Fanari, Preveza

Fanari (Greek: Φανάρι; Albanian: Frar[2]) is a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Parga, of which it is a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 205.893 km2.[4] Population 7,962 (2011). The seat of the municipality was in Kanallaki.

Fanari
Φανάρι
Fanari is located in Greece
Fanari
Fanari
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 39°14′N 20°36′E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionEpirus
Regional unitPreveza
MunicipalityParga
 • Municipal unit205.9 km2 (79.5 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
7,962
 • Municipal unit density39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registrationΡΖ

History

The earliest Mycenaean pottery at the site of Ephyra at the mouth of the Acheron river dates to the Late Helladic IIIA (c.1400–c.1300 BC).[5] The site of Ephyra is now located 4 kms from the Ionian coast but in ancient times the coastline extended much farther inland.[6] Fortification at the acropolis of Ephyra include two successive defensive walls in cyclopean masonry and a gate in built similar to the Lion Gate of Mycenae.[7]

In historical times the Necromanteion of Ephyra in Epirus was probably the best known oracle of this kind in Ancient Greece.[8]

A fort is attested in the 14th century (Castellanariam Fanarij) at the Glykys river. An Albanian speaking community was found there also.[9] In June 1386 the population of Fanari asked for Venetian protection. As such, Marino della Roseaa, a Venetian from Corfu acquired the local fort for 100 ducats probably from its Albanian lord but soon abandoned it because of the frequent raids.[10] Fanari was still in Venetian control in 1395.[11]

Fanari is a mainly agricultural area. Before World War II the local population supported the Liberal Party. At recent times local Romani farm workers are also Albanian speakers.[12]

Axis occupation atrocities

During the Axis occupation of Greece, operation codenamed "Augustus" was undertaken by Wehrmacht and Cham Albanian militia units in August 1943. This affected the area south of Paramythia as far as Ammoudia and Parga.[13][14]

This resulted in several local settlements to be burnt to the ground and the murder of civilian population.[15] On 30 September, the Swiss representative of the International Red Cross, Hans-Jakob Bickel, visited the area and concluded:[16]

20,000 Albanians, with Italian and now German support, spread terror to the rest of the population. Only in the region of Fanari 24 villages were destroyed.

In 21 settlements in the vicinity of Kanallaki 400 inhabitants were arrested and forced to march to the nearest concentration camp in Thessaloniki (KZ Pavlos Melas). When the march begun the armed groups did not hesitate to execute a diseased priest in front of the rest of the hostages.[17] The looting and burning in the villages of Fanari lasted for 19 days while c. 800 armed troops of the Cham Albanian militia participated in the atrocities.[18] In exchange of their support, German Lieutenant Colonel Josef Remold offered the Chams weapons and equipment. As a token of appreciation, Nuri Dino, the leader of the Cham security battalions, promised to secure the region of the Acheron river, south of Paramythia, against Allied infiltration.[19] During the subsequent operations, 600 Greek villagers were killed and 70 villages in the region were destroyed. 500 Greek citizens were taken hostages and 160 of them were sent to forced labour in Nazi Germany.[20]

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Fanari is subdivided into the following communities:

  • Acherousia
  • Ammoudia
  • Andonia
  • Ano Skafidoti
  • Despotiko
  • Kanallaki
  • Kastri
  • Koroni
  • Koryfoula
  • Koukkouli
  • Kypseli
  • Loutsa
  • Mesopotamo
  • Mouzakaiika
  • Narkissos
  • Skepasto
  • Stavrochori
  • Themelo
  • Valanidorachi
  • Valanidoussa
  • Vouvopotamos

References
  1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. Tsoutsoumpis, Spiros (2016). "Land of the Kapedani: Brigandage, Paramilitarism and Nation-building in 20th Century Greece" (PDF). Balkan Studies. 51: 49.
  3. "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  4. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  5. Tandy, David W. (2001). Prehistory and History: Ethnicity, Class and Political Economy. Black Rose Books. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-55164-189-8.
  6. Archaiotētōn, Greece 14 Ephoreia Proistorikōn kai Klassikōn (1999). Η Περιφέρεια του Μυκηναϊκού κόσμου: πρακτικά (in Greek). 14. Ephoreias Proistorikōn kai Klassikōn Archaiotētŏn. p. 61. ISBN 978-960-8063-31-0.
  7. Tsonos, Akis; Oikonomidis, Stavros (2009). "Settlement organization and social context in the SW Balcanic Peninsula (Epirotic and Albanian coasts) and northern Italy during the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (13th-9th c. B.C.)". Dall'Egeo all'Adriatico: Organizzazioni sociali, modi di scambio e interazione in età postpalaziale (XII-XI sec. A.C.) = from the Aegean to the Adriatic: Social organisations, modes of exchange and interaction in Postpalatial times (12th-11th B.C.): Atti del seminario internazionale, Udine, 1-2 dicembre 2006). Quasar: 334. ISBN 978-88-7140-370-0.
  8. Eidinow, Esther; Kindt, Julia (1 October 2015). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion. OUP Oxford. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-19-105807-3. The Necromanteion of Ephyra in Epirus was probably the best known in ancient Greece.
  9. Tsoutsoumpis, Spiros (2016). A history of the Greek resistance in the Second World War: The people's armies. Manchester University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1526100931.
  10. Osswald 2011, p. 209.
  11. Osswald 2011, p. 211.
  12. Baltsiotis, Lambros (2014). "Balkan Roma immigrants in Greece: An initial approach to the traits of a migration flow". International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication. 2: 19. doi:10.12681/ijltic.47.
  13. Γκότοβος, Αθανάσιος (2013). "Ετερότητα και σύγκρουση: ταυτότητες στην κατοχική Θεσπρωτία και ο ρόλος της Μουσουλμανικής μειονότητας". Επιστημονική Επετηρίδα Τμήματος Φιλολοσοφίας, Παιδαγωγικής, Ψυχολογίας. University of Ioannina, Dodoni Journal. 36: 45.
  14. Meyer, Hermann Frank (2008). Blutiges Edelweiß: Die 1. Gebirgs-division im zweiten Weltkrieg [Bloodstained Edelweiss. The 1st Mountain-Division in WWII] (in German). Ch. Links Verlag. p. 705. ISBN 978-3-86153-447-1.
  15. Tsoutsoumpis, Spiros (2016). A history of the Greek resistance in the Second World War: The people's armies. Manchester University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1526100931. The cooperation between the Wehrmacht and the Chams began during Operation Augustus, which took place between 8 and 12 August 1943 across Epirus. Approximately 300 Chams took part in a series of antiguerrilla sweeps in the areas of Filiates, Souli and the plain of Fanari, where the brunt of the fighting and destruction was carried out. Within four days, 150 people were murdered, while hundreds more were taken hostage and transported to prison camps in Ioannina.
  16. Meyer, 2008, p. 498
  17. Meyer, 2008, p. 204
  18. Kretsi, Georgia (2002). "The Secret Past of the Greek-Albanian Borderlands. Cham Muslim Albanians: Perspectives on a Conflict over Historical Accountability and Current Rights". Ethnologia Balkanica: Journal for Southeast European Anthropology. 6: 178.
  19. Meyer, 2008, p. 204, 464
  20. Meyer 2008, p. 207

Sources
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