Oreini, Serres Explained

Oreini
Name Local:	Ορεινή
Type:	municipal unit
Periph:	Central Macedonia
Periphunit:	Serres
Population:	575
Population As Of:	2021
Area:	54.3
Coordinates:	41.2°N 59°W
Licence:	ΕΡ
Caption Skyline:	General view of Oreini

Oreini (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Ορεινή) is a village and a former community in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Serres, of which it is a municipal unit.^[1] The municipal unit has an area of 54.309 km².^[2] Population is 575 inhabitants (2021).

Northeast of the modern village (approximately 2 km), on the hill of "Prophet Helias", the site of a Roman settlement has been identified.^{[3] [4]} His foundation, dating back to early antiquity, is associated with the rich iron mines of mountain Vrontous, as is evidenced by the discovery of an iron smelter side the ruins of a Roman castle, located 3–4 km east of the hill of "Prophet Helias".^[5]

The ruins of Banitsa, a formerly Bulgarian inhabited village abandoned in 1913, are also nearby.

See also

List of settlements in the Serres regional unit

Notes and References

1. Web site: ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities. el. Government Gazette.
2. Web site: Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation). National Statistical Service of Greece. el.
3. Dimitrios C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Eastern Macedonia during the Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1976 (Society for Macedonian Studies), p. 174. .
4. Dimitrios C. Samsaris, A History of Serres (in the Ancient and Roman times) (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1999, p. 167 (Website of Municipality of Serres)
5. Dimitrios C. Samsaris, Ancient castle and iron smelter near the modern village Oreini of Serres (in Greek), Makedonika 19 (1979), p. 240-251