Nigrita
Encyclopedia
Nigrita is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Visaltia
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is situated between the Strymonian plain of the Strymon river and the Vertiskos
mountains featuring the mountaintop Trani Rachi to the southwest. Nigrita is located in the southwestern part of the Serres regional unit. The Thessaloniki regional unit is found to the southwest. Nigrita is located S of Serres
, W of Amphipolis
and Kavala
, N of the Via Egnatia
, NE of Thessaloniki
and E of Lagkada
.
The main football (soccer) team in Nigrita is the Nigrita FC.
In the later years of the Ottoman Empire, Nigrita along with the surrounding villages, was a municipality of the old kaza Serres, which in the final years of the Ottoman period were of Greek origin. The city and its surroundings did not have a Bulgarian population because the city and the area (also known as Little Greece or the Greek quarter (Köcök Yunan) was mainly a Greek-speaking region and it was hostile to other ethnicities.
The economy was developed in the 18th and the early 19th centuries, with also an increase to the population. The main agricultural products were cereals, wine, cigars, cotton, sesame and aniseed. The main industries were silk and animal trade which made the economy of the area flourish during that period.
The economic lifestyle in Nigrita and the area during the last years of the Ottoman rule was sufficient, and could not foresee a Macedonian problem. A few years later, Macedonian business activity peaked and began to decline.
One of the most important Nigritian persons was Athanasios Argyros, a legalist with many works, president of the Athenian Pan-Macedonian Society and later, a politician of the Serres prefecture and Ministry of Farming and Education.
Nigrita's people knew how fierce the Ottomans were over the disarmament among the Ottoman youth, in 1910. Nigrita became part of Greece in 1912 following the Balkan Wars
. Nigrita at the time was in turmoil with captain Giagklis who fought in the Balkan Wars for the liberation of Nigrita from the Turks (Ottomans). Refugees of the Greco-Turkish War arrived in the 1920s.
Nigrita and its surroundings were also in the national resistance front against the German occupation during World War II
. Nigrita was constituted in the area around Strymon.
, a gymnasium, banks, churches, a post office and a few squares (plateies
).
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Visaltia
Visaltia
Visaltia is a municipality in the Serres Prefecture, Greece. The seat of the municipality is in Nigrita. The ancient city of Vergi is located here.-Municipality:...
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is situated between the Strymonian plain of the Strymon river and the Vertiskos
Vertiskos
Vertiskos is a village and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lagkadas, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,350 ....
mountains featuring the mountaintop Trani Rachi to the southwest. Nigrita is located in the southwestern part of the Serres regional unit. The Thessaloniki regional unit is found to the southwest. Nigrita is located S of Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
, W of Amphipolis
Amphipolis
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in...
and Kavala
Kavala
Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...
, N of the Via Egnatia
Via Egnatia
The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.Starting at Dyrrachium on the...
, NE of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and E of Lagkada
Lagkada
Lagkada may refer to several places in Greece:*Lagkada, Chios, a village in the Chios prefecture*Lagkada, Ioannina, a village in the Ioannina Prefecture*Lagkada, Itanos, a village in Lasithi, municipality Itanos...
.
The main football (soccer) team in Nigrita is the Nigrita FC.
History
Nigrita was the administrative economic centre in the wide area during the Byzantine and the Ottoman rule. Nigrita was first mentioned in a tax register in the 15th century and second in the Serrean Papasynadinou Chronicle.In the later years of the Ottoman Empire, Nigrita along with the surrounding villages, was a municipality of the old kaza Serres, which in the final years of the Ottoman period were of Greek origin. The city and its surroundings did not have a Bulgarian population because the city and the area (also known as Little Greece or the Greek quarter (Köcök Yunan) was mainly a Greek-speaking region and it was hostile to other ethnicities.
The economy was developed in the 18th and the early 19th centuries, with also an increase to the population. The main agricultural products were cereals, wine, cigars, cotton, sesame and aniseed. The main industries were silk and animal trade which made the economy of the area flourish during that period.
The economic lifestyle in Nigrita and the area during the last years of the Ottoman rule was sufficient, and could not foresee a Macedonian problem. A few years later, Macedonian business activity peaked and began to decline.
One of the most important Nigritian persons was Athanasios Argyros, a legalist with many works, president of the Athenian Pan-Macedonian Society and later, a politician of the Serres prefecture and Ministry of Farming and Education.
Nigrita's people knew how fierce the Ottomans were over the disarmament among the Ottoman youth, in 1910. Nigrita became part of Greece in 1912 following the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
. Nigrita at the time was in turmoil with captain Giagklis who fought in the Balkan Wars for the liberation of Nigrita from the Turks (Ottomans). Refugees of the Greco-Turkish War arrived in the 1920s.
Nigrita and its surroundings were also in the national resistance front against the German occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Nigrita was constituted in the area around Strymon.
Subdivisions
The municipal unit Nigrita is subdivided into the following communities:- Anthi
- Flampouro
- Nigrita
- Terpni
- Therma
Other
Nigrita has schools, a lyceumLyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
, a gymnasium, banks, churches, a post office and a few squares (plateies
Plateia
Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...
).
Historical population
| Year | Town population | Municipality population |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 6,531 | - |
| 1991 | 6,186 | 10,668 |
| 2001 | 5,566 | 9,783 |