada - Ormenio), which continues across the border as the Bulgarian road 80 to Svilengrad.
The community is served byOrmenio railway station, the most northernly railway station in Greece and the terminal for (the Greek portion) theAlexandroupolis–Svilengrad line. There is currently no rail connection toSvilengrad via Ormenio. Ormenio had a railway station on the line from Didymoteicho toHarmanli in Bulgaria. During theOttoman era, Ormenio was calledÇirmen in Turkish.[2]