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HISTORIC NEIGHBOURHOODS OF DOLCHO AND APOZARI, KASTORIA
2014-02-28
The lakeside mountain city of Kastoria in Greek Macedonia is one of the most distinguished in Southeast Europe. It has an unequalled number of medieval churches dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries, while its 18th-19th century mansions, based on the wealth brought in by the fur trade, are among the finest in the wider region.
Since World War II, Kastoria has suffered considerable damage as a result of population growth and the development of contemporary apartment blocks. Today two neighbourhoods constitute the surviving historic nucleus of the city, namely Dolcho and Apozari. In these quarters there are 370 listed buildings, 351 in private and 19 in public hands. To avoid the rapid collapse of historic buildings as a result of poverty – Kastoria’s unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2013 reached 32,9% – it is proposed, with the support of the Municipality, to extend an already existing programme which has used public and, more importantly, European Community Support Framework funds, as in the instance of privately-owned buildings in the Ayioi Apostoloi quarter, to restore roofs and facades of buildings and train unemployed persons as stonemasons and artisan craftsmen in the restoration and conservation of historic buildings. The purpose is to ensure the preservation of the two most interesting neighbourhoods of the Old City.
The nomination for ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ 2014 was made by Elliniki Etairia - Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage in cooperation with the Municipality of Kastoria.
Greece
