05/03/2007
Municipality of Prosotsani

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Κείμενο: The Municipality of Prosotsani is located at the northeast of the town of Drama. Far from the main road routes of economic development (the Drama ? Kavala road, the modern highway of Egnatia Odos), the Municipality struggles to carry on and make some progress by taking advantage of the fertile valley, the forests, the beauty of the nature, the archaeological finds and the aquatic wealth. The area is a beautiful mosaic of mountain grasslands, wild horses, rare wild flowers, wild rocks and abrupt mountain slopes of unique beauty, gorges and remains of ancient temples, Byzantine castles and churches. The Municipality has a total population of 11,500 inhabitants and covers an area of 418,956 Km2. Due to the immigration in the past years and the urban-pull migration, the population is gradually descending. The main occupations of the inhabitants are agriculture and livestock farming. In the last years, efforts have been made aiming in the development of the tourist sector by taking advantage of and promoting the natural beauties of the area like the splendid Aggitis cave with its famous stalactites and stalagmites, the imposing gorge of Petrousa in Pyrgoi, the amazing chestnut forest, the archaeological finds of Kastania, and many others.
The Municipality is seated at Prosotsani, which is situated 15 km from the town of Drama. During the hard times of the Macedonian struggle, the town enjoyed wealth and prosperity as it can be attested by the educational centres of the early 20th century, the neoclassical houses of the same period and the tobacco stores of Chalatsi and Chatziconstantinou. Aghios Panteleimonas, a building of the times of the Palaeologi, is one of the most distinguishable monuments in the area, located at a distance of 2.5 km from Prosotsani.
The intellectual life of Prosotsoni is also worth mentioning. In earlier times, the inhabitants were interested in the education of the people and in strengthening national conscience during the times of the Turkish domination. The Greek Orthodox community of Prosotsani had a civil male school and a female school, already from the 19th century. The people of this area have never stopped caring about culture. The active Municipality?s Philarmonic Band with the collaboration of the societies of both the locals and the descendants of refugees are the tradition keepers of many centuries. The human mosaic of locals, Vlachoi, Epirotes, Thracians, people from Asia Minor and Pontus is reflected in the variety of cultural events that are organized annually. This rich cultural identity becomes even more obvious every summer, during the seven-day festival in horour of Prophet Elias.
Apart from Prosotsani, the Municipality includes the districts of Petrousa, Stavros, Mikropoli, Kallithea, Kali Brysi, Kokkinogeia, Aggitis, Piges, Grammeni, Pyrgoi, Anthochori, Charitomeni and Panorama. Petrousa is the place of Angelos Kougioumtzis, the folk painter, whose work has been exhibited in Greece and abroad and many of his paintings are exhibited in museums, galleries of the Prefecture of Drama or included in several private collections. The forest of Kastania and the grasslands of the plateau of Kallipoli with the wandering wild horses are found in Mikropoli. Tomb inscriptions and coins dating to the Roman and the Byzantine periods were uncovered in Kallithea. In this area, into a nice environment full of plane trees, visitors can find taverns and rock-cut caves (the so-called ?pistiries?). It is an ideal place for rest, recreation and savouring the local gastronomy.