Vasileiada

Vasileiada (Greek: Βασιλειάδα, before 1928: Ζαγοριτσάνη – Zagoritsani;^[2] Macedonian and Bulgarian: Загоричани) is a village in Kastoria Regional Unit, Macedonia, Greece. The community consists of the villages Vasileiada, Agia Paraskevi and Verga.

Vasileiada
Community
Vasileiada
Coordinates: 40°33′52″N 21°25′49″E
Country	Greece
Geographic region	Macedonia
Administrative region	Western Macedonia
Regional unit	Kastoria
Municipality	Kastoria
Municipal unit	Agioi Anargyroi
Population  (2021)[1]
• Community	375
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Originally named Zagorichani, the village had a Slavic speaking population during Ottoman rule. After the rise of nationalism the locals were divided in pro-Bulgarian and pro–Greek community. During the struggle for Macedonia, many Bulgarian inhabitants were killed in 1905.^{[citation needed]}

After Zagoritsani became part of Greece in 1913, the village mosque was demolished.^[3] The 1920 Greek census recorded 1,105 inhabitants in the village.^[4] Following the Greek–Turkish population exchange, Greek refugee families in Zagoritsani were from Pontus (32) in 1926.^[4] The 1928 Greek census recorded 735 village inhabitants.^[4] In 1928, the refugee families numbered 33 (112 people).^[4]

In 1945, Greek Foreign Minister Ioannis Politis ordered the compilation of demographic data regarding the Prefecture of Kastoria.^[5] The village Vasileiada had a total of 1,136 inhabitants, and was populated by 910 Slavophones with a Bulgarian national consciousness.^[6]

Notable people

• Dimitar Blagoev (1856–1924), Bulgarian political leader and philosopher
• Anastas Yankov (1857–1906), Bulgarian Army officer
• Maslina Grancharova (1874–1958), Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary

References

1. "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. Institute for Neohellenic Research. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Zagoritsani – Vasileias". Pandektis. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
3. Stavridopoulos, Ioannis (2015). Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα [Monuments of the other: The management of the Ottoman cultural heritage of Macedonia from 1912 until present] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). University of Ioannina. p. 273. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
4. Pelagidis, Efstathios (1992). Η αποκατάσταση των προσφύγων στη Δυτική Μακεδονία (1923–1930) [The rehabilitation of refugees in Western Macedonia: 1923–1930] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. p. 77. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
5. Alvanos 2005, p. 518.
6. Alvanos, Raymondos (2005). Κοινωνικές συγκρούσεις και πολιτικές συμπεριφορές στην περιοχή της Καστοριάς (1922–1949) [Social conflicts and political behaviors in the area of Kastoria (1922–1949)] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. p. 515. Retrieved 16 June 2024. "Βασιλειάς, Πληθυσμός: 1136, Σλαυόφωνοι: 910, Συνείδησις Βουλγαρική: ναι"