Poliçan, Gjirokastër

Poliçan (Greek: Πολύτσανη, romanized: Polytsani) is an ethnic Greek village in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania.[1] At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Dropull.[2] It is within the wider Pogoni region that stretches in both Greece and Albania.[3] Poliçan was the municipal center of the former Pogon municipality in Albania. It is nicknamed "the Bride of the Pogoni region".[4] Poliçan is inhabited solely by Greeks. [5]

Poliçan

Πολύτσανη
Village
Poliçan
Coordinates: 40°7′53″N 20°21′2″E
Country Albania
CountyGjirokastër
MunicipalityDropull
Municipal unitPogon
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)


History

Antiquity and Byzantine period

In classical antiquity the region was inhabited by the Chaonians,[6] one of the three major Greek tribes that inhabited ancient Epirus.[7] Polican was identified with the Chaonian settlement Politeiani (Greek: Πολιτειανή) also known as Polyani (Greek: Πολυανή). The name appears to be borrowed from the nearby mountain Polyainos.[6] Ancient coins depicting Alexander the Great have been unearthed in Poliçan.[8]

The ancient name has changed to the present form (Polyts(i)ani) during the Slavic invasion (7th-8th century).[6] In the late Byzantine period (11th-15th century) two Christian Orthodox monasteries were erected next to Polican.[6] After the Fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade (1204), Polican became part of the Greek Despotate of Epirus and refuge for various Byzantine noble families.[9]

Ottoman period

At the period of Ottoman occupation, that started in mid-15th century, Polican enjoyed a privileged semi-autonomous status which led to economic and cultural flourishing.[9] The settlement was included in the Koinon of Zagori, although geographically it was not part of the Zagori region, but belonged to the Pogoni villages.[3]

Religious festival next to the church of Saint Nicholas in Polican, 1931

In the early 16th century two significant church buildings were erected in the town: Saint Athanasius (1513) and Saint Demetrius (1526). Both of them display unique features of early post-Byzantine art.[10] A Greek school was founded in 1672 by the local Orthodox missionary Sophianos next to the church of Saint Athanasius.[11] The school attracted also students from the nearby regions next to Gjirokastër (Zagori and Riza).[12]

A second school started operating in 1750, sponsored by a local businessman and benefactor.[11] Greek education was expanded with the foundation of two secondary level schools in 1866, in addition to a boys' and a girls' school in 1866 and 1874 respectively.[13] The local educational institutions became renowned to such a degree that their graduates were eligible for admission to any Greek college in the Ottoman capital Constantinople (Istanbul) without qualifying examinations.[14] The schools of Polican were financed by the local community and especially by local businessmen and benefactors as well as by the town's diaspora.[15]

20th century

Polican and the rest of the settlements in the Pogon municipality became part of Albania in the 1920s.[16] In 1940, when Axis Italy launched a failed invasion against Greece from Albanian territory during World War II, the town came under the control of the II Army Corps of the Greek forces.[17]

The Greek communities that reside in Pogon have a recognized minority status by the Albanian state.[18] A Greek elementary school is currently operating in Polican.[19]

Demographics

In 1913 the population of Polican was 1,650 (Greek census).[20] During the interwar period it reached ca. 2,500 inhabitants that spoke Greek.[21] but it decreased to 559 in 1989.[22]

Geography and culture

Polican is located on the slopes of Mount Nemërçkë, 13 km (8 mi) from the Greek-Albanian border.[4][23] It is the northernmost Greek speaking village within the Pogoni region, which is divided between Greece (40 villages) and Albania (7 villages).[3][24][23]

In Polican, along with the rest of the Pogoni region, polyphonic singing is part of the local musical tradition.[24]

Notable people
  • Sophianos (-1711), Greek-Orthodox bishop and scholar.

References
  1. "Location of Derviçan". Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  2. Law nr. 115/2014 Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Giakoumis, 2009, p. 15
  4. Καλανταρίδου, Σοφία. "Αποστολή αλληλεγγύης στην Πολύτσανη Πωγωνίου". enet.gr (in Greek). Eleftherotypia. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). "Η Ελληνική Κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το Πρίσμα της Ιστορικής Γεωγραφίας και Δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in Terms of Historical Geography and Demography]" (in Greek). Εκδόσεις Σιδέρης. p. 55. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  6. Giakoumis, 2009, p. 12
  7. Boardman, John; Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1982). The Cambridge Ancient History - The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C., Part 3: Volume 3 (Second ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 430, 434. ISBN 0-521-23447-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  8. Hammond, 1967, p. 722
  9. Giakoumis, 2009, p. 141
  10. Giakoumis, 2009, p. 139
  11. Koltsida, 2008, p. 131
  12. Koltsida, 2008, p. 197
  13. Koltsida, 2008, p. 229
  14. Koltsida, 2008, p. 235
  15. Koltsida, 2008, pp. 281–285
  16. (Eds.), Andreas Hemming ... (2010). Albania : family, society and culture in the 20th century. Münster [u.a.]: LIT. p. 103. ISBN 9783643501448.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  17. Carr, John C. (2013). The defence and fall of Greece 1940-1941. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9781781591819.
  18. Tziovas, 2003, p. 196
  19. "Second Report Submitted by Albania Pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Framework onvention for the Protection of National Minorities" (PDF). Council of Europe. p. 62. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  20. Koltsida, 2008, p. 100
  21. Hammond 1967, pp. 29, 213
  22. Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). "Η Ελληνική Κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το Πρίσμα της Ιστορικής Γεωγραφίας και Δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in Terms of Historical Geography and Demography]" (in Greek). Εκδόσεις Σιδέρης. p. 57. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  23. Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780198142539.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) "With a population of 2,500 Poliçan is the largest village in the long-rift within the double range of Nemerçkë. The villages to the north-west are Albanian-speaking, while those to the south speak Greek as their mother tongue. Poliçan therefore regards itself as the most northerly village of the area Pogoni."
  24. Tziovas, 2003, p. 196

Sources

Traditional songs

Website
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