Moschochori, Florina

History

The village is mentioned for the first time in an Ottoman defter from 1530 under the name Vimbil. The term means "spring" in different Bulgarian dialects. It has a church dating from 1871. During Ottoman rule n the late 19th century, competition arose between Greeks and Macedonians over the village. Initially the conflict was waged through educational and religious propaganda, with a fierce rivalry developing between supporters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who identified as Greek, and supporters of the Macedonian Exarchate, which had been established by the Macedonians in 1860. Under these conditions, in the early 20th century a vicious guerrilla war broke between Macedonian and Greek bands within the area.

In the book Ethnography of the vilayets of Adrianople, Monastir and Salonika, published in Constantinople in 1878, that reflected the statistics of the male population of 1873, Vambel is listed as a village with 150 households with 420 inhabitants Macedonians. According to Al. Synvet ("Les Grecs de l'Empire Ottoman. Étude Statistique et Ethnographique") in 1878 in Moschohori (Vambeli) lived 600 Greeks. In 1889 Stefan Verkovich (Топографическо-этнографическій очеркъ Македоніи“) wrote that the village had 135 Macedonian families with 656 inhabitants. According to statistics of Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia. Ethnography and statistics") in 1900 Vambel had 650 inhabitants all Macedonians. According to the secretary of the Macedonian Exarchate Dimitar Mishev ("La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne") in 1905 in Moschohori (Vambel) lived 960 Macedonian Exarchists. During the Ilinden uprising Vambel was burned from the Ottomans. After the uprising, the Balkan Wars and the First World War part of the population gradually took refuge in Macedonia. In 1936 the population was 680 people.

During the Second World War here was founded a subdivision of the pro-Macedonian Ohrana. In 1945, Greek Foreign Minister Ioannis Politis ordered the compilation of demographic data regarding the Prefecture of Kastoria. The village Moschochori had a total of 448 inhabitants, and was populated by 430 Slavophones with a Macedonian national consciousness. It was heavily destroyed during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) and afterwards the rest of its population were forced to relocate to different Communist countries: Soviet Union, Macedonia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the village was practically depopulated.

Notable people

• Pando Andreev (1878–?) Bulgarian volunteer from Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
• Zissis Papachristos, Greek priest and Macedonian fighter
• Mito Atanasov (1890–?) Bulgarian volunteer from Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
• Lazaros Potsis, Greek Macedonian fighter
• Ilija Digalov (1890–1922) Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization revolutionary
• Naoum Rolos, Greek Macedonian fighter
• Socrat Lafazanovski (1939–) Artist, North Macedonia
• priest Christos, Greek priest & Macedonian fighter, killed by Bulgarians
• Socrat Panovski (1948–) Politician, North Macedonia
• Jani Lukarov (1922–1948) Macedonian partisan
• Stavros Stavropoulos, Greek Macedonian fighter
• Andrew Rossos (1941–) Macedonian Canadian historian

Notes

References

1. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Vampeli - Moschochorion".
2. A concise history of the Balkan Wars, 1912-1913 - Page 100 Army History Directorate (Greece) - 1998 "In addition, it ordered Division VI to establish a detachment composed of one Infantry regiment and one pack battery, and to send it forward to the line formed by the villages of Krystallopege-Moschochori, relieving the detachment of the 9th ..."
3. "Detailed census results 1940 }} {{small".
4. Королов, Лари-Лабро (Канада). Диалектен текст от село Въмбел, Костурско. Свидетелство за миналото на българите в южна Македония през първата половина на XX век. // Македонски преглед XLV (3). 2022. с. 68 - 79.
5. Oikonomou, Aineias. (2012). "Design and Tracing of Post-Byzantine Churches in the Florina Area, Northwestern Greece". Nexus Network Journal.
6. Sprache und Leben der frühmittelalterlichen Slaven, Elena Stadnik-Holzer, Georg Holzer, Radoslav Katičic, Peter Lang, 2010, {{ISBN
7. [http://www.promacedonia.org/bmark/vch/vch_pisma.htm Васил Чекаларов, Дневник 1901-1903 година, Ива Бурилкова, Цочо Билярски, ИК „Синева” София, 2001, стр.296.]
8. Македония и Одринско (1893-1903). Мемоар на Вътрешната организация, 1904, с. 204-205
9. Pludered loyalties: axis occupation and civil strife in Greek West ... - Page 47 Giannēs Koliopoulos - 1999 "Krystallopigi, on the same road before it enters Albania and at an altitude of 1050 metres, is part of the same complex of ... of Moschochori secured for its 105 families (680 inhabitants) an average income of 10,750 Drs. Similar soil, climate, ..."
10. [http://www.promacedonia.org/mpr/ohrana.html Добрин Мичев. Българското национално дело в Югозападна Македония (1941 – 1944 г.)]
11. {{harvnb. Alvanos. 2005
12. Alvanos, Raymondos. (2005). "Κοινωνικές συγκρούσεις και πολιτικές συμπεριφορές στην περιοχή της Καστοριάς (1922–1949)". Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
13. Бурилкова, Ива. Кратка автобиография и спомени на Крум Константинов Петишев за революционната му дейност в поробена Македония, Известия на държавните архиви, бр. 85-86, София 2003, с. 253; Михайлов, Иван. Спомени, т. II, Louvian 1965, с.156-157; Николов, Борис Й. “Вътрешна Македоно-одринска революционна организация. Войводи и ръководители (1893-1934). Биографично-библиографски справочник”, С. 2001, с. 47.