Nymfaio

Nymfaio Νυμφαίο
The village of Nymfaio.
Location
Nymfaio
Coordinates	40°39′N 21°30′E / 40.650°N 21.500°E / 40.650; 21.500Coordinates: 40°39′N 21°30′E / 40.650°N 21.500°E / 40.650; 21.500
Location within the regional unit
Government
Country:	Greece
Administrative region:	West Macedonia
Regional unit:	Florina
Municipality:	Amyntaio
Population statistics (as of 2001)[1]
Municipal unit
- Population:	413
Other
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (center):	1,350 m (4,429 ft)
Auto:	ΡΑ

Nymfaio (Greek: Νυμφαίο), is a predominantly Aromanian village and a former community in Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. After the 2011 local government reform it became a member of the municipality Amyntaio.^[2] The village had a population of 413 according to the 2001 census, however in 1895, as village records suggest, the population was closer to 3,500. Urbanization in Greece left a vacuum, and Nymfaio has an estimated fifty permanent residents as of 2008. The village is protected by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture in order to preserve its architectural integrity.

Name

First mentioned in an Ottoman defter in 1481, the village, then known as Neveska, had only six households.^[3] The name of the town in Aromanian (Vlach) is Nevesca from the anc. Greek (Doric) νυφεοσσ´ '&la=greek&can=nifo%2Fess'0&prior=sune/xei#lexicon, snowy, snowclad.

Geography

Nymfaio is a mountain village, situated at 1350 m elevation^[4] in the densely forested Verno mountains. It is 3 km north of Sklithro, 5 km west of Aetos, 16 km west of Amyntaio and 17 km southeast of Florina.

History

Nymfaio, or Neveska as it was called then, was settled around 1385 by Vlach travellers, who fled into the mountains after heavy battles with the Ottomans. The fighters of Neveska capitulated conditionally: they remained armed and autonomous, directly ruled by Valide Sultan (the mother of the Sultan), and paid reduced taxes. Until the early 17th century, their main source of income was raiding the estates in the plains. Around 1630, the village became a centre of silversmithing, known all over Macedonia for the next three centuries.

During the Albanian invasions in the late 18th century, after the Orlov revolt, Neveska accepted Vlach refugees from Moscopole, Nikolitsa, Linotopi and other Vlach places that were ruined by the raiders. Furthermore, people from Neveska moved to places in eastern Macedonia, including Ano Poroia, Kato Tzoumagia, Alistrati, Nigrita, Serres and others. During the Macedonian uprising of 1878, the revolutionary leader Vasileios Zourkasfrom Neveska operated in the areas of Varnous and Mariovo.^[5]

A reconstructed traditional mansion.

A street in the city of Skopje is named after the village (Neveska) in gratitude to its participation in the Ilinden Uprising. ^{[citation needed]}

Sights

Nymfaio hosts a Museum of Gold and Silver-smithery, Folklore, and History, inaugurated in 2000 and located in a traditional building in the centre of the village. It displays furniture, artisan jewelry and religious silverware. There are also showcases displaying authentic costumes as well as photographs and other memorabilia of the Macedonian Struggle including letters written by leaders of the Macedonian Struggle as Pavlos Melas and Germanos Karavangelis.

The Environmental Centre ARCTUROS is active in the area, and manages an environmental protection center for brown bears and wolves one and a half kilometre from the village. The center is home to 13 bears and several wolves - animals which were thought to be too weak to survive in the natural environment. The information centre is open to the public for several months of the year. There are currently 6 functioning hotels in Nymfaio, as well as an Orthodox Church. Next to the church is an old cemetery dating to the 18th and 19th centuries.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nymfaio.

• A photographic council with a Creative Commons licence Νυμφαίο (Greek)