Kilkis
Encyclopedia
Kilkis is an industrial city in Central Macedonia
, Greece
. As of 2001 there were 17,430 people living in the city proper, 24,812 people living in the municipal unit, and 56,336 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional unit of Kilkis.
it is known as Kukush (Кукуш, Kukuš), while it was called Kilkitsi or Kılkış by the Ottomans.
In classical antiquity
, the wider region of Kilkis was ruled by the kingdom of Macedon
. At the time, Kilkis was in the center of a region called Krestonia. When Phillip II of Macedon visited Krestonia, the locals offered him olives from Krestonia valley, something that he had never eaten before. At that time, many towns flourished in the region, such as Idomeni, Atalanti
(Axioupoli
nowadays), Gortynia (Gorgopi nowadays), Planitsa(Fyska nowadays), Terpillos, Klitae (Xylokeratia nowadays), Vragylos (Metalliko
nowadays), Ioron (Palatiano nowadays), Chaetae (Tsaousitsa nowadays), Carabia (Limnotopos nowadays), Bairos (Kastro nowadays), Morrylos (Ano Apostoli nowadays), Doveros (Doirani
nowadays), Evropos
and Kallindria.
took over the area. In late antiquity
the area of Kilkis saw invasions of different tribes, such as the Goths
, the Huns
, the Avars
and the Slavs, some of whom gradually settled in the Balkan Peninsula.
In the Middle Ages
, Kilkis changed hands several times between the Byzantine
and Bulgarian Empire
s. In the 10th century, it was sacked by the Bulgarians
, and some of the inhabitants moved to Calabria
, in southern Italy, where they founded the village of Gallicianò
. During the reign of the Palaeologus dynasty, the region saw the completion of a number of important infrastructure works.
came under Ottoman rule. After 1850, there was one Greek church, "Panagia tou Kilkis", (Madonna of Kilkis), at the foot of Saint George hill and one Greek school.
By the mid-19th century Kilkis was a primarily Bulgaria
n-populated town. According to one estimate, there were about 500 Greeks
, 500 Turks
and 4500 Bulgarians
in the town at the time. A 1873 Ottoman study concluded that the population of Kilkis consisted of 1,170 households of which there were 5,235 Bulgarian inhabitants, 155 Muslims and 40 Romani people. A Vasil Kanchov
study of 1900 counted 7,000 Bulgarian and 750 Turkish inhabitants in the town. Another survey in 1905 established the presence of 9,712 Exarchists
, 40 Patriachists
, 592 Uniate Christians and 16 Protestants.
In 1904-1908, the Greek inhabitants of Kilkis participated in the Macedonian Struggle
. The leaders of Greek efforts were Georgios Samaras, Ioannis Doiranlis and Petros Koukidis with their armed corps. Evangelia Traianou-Tzoukou and Ekaterini Stampouli were the leaders for the Greek education and hospitalization of Macedonian fighters,. Great support to the Greek efforts was given by the Chatziapostolou family. The Chatziapostolou family owned a great farm in Metalliko
, the field crop of which was almost completely given to fund the Greek efforts. The farm also served a shelter for the Macedonian fighters.
of 1912, the Ottoman Empire
was defeated by the Balkan League
and forced to concede almost all of its European territories, leaving Kilkis within the new boundaries of Bulgaria
. In the Second Balkan War
of 1913, the Greek army captured the city from the Bulgarians after the three-day Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
between June 19 and June 21. The battle was costly, with over 8,652 casualties on the Greek side and 7,000 on the Bulgarian side. The significance of the Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
can be appreciated by the fact that Greece named a battleship after the city, the Kilkís
. Kilkis was almost completely destroyed by the Greek Army during the battle and later and virtually all of its 7,000 pre-war Bulgarian
inhabitants were expelled to Bulgaria. The new town was built closer to the railway tracks to Thessaloniki, around the Greek church of St. George, and was settled by Greeks transferred from Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire
and Yugoslavia
, especially from Strumica
; they built the Church of the Pentekaídeka Martýrōn ("15 Martyrs", named after the main Patriarchal church in Strumica). The resettled Greeks were so many that Kilkis was temporarily renamed Néa Stromnítsa (New Strumica).
