Poliçan, Dropull

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

For the village of Poliçan in Berat county, see Poliçan.

Poliçan
Πολύτσανη
Village
Poliçan is located in Albania
Poliçan
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)
Postal Code
6007[1]

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.[4]

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] According to a 2014 report by the Albanian government, there were 729 ethnic Greeks in the village.[23]

Geography and culture

Polican is located on the slopes of Mount Nemërçkë, 13 km (8 mi) from the Greek-Albanian border.[5][24] It is the northernmost Greek speaking village within the Pogoni region, which is divided between Greece (40 villages) and Albania (7 villages).[4][18][24]

In Polican, along with the rest of the Pogoni region, polyphonic singing is part of the local musical tradition.[18]

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

References
  1. "Kodi Postar, Qarku Gjirokastër" [Postal Code, Gjirokastër County] (PDF). Posta Shqiptare. 2017.
  2. "Location of Derviçan". Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  3. "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). p. 6371. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  4. Giakoumis 2009, p. 15.
  5. Καλανταρίδου, Σοφία. "Αποστολή αλληλεγγύης στην Πολύτσανη Πωγωνίου". enet.gr (in Greek). Eleftherotypia. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  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 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 430, 434. ISBN 0-521-23447-6.
  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. Andreas Hemming; Gentiana Kera; Enriketa Pandelejmoni, eds. (2010). Albania: family, society and culture in the 20th century. Münster [u.a.]: LIT. p. 103. ISBN 9783643501448.
  17. Carr, John C. (2013). The defence and fall of Greece 1940-1941. Pen and Sword. 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 Convention for the Protection of National Minorities" (PDF). Council of Europe. p. 62. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  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. ISBN 9789600800548. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
  23. "Fourth Report submitted by Albania pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania. p. 98. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  24. Hammond 1967, p. 213 "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."

Sources

Traditional songs

Website
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