Neapoli, Kozani

Neapoli (Greek: Νεάπολη, before 1928: Λειψίστα – Leipsista),