In the mid-twenties, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, when Greece lost its Asia Minor
territories to Turkey, waves of refugees came to Kilkis, thus giving a new boost to the region and contributing to the increase of its population. Likewise, the Turks (a generic term for the Turkish and Albanian Muslim population) of the region had to leave for the new Turkish state in the exchange of populations. By 1928, 1,679 Refugee families containing 6,433 individuals had been resettled in Kilkis. Barely two decades later, World War II
broke out and the region was devastated once again.
and Halkidiki, after the Nazis allowed so. The most significant event during the occupation were clashes between the communist-led EAM and collaborationist Security Battalions
.
Central Macedonia
Central Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the region of Macedonia. With a population of over 1.8 million, it is the second most populous in Greece after Attica.- Administration :...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. As of 2001 there were 17,430 people living in the city proper, 24,812 people living in the municipal unit, and 56,336 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional unit of Kilkis.
Name
Kilkis is located in a region that was multi-ethnic in the recent past and is known by several different names. The name of the city in early Byzantine times was Kallikon, and was also known as Kalkis or Kilkis by the Greeks. In church Codix of 1732 it is mentioned as Kilkisi (Κηλκήση). In the South Slavic languagesSouth Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
it is known as Kukush (Кукуш, Kukuš), while it was called Kilkitsi or Kılkış by the Ottomans.
Municipality
The municipality Kilkis was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 7 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- ChersoChersoCherso is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,482 . In the municipal unit of Cherso lies the historical village of Kalindria. Kalindria...
- DoiraniDoiraniDoirani is a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated on the shores of Dojran Lake, which marks the border between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. It...
- GallikosGallikosGallikos is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,279...
- Kilkis
- KroussaKroussaKroussa is a former municipality in Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the northeastern corner of the regional unit, bordering western Serres and northern Thessaloniki. Its...
- MouriesMouriesMouries is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, northern Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,390 . The seat of the municipality was in Stathmos Mourion...
- PikrolimniPikrolimniPikrolimni is a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,395 . The seat of the municipality was in Mikrokampos. From Mikrokampos, there was the great...
Communities
The municipal unit Kilkis consists of the following communities (settlements):- Kilkis (Kilkis, Argyroupoli, Zacharato, Kolchida, MetallikoMetalliko, KilkisMetalliko is a settlement in the city of Kilkis, in northern Greece, located west of downtown. In 2001 the settlement's population was 372. The village is named after its nearby spring which is a Greek word for mineral, named in the mid-20th century...
, Xirovrysi, Sevasto) - Chorygi
- Kastanies
- Kristoni
- Leipsydrio (Leipsydrio, Akropotamia, Ano Potamia, Kato Potamia)
- Megali Vrysi
- Melanthio
- Mesiano (Mesiano, Dafnochori, Leventochori, Palaio Gynaikokastro)
- Stavrochori
- Vaptistis (Vaptistis, Kyriakaiika)
Ancient age
Findings dating back to as early as the Bronze and Iron Age have been excavated in the vicinity of Kilkis, including ancient tombs of the 2nd millennium BC.In classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, the wider region of Kilkis was ruled by the kingdom of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
. At the time, Kilkis was in the center of a region called Krestonia. When Phillip II of Macedon visited Krestonia, the locals offered him olives from Krestonia valley, something that he had never eaten before. At that time, many towns flourished in the region, such as Idomeni, Atalanti
Atalanti (Bottiaea)
Atalanta or Allante or Allantium was an ancient city of Bottiaea, between Gortynia and Europos, near Axius river, which may have been built by the Bottiaeans before their expulsion by Macedonians to Bottike. Axioupoli of today's Kilkis Prefecture claims to be the ancient location. N. G. L...
(Axioupoli
Axioupoli
Axioupoli , known until 1927 as Boymitsa , is a small town and a former municipality in the former Paionia Province of Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Paionia, of which it is a municipal unit...
nowadays), Gortynia (Gorgopi nowadays), Planitsa(Fyska nowadays), Terpillos, Klitae (Xylokeratia nowadays), Vragylos (Metalliko
Metalliko, Kilkis
Metalliko is a settlement in the city of Kilkis, in northern Greece, located west of downtown. In 2001 the settlement's population was 372. The village is named after its nearby spring which is a Greek word for mineral, named in the mid-20th century...
nowadays), Ioron (Palatiano nowadays), Chaetae (Tsaousitsa nowadays), Carabia (Limnotopos nowadays), Bairos (Kastro nowadays), Morrylos (Ano Apostoli nowadays), Doveros (Doirani
Doirani
Doirani is a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated on the shores of Dojran Lake, which marks the border between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. It...
nowadays), Evropos
Evropos
Evropos is a village and a former municipality in the former Paionia Province, Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Paionia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 6,042 . In the Macedonian Struggle a lot of locals fought for...
and Kallindria.
Roman and Byzantine era
In 148 BC, the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
took over the area. In late antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
the area of Kilkis saw invasions of different tribes, such as the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
and the Slavs, some of whom gradually settled in the Balkan Peninsula.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Kilkis changed hands several times between the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
s. In the 10th century, it was sacked by the Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, and some of the inhabitants moved to Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, in southern Italy, where they founded the village of Gallicianò
Gallicianò
Gallicianò is a village in Calabria, southern Italy, administratively a frazione of Condofuri. It has some 200 inhabitants, who are entirely Greek-Calabrian dialect speaking....
. During the reign of the Palaeologus dynasty, the region saw the completion of a number of important infrastructure works.
Ottoman rule
The period of prosperity ended in 1430, when Thessalonica and the entire region of MacedoniaMacedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
came under Ottoman rule. After 1850, there was one Greek church, "Panagia tou Kilkis", (Madonna of Kilkis), at the foot of Saint George hill and one Greek school.
By the mid-19th century Kilkis was a primarily Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n-populated town. According to one estimate, there were about 500 Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, 500 Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and 4500 Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
in the town at the time. A 1873 Ottoman study concluded that the population of Kilkis consisted of 1,170 households of which there were 5,235 Bulgarian inhabitants, 155 Muslims and 40 Romani people. A Vasil Kanchov
Vasil Kanchov
Vasil Kanchov was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer and politician.- Biography :Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school in Lom, Bulgaria, he entered the University of Harkov, then in Russia. During the Serbo-Bulgarian War 1885 he suspended his education and took part...
study of 1900 counted 7,000 Bulgarian and 750 Turkish inhabitants in the town. Another survey in 1905 established the presence of 9,712 Exarchists
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
, 40 Patriachists
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, 592 Uniate Christians and 16 Protestants.
In 1904-1908, the Greek inhabitants of Kilkis participated in the Macedonian Struggle
Greek Struggle for Macedonia
The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908...
. The leaders of Greek efforts were Georgios Samaras, Ioannis Doiranlis and Petros Koukidis with their armed corps. Evangelia Traianou-Tzoukou and Ekaterini Stampouli were the leaders for the Greek education and hospitalization of Macedonian fighters,. Great support to the Greek efforts was given by the Chatziapostolou family. The Chatziapostolou family owned a great farm in Metalliko
Metalliko, Kilkis
Metalliko is a settlement in the city of Kilkis, in northern Greece, located west of downtown. In 2001 the settlement's population was 372. The village is named after its nearby spring which is a Greek word for mineral, named in the mid-20th century...
, the field crop of which was almost completely given to fund the Greek efforts. The farm also served a shelter for the Macedonian fighters.
First and Second Balkan Wars
During the First Balkan WarFirst Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
of 1912, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was defeated by the Balkan League
Balkan League
The Balkan League was an alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of the Balkan peninsula...
and forced to concede almost all of its European territories, leaving Kilkis within the new boundaries of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. In the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
of 1913, the Greek army captured the city from the Bulgarians after the three-day Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
The Battle of Kilkis–Lahanas took place during the Second Balkan War between Greece and Bulgaria for the town of Kilkis in Macedonia. The battle lasted three days from 19 to 21 June 1913 and ended with a Greek victory.-Background:...
between June 19 and June 21. The battle was costly, with over 8,652 casualties on the Greek side and 7,000 on the Bulgarian side. The significance of the Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
The Battle of Kilkis–Lahanas took place during the Second Balkan War between Greece and Bulgaria for the town of Kilkis in Macedonia. The battle lasted three days from 19 to 21 June 1913 and ended with a Greek victory.-Background:...
can be appreciated by the fact that Greece named a battleship after the city, the Kilkís
Greek Battleship Kilkis
Kilkis was a 13,000 ton Mississippi-class battleship originally built by the US Navy in 1904–1908. The Greek Navy purchased the ship in 1914, along with her sister , renamed Limnos. Kilkis was named for the Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas, a crucial engagement of the Second Balkan War...
. Kilkis was almost completely destroyed by the Greek Army during the battle and later and virtually all of its 7,000 pre-war Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
inhabitants were expelled to Bulgaria. The new town was built closer to the railway tracks to Thessaloniki, around the Greek church of St. George, and was settled by Greeks transferred from Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, especially from Strumica
Strumica
Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
; they built the Church of the Pentekaídeka Martýrōn ("15 Martyrs", named after the main Patriarchal church in Strumica). The resettled Greeks were so many that Kilkis was temporarily renamed Néa Stromnítsa (New Strumica).
In the mid-twenties, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, when Greece lost its Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
territories to Turkey, waves of refugees came to Kilkis, thus giving a new boost to the region and contributing to the increase of its population. Likewise, the Turks (a generic term for the Turkish and Albanian Muslim population) of the region had to leave for the new Turkish state in the exchange of populations. By 1928, 1,679 Refugee families containing 6,433 individuals had been resettled in Kilkis. Barely two decades later, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out and the region was devastated once again.
World War II
During the occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers in World War II, Kilkis was included in the Bulgarian zone of occupation, which was expanded to include the prefectures of KilkisKilkis Prefecture
Kilkis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kilkis.-Geography:The mountains near Kilkis are Paiko to the west, parts of the western part of Kerkini to the northeast and Krousia to the east...
and Halkidiki, after the Nazis allowed so. The most significant event during the occupation were clashes between the communist-led EAM and collaborationist Security Battalions
Security Battalions
The Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops.- History :...
.
People
- Dimitrios Bisbasis "Basis", singer
- Viki ChadjivassiliouVicky HadjivassiliouEvridiki Hadjivassiliou , also spelling as Hadjivasiliou or Hadjivasileiou, is a Greek author, television presenter and local politician who stood for PASOK in Thessaloniki, Greece. She was born and raised in Kilkis....
, journalist - Petar DarvingovPetar DarvingovPetar Georgiev Darvingov or Peter Darvingov was a Bulgarian officer, revolutionary and military historian, corresponding member of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1932.-Biography:...
, officer and military historian - Gotse DelchevGotse DelchevGeorgi Nikolov Delchev was an important revolutionary figure in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the turn of the 20th century...
, revolutionary from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (1872–1903) - Georgios Floridis, politician, ex-minister
- Konstantinos Kiltidis, politician, ex-minister
- Dimitrios Markos, footballer
- Loukas MavrokefalidisLoukas MavrokefalidisLoukas Mavrokefalidis is a Greek professional basketball player...
, professional basketball player (1984) - Konstantinos Vasileiadis, professional basketball player (1984)
- Theodoros Mouratidis, politician
- Lazaros Pavlidis, author (1929–2004)
- Panteleimon Savvidis, journalist, TV presenter
- Hristo SmirnenskiHristo SmirnenskiHristo Smirnenski , born as Hristo Izmirliev, was a Bulgarian poet and prose writer. His hometown was Kukush in Macedonia, Ottoman Empire, , which had militant traditions and an enterprising population. Hristo spent a happy childhood in a friendly and understanding patriarchal home...
, poet (1898–1923) - Alexander Stanishev, scientist and politician, ex-minister
- Savvas TsitouridisSavvas TsitouridisSavvas Tsitouridis is a Greek politician and member of the New Democracy and former Minister for Employment and Social Protection. Born in Kilkis, he studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, France and Britain...
, politician, ex-minister - Dimitar VlahovDimitar VlahovDimitar Yanakiev Vlahov was a revolutionary from the region of Macedonia and member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement...
, revolutionary (1878–1953)