Choristi Explained

Choristi
Name Local:Χωριστή
Type:community
Caption Skyline:A dark sunset in Choristi
Coordinates:41.13°N 36.5°W
Elevation Max:96
Periph:East Macedonia and Thrace
Periphunit:Drama
Municipality:Drama
Municunit:Drama
Population As Of:2021
Population:2512

Choristi (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Χωριστή, before 1927: Τσατάλτζα – Tsataltza,[1] Bulgarian: ЧаталджаChataldzha) is a town in Drama municipality, Drama regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace region, Greece. The town is located about 8 km southeast of Drama and has a population of 2,512 (2021 census). The elevation is approximately 98 m.

History

According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"), 1.750 Greek Christians and 300 Turks lived in the village in 1900.[2] The town was known as Τσατάλτζα – Tsataltza,[1] until renamed in 1927. During World War I from 1916 to 1918 the town was occupied by Bulgarian troops and the local men were shipped out to concentration camps in Bulgaria. Due to abuse, hunger and disease from the 525 hostages of Choristi less than 50 managed to return to Greece.[3] During World War II, the occupying Axis powers executed a number of people in Choristi as "terrorists" or "resistance fighters" or their sympathizers, this came to be known as the "Choristi Massacre".[4] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Name Changes of Settlements in Greece . Pandektis . 11 August 2022.
  2. [Vasil Kanchov|Kanchov, Vasil]
  3. Mazower, Mark (2000) After the War was Over Princeton University Press, New Jersey, page 292: "although of the 525 hostages of Choristi, fewer than fifty returned"
  4. Mazower, Mark (2000) After the War was Over Princeton University Press, New Jersey, page 287,
  5. Michal, Bernard (1971) Histoire Secrète des Maquis Étrangers (The Secret History of the Resistance – outside France) Ed. de Crémille, Geneva, volume 4, page 20,, in French