Mandritsa
Encyclopedia
Mandritsa is a village in southernmost Bulgaria
, part of Ivaylovgrad
municipality, Haskovo Province
. It is known as the only Albanian
village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population of 75. It lies at 41°23′N 26°8′E, 93 m above sea level.
Mandritsa is located on the right bank of the Byala reka
in the easternmost Rhodope Mountains
, 15 km south of Ivaylovgrad and 2 km west of the Luda reka, which forms the border with Greece
.
Albanian dairymen who supplied the Ottoman Army. They were allowed to pick a tract of land and were freed from taxes. The bulk of the local Albanian speakers arrived in the 18th century from around Korçë
and in the 19th century from the region of Souli
in Epirus
. The locals preserved their Souliot national dress until the 19th century, when the fustanella
was substituted by Thracian
breeches. However, the female dress was preserved until the mass emigration to Greece in 1913.
In the 19th century, Mandritsa was a small town of Greek-identifying Albanians in the kaza of Didymoteicho
. In 1873, it was a village of 250 households with 1,080 Albanian residents. In 1908, Greek sources list the population as 3,500 "Albanian-speaking Greeks
, most of whom also speak Greek
".
The main occupations were sericulture
, tobacco
growing, manufacture and trade. The village had three Greek educational institutions: a school for boys, a school for girls and a kindergarten.
, by military units of the First Bulgarian Army, but was once again occupied by the Ottomans during the Second Balkan War
. According to the Treaty of Constantinople
, it was ceded to Bulgaria. A large number of the residents fled back to the Ottoman Empire
, where they remained as refugees for six months before heading to Greece in 1914 through Constantinople
and Rodosto.
Of the 480 families of the time, only 40 remained in Bulgaria, while 100 settled in the village of Hambarköy near Kilkis
, which was renamed Mandres
in their honour, while the others populated other villages in Greek Macedonia and Western Thrace
. The Bulgarian government settled Bulgarian refugees from Thrace and Macedonia
(from the region of Edessa
). In 1929, another wave of emigration to Greece followed.
dialect. The village has well-preserved Greek-style three-storey adobe and brick houses which represent the Thracian style featuring wood-carved ceilings, wrought iron balconies and columns.
Mandritsa has two churches: the small single-naved cemetery church of St Nedelya built in 1708, which is one of the oldest churches in the Eastern Rhodopes, and the three-naved village church of St Demetrius constructed in 1835, which is partially destroyed, but planned to be reconstructed.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, part of Ivaylovgrad
Ivaylovgrad
Ivaylovgrad is a town in Haskovo Province in the very south-east of Bulgaria set near the river Arda in the easternmost part of the Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Ivaylovgrad Municipality...
municipality, Haskovo Province
Haskovo Province
Haskovo Province is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast, comprising parts of the Thracian valley along the river Maritsa. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Haskovo...
. It is known as the only Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population of 75. It lies at 41°23′N 26°8′E, 93 m above sea level.
Mandritsa is located on the right bank of the Byala reka
Byala reka
Byala reka is a river in the Rhodope Mountains in Southern Bulgaria, the longest tributary of Luda reka .The river rises near the village of Chernichevo, close to the Greek border then flows in a general eastern direction until it flows into Luda reka near Siv Kladenets exactly on the Greek...
in the easternmost Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
, 15 km south of Ivaylovgrad and 2 km west of the Luda reka, which forms the border with Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Ottoman rule
The village was founded in 1636 by Eastern OrthodoxEastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Albanian dairymen who supplied the Ottoman Army. They were allowed to pick a tract of land and were freed from taxes. The bulk of the local Albanian speakers arrived in the 18th century from around Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
and in the 19th century from the region of Souli
Souliotes
Souliotes were a warlike community from the area of Souli, in Greece, who became famous across Greece for their resistance against the local Ottoman Pashalik of Yanina ruled by the Muslim Albanian Ali Pasha...
in Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
. The locals preserved their Souliot national dress until the 19th century, when the fustanella
Fustanella
Fustanella is a traditional skirt-like garment worn by men of many nations in the Balkans, similar to the kilt. In modern times, the fustanella is part of Balkan folk dresses...
was substituted by Thracian
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
breeches. However, the female dress was preserved until the mass emigration to Greece in 1913.
In the 19th century, Mandritsa was a small town of Greek-identifying Albanians in the kaza of Didymoteicho
Didymoteicho
Didymóteicho is a town located in the eastern part of the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town sits on a plain and located south east of Svilengrad, south of Edirne, Turkey and Orestiada, west of Uzunköprü, about 20 km north...
. In 1873, it was a village of 250 households with 1,080 Albanian residents. In 1908, Greek sources list the population as 3,500 "Albanian-speaking Greeks
Arvanites
Arvanites are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century...
, most of whom also speak Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
".
The main occupations were sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
growing, manufacture and trade. The village had three Greek educational institutions: a school for boys, a school for girls and a kindergarten.
Bulgaria and emigration
Mandritsa was liberated from Ottoman rule on 15 October 1912, during the First Balkan WarFirst Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
, by military units of the First Bulgarian Army, but was once again occupied by the Ottomans during the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
. According to the Treaty of Constantinople
Treaty of Constantinople (1913)
The Treaty of Constantinople was a treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria signed on 29 September 1913 after the Second Balkan War at the Ottoman capital İstanbul.- Background :...
, it was ceded to Bulgaria. A large number of the residents fled back to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, where they remained as refugees for six months before heading to Greece in 1914 through Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and Rodosto.
Of the 480 families of the time, only 40 remained in Bulgaria, while 100 settled in the village of Hambarköy near Kilkis
Kilkis
Kilkis is an industrial city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2001 there were 17,430 people living in the city proper, 24,812 people living in the municipal unit, and 56,336 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional unit of Kilkis.-Name:Kilkis is located in a...
, which was renamed Mandres
Mandres (Kilkis), Greece
Mandres is a village South of the City of Kilkis in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Gallikos and has a population of 594 people ....
in their honour, while the others populated other villages in Greek Macedonia and Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
. The Bulgarian government settled Bulgarian refugees from Thrace and Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
(from the region of Edessa
Edessa, Greece
Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
). In 1929, another wave of emigration to Greece followed.
Today
Today, Mandritsa is a small village of around 70 residents, part of them still speaking a distinct Tosk AlbanianTosk Albanian
Tosk is the southern dialect of the Albanian language. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is the basis of the standard Albanian language.- Tosks :...
dialect. The village has well-preserved Greek-style three-storey adobe and brick houses which represent the Thracian style featuring wood-carved ceilings, wrought iron balconies and columns.
Mandritsa has two churches: the small single-naved cemetery church of St Nedelya built in 1708, which is one of the oldest churches in the Eastern Rhodopes, and the three-naved village church of St Demetrius constructed in 1835, which is partially destroyed, but planned to be reconstructed.
Language
| One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Albanian | një | dy | tre | katër | pesë | gjashtë | shtatë | tetë | nëntë | dhjetë |
| Mandritsa Tosk | ni | g'u | tri | kátrë | pésë | g'áštë | štátë | tétë | në'ntë | zjétë |