Soufli
Encyclopedia
Soufli is a city in the Evros peripheral unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs on the Rhodope Mountains
. It is situated in the center of the Evros peripheral unit, 65 km north of Alexandroupoli
and 50 km southwest of Orestiada
, on Greek National Road 51/E85
which links Alexandroupoli with Edirne
and the Bulgaria
n border at Ormenio
. The town center is only 500m from the Evros River
. Soufli is the seat of the municipality of Soufli.
. The first recorded mention of Soufli date to ca. 1667, when the Ottoman
traveler Evliya Çelebi
reported that it was a large village free from taxation. He refers to it by its Turkish name 'Sofulu,' an appellation that probably derives from a nearby dervish
monastery. Another version, however, attributes the origins of the name to a Byzantine landowner called 'Souflis'. Beginning in the 19th century, Soufli became an administrative center of a rich province of almost 60,000 inhabitants, extending on both sides of the Evros valley. As one of the few population centers in the region, Soufli became an important trading center. From the records of the Greek Consulate in Adrianople state that in 1858 there was a mutual teaching school in Soufli for which the community put up 6,500 piastre
s to pay for teachers. Between 1870 and 1880, Soufli developed significantly. The construction of the railway and of the railway station (1872) contributed to its economic development. At the same time, the discovery of a method to fight against the diseases of cocoons by Louis Pasteur
contributed to the fast development of sericulture
. In 1877, the number of the inhabitants of Soufli is estimated to be around 4,680. By 1900, the population had risen to 10,000 inhabitants, and in 1908 to 12,000–13,000 inhabitants. Together with its importance as a trading center, Soufli was also recognized as an important craft center. The city's cart
wrights who provided the whole region of Thrace
with ox-carts, famous for their exceptional stability. The second most important industry in Soufli, next to sericulture, was viniculture. Wine production in Soufli during the 19th century was just under 2,000,000L. However, the development of sericulture and the diffusion of the cultivation of mulberry trees
that followed, resulted in the reduction of the land devoted to vines. But sericulture, although popular, was not the only occupation. It was considered to be more of a side-line and seasonal occupation. It had entered every house in Soufli, and during the two months of May and June it occupied farmers, merchants and craftsmen and provided significant income.
Known as the Town of Silk, Soufli is also famous for its wine, tsipouro
(a local strong alcoholic drink), and cooked meats.
, and, subsequently World War I after that transformed the region of Thrace into a seat of war operations, resulting in the crisis of sericulture and the general downgrading of the region until 1920. In addition, the incorporation of Soufli in Greece after 1922 has indicated its economic decline. The loss of the inland on the eastern riverside of Evros
and the subsequent decrease in population of what was now the Greek province of Soufli resulted in the dwindling of the local market and, consequently, the restriction of the trading and craft activities of the town. That is how Soufli, from the transit and trading center it used to be, was transformed into borderland, with all the subsequent disadvantages. Moreover, the partition of Thrace deprived Soufli from a large part of its estates in the eastern riverside of Evros, which now passed into Turkish possession. In particular, in 1922, 2250 acres (9.1 km²) of mulberry trees and 625 acres (2.5 km²) of fields remained in the possession of Soufli, while the vineyards were completely destroyed by vine louse. During the new period beginning with the incorporation of Soufli in Greece, sericulture remained as the most important source of income for the inhabitants of Soufli. The cultivation of wheat, corn
and rye
provided the town with self-sufficiency as far as nutrition was concerned, and the inhabitants made use of the empty space among mulberry trees and planted mainly legumes and other early or late cereals (multi-culture).
, every trading or intellectual activity is stopped. Life is only vestigial. With the withdrawal of the Germans in August 1944 and the beginning of the civil war
, Soufli is once more full of life. The inhabitants of the nearby villages gather in Soufli for safety, and they stay there until the end of 1948.
Soufli was affected by flooding in its low-lying areas in the 1960s, 1998, 2005 and 2006.
It is housed in the Kourtidis Mansion (1883) and was set up in 1990. The purpose of the permanent exhibition housed on the ground floor of the Kourtidis Mansion is to show the pre-industrial techniques by which silkworms were bred (sericulture) and silk was woven. It also deals with the socio-economic significance of these activities for Soufli and the surrounding area. The exhibition is arranged as four units with 46 separate sets of exhibits of two -dimensional documentation and information material (texts, photographs, drawings, maps) and items traditionally associated with sericulture and silk-weaving.
The first exhibition unit relates the history of silk over time, beginning with China, continuing through Greek and Roman antiquity and Byzantium and covering both the West and the Ottoman period. The second exhibition unit has as its theme the stages in the breeding of silkworms from the production of the "silk-seed" to the suffocation of the cocoons. The third exhibition unit is devoted to the manufacturing of silk, from the cleaning and sorting of the cocoons to the weaving of the fine silks which Soufli once produced. The fourth exhibition unit deals with the broader socio-economic background against which silk-weaving developed in Greece and the rest of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis on the rise and decline of the silk industry in Soufli and its contribution to the development of the town. The printed matter on the Silk Museum consists of a leaflet/poster and a monograph entitled Sericulture in Soufli. An educational programme entitled "Unwinding a cocoon ..., addressed to the first classes of primary scholl and covering traditional sericulture and silk-weaving, has been prepared as part of the MELINA project (Ministry of Culture, Benaki Museum).
A more recent addition to the silk museums in Soufli is the Art of Silk Museum belonging to the Tsiakiris Family Silkmills. Opened in September 2008 in a renovated Neoclassical building (1886) on the main thoroughfare of the town, it displays the full sequence of sericulture (with live silkworms on show most of the year) and shows the more industrial side of silk manufacture and weaving incorporating fully functional machinery and exhibits from the Tsiakiri factory and videos of the various stages and methods of production. It features both live and electronically assisted guided tours (available in several languages).
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
. It is situated in the center of the Evros peripheral unit, 65 km north of Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
and 50 km southwest of Orestiada
Orestiada
Orestiada is the northeasternmost and northernmost city of Greece and the second largest city of the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace. The population is around 25,000. Orestiada is only 2 km west of the banks of the Evros, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey...
, on Greek National Road 51/E85
E85
E85 is an abbreviation for an ethanol fuel blend of up to 85% denatured ethanol fuel and gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. E85 is commonly used by flex-fuel vehicles in the US, Canada, and Europe. Some of the benefits of E85 over conventional gasoline powered vehicles include the potential...
which links Alexandroupoli with Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
and the 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 border at Ormenio
Ormenio
Ormenio is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is located in the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros Prefecture of Thrace, immediately south of the Bulgarian border. Ormenio is located west-northwest of Orestiada, about 200 km north of Alexandroupoli, about 40 km west of...
. The town center is only 500m from the Evros River
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
. Soufli is the seat of the municipality of Soufli.
History
Archaeological finds and tombs discovered in the area confirm that a settlement stood on the site during the Hellenistic periodHellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
. The first recorded mention of Soufli date to ca. 1667, when the Ottoman
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...
traveler Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
reported that it was a large village free from taxation. He refers to it by its Turkish name 'Sofulu,' an appellation that probably derives from a nearby dervish
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
monastery. Another version, however, attributes the origins of the name to a Byzantine landowner called 'Souflis'. Beginning in the 19th century, Soufli became an administrative center of a rich province of almost 60,000 inhabitants, extending on both sides of the Evros valley. As one of the few population centers in the region, Soufli became an important trading center. From the records of the Greek Consulate in Adrianople state that in 1858 there was a mutual teaching school in Soufli for which the community put up 6,500 piastre
Piastre
The piastre or piaster refers to a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for 'thin metal plate'. The name was applied to Spanish and Latin American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Levant in the 16th century.These pesos, minted continually for...
s to pay for teachers. Between 1870 and 1880, Soufli developed significantly. The construction of the railway and of the railway station (1872) contributed to its economic development. At the same time, the discovery of a method to fight against the diseases of cocoons by Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
contributed to the fast development of sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...
. In 1877, the number of the inhabitants of Soufli is estimated to be around 4,680. By 1900, the population had risen to 10,000 inhabitants, and in 1908 to 12,000–13,000 inhabitants. Together with its importance as a trading center, Soufli was also recognized as an important craft center. The city's cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
wrights who provided the whole region of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
with ox-carts, famous for their exceptional stability. The second most important industry in Soufli, next to sericulture, was viniculture. Wine production in Soufli during the 19th century was just under 2,000,000L. However, the development of sericulture and the diffusion of the cultivation of mulberry trees
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
that followed, resulted in the reduction of the land devoted to vines. But sericulture, although popular, was not the only occupation. It was considered to be more of a side-line and seasonal occupation. It had entered every house in Soufli, and during the two months of May and June it occupied farmers, merchants and craftsmen and provided significant income.
Known as the Town of Silk, Soufli is also famous for its wine, tsipouro
Tsipouro
Tsipouro is a pomace brandy from Greece and in particular Thessaly , Epirus, Macedonia, Mani Peninsula, and the island of Crete . Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing approximately 45 percent alcohol by volume and is produced from the pomace...
(a local strong alcoholic drink), and cooked meats.
Cultural flourishing
Together with economic development there came socio-cultural flourishing and the intellectual level of the inhabitants was raised. Before the middle of the 19th century, the two churches of Saint George and Saint Athanassios were already built and are still standing as real jewels of the town. Around 1860, we have the creation of the Civil School (today it is the town's Second Elementary School), and in 1880–82 the Girls School of Soufli is built and comes into operation (today's First Elementary School). In 1878, the ´Dramatic society of Soufli´ was already in existence, and in 1905–10 another 'Dramatic society' comes forward. Music has been taught in the Civil School since 1900.Balkan wars – World War I
The Balkan warsBalkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, and, subsequently World War I after that transformed the region of Thrace into a seat of war operations, resulting in the crisis of sericulture and the general downgrading of the region until 1920. In addition, the incorporation of Soufli in Greece after 1922 has indicated its economic decline. The loss of the inland on the eastern riverside of Evros
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
and the subsequent decrease in population of what was now the Greek province of Soufli resulted in the dwindling of the local market and, consequently, the restriction of the trading and craft activities of the town. That is how Soufli, from the transit and trading center it used to be, was transformed into borderland, with all the subsequent disadvantages. Moreover, the partition of Thrace deprived Soufli from a large part of its estates in the eastern riverside of Evros, which now passed into Turkish possession. In particular, in 1922, 2250 acres (9.1 km²) of mulberry trees and 625 acres (2.5 km²) of fields remained in the possession of Soufli, while the vineyards were completely destroyed by vine louse. During the new period beginning with the incorporation of Soufli in Greece, sericulture remained as the most important source of income for the inhabitants of Soufli. The cultivation of wheat, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
provided the town with self-sufficiency as far as nutrition was concerned, and the inhabitants made use of the empty space among mulberry trees and planted mainly legumes and other early or late cereals (multi-culture).
World War II
With World War II and the German occupationOccupation of Greece by Nazi Germany
The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II began in April 1941 after the German and Italian invasion of Greece. The occupation lasted until the German withdrawal from the mainland in October 1944...
, every trading or intellectual activity is stopped. Life is only vestigial. With the withdrawal of the Germans in August 1944 and the beginning of the civil war
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, Soufli is once more full of life. The inhabitants of the nearby villages gather in Soufli for safety, and they stay there until the end of 1948.
More recent years
Since 1949, the inhabitants of Soufli, peace-loving, forward-looking and hardworking, have never ceased to fight in order to ameliorate their living conditions. However, the invention of synthetic silk and the fall of the prices of cocoons have led to the decline of sericulture. Mulberry trees are becoming fewer and fewer, and after the re-allotment of land they have almost vanished. The decline of sericulture, in combination with the lack of industrial units, has forced the population to move towards urban areas or even abroad.Soufli was affected by flooding in its low-lying areas in the 1960s, 1998, 2005 and 2006.
Silk museums of Soufli
The older Silk Museum in Soufli (Thrace) belongs to the Museum Network of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP).It is housed in the Kourtidis Mansion (1883) and was set up in 1990. The purpose of the permanent exhibition housed on the ground floor of the Kourtidis Mansion is to show the pre-industrial techniques by which silkworms were bred (sericulture) and silk was woven. It also deals with the socio-economic significance of these activities for Soufli and the surrounding area. The exhibition is arranged as four units with 46 separate sets of exhibits of two -dimensional documentation and information material (texts, photographs, drawings, maps) and items traditionally associated with sericulture and silk-weaving.
The first exhibition unit relates the history of silk over time, beginning with China, continuing through Greek and Roman antiquity and Byzantium and covering both the West and the Ottoman period. The second exhibition unit has as its theme the stages in the breeding of silkworms from the production of the "silk-seed" to the suffocation of the cocoons. The third exhibition unit is devoted to the manufacturing of silk, from the cleaning and sorting of the cocoons to the weaving of the fine silks which Soufli once produced. The fourth exhibition unit deals with the broader socio-economic background against which silk-weaving developed in Greece and the rest of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis on the rise and decline of the silk industry in Soufli and its contribution to the development of the town. The printed matter on the Silk Museum consists of a leaflet/poster and a monograph entitled Sericulture in Soufli. An educational programme entitled "Unwinding a cocoon ..., addressed to the first classes of primary scholl and covering traditional sericulture and silk-weaving, has been prepared as part of the MELINA project (Ministry of Culture, Benaki Museum).
A more recent addition to the silk museums in Soufli is the Art of Silk Museum belonging to the Tsiakiris Family Silkmills. Opened in September 2008 in a renovated Neoclassical building (1886) on the main thoroughfare of the town, it displays the full sequence of sericulture (with live silkworms on show most of the year) and shows the more industrial side of silk manufacture and weaving incorporating fully functional machinery and exhibits from the Tsiakiri factory and videos of the various stages and methods of production. It features both live and electronically assisted guided tours (available in several languages).
Municipality
The municipality Soufli was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- OrfeasOrfeasOrfeas , named after the mythical musician Orpheus, is a former municipality in the Evros peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Soufli, of which it is a municipal unit. Its land area is 643.266 km² and its...
- Soufli
- TycheroTycheroTycheró is a town and a former municipality in the Evros peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Soufli, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,103 . Tychero is connected and bypassed with the GR-51/E85...
Communities
The municipal unit of Soufli comprises the following communities and settlements (population numbers as of the 2001 census):- Soufli [ 5,009 ]
-
- Soufli [ 4,258 ]
- Giannouli [ 276 ]
- Sidiro [ 475 ]
-
- DadiaDadiaDadia is a village in the northwestern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece located south-southwest of Orestiada, southwest of Soufli north of Feres. Dadia is linked with the road connecting to the GR-51/E85 to the east. Dadia is in the municipality of Soufli...
[ 823 ]-
- Dadia [ 800 ]
- Kotronia [ 23 ]
- Monastery of Dadia [ 0 ]
-
- Kornofolea [ 579 ]
-
- Kornofolea [ 566 ]
- Monastery of Kornofolea [ 13 ]
-
- Lagyna [ 478 ]
- Lykofos [ 630 ]