Kefalovryso, Ioannina


Kefalovryso is a mountain village and a community of the Pogoni municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was a part of the municipality of Ano Pogoni, of which it was a municipal district and the seat. The community of Kefalovryso covers an area of 15.831 km2.

Name

The toponym is from the personal name Metzidies, from the Aromanian meğidié 'one who belongs to the administration of Sultan Abdülmecid', stemming from the Turkish mecidî, in reference to 'that which has been created or founded by or during the time of Sultan Abdülmecid'. Another derivation of the toponym is from the Aromanian meğidie 'royal purple'.

Geography

It is situated at the foot of mount Nemërçka, near the Albanian border. It is 3 km west of Vasiliko, 12 km northeast of Delvinaki, 16 km west of Konitsa, 36 km east of Gjirokastër and 46 km northwest of Ioannina.

History

The Aromanians of the area resided at an older settlement named Bitsikopoulo at Mt. Nemërçka. The aftermath of the Greek War of Independence caused regional instability, where Bitsikopoulo was destroyed by brigands in 1840 and abandoned by its population. The Aromanians were settled at a village named Metzities in 1853 by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. In the late 19th century scholar Ioannis Lambridis described the village as newly founded and its population as "mixed" Aromanians with 143 families.
Kefalovryso passed from the Ottoman Empire to Greece in 1913, during the Balkan Wars. In the 10th of July a massacre happened in the village. 22 men were put in two houses, with most of them being soldiers in World War Two. Only one of them survived and the rest were burnt alive.
The entire Aromanian population in the region of Lunxhëria are composed of some Aromanians from Kefalovryso who had a presence in Albania and were left inside the country after the communist era closure of the border. In 1991, the border reopened and Lunxhëri Aromanians reconnected with relatives in Kefalovryso, often utilising the village as an initial destination before travelling to other locations in Greece for work.

Demographics

Kefalovryso has a mostly Aromanian population and is an Aromanian speaking village. Due to their origins from Albania, the Aromanian spoken in the village differs from the Aromanian spoken in the eastern Aromanian speaking area of Greek Epirus. Aromanian multipart singing is practised in the village.

Infrastructure

In Kefalovryso, there is a primary school, a lyceum, a minor soccer team, a gymnasium, a church, a small post-office and a square in the centre with the town hall of Ano Pogoni. The factory that produces most of the Greek euro coins is located in Kefalovryso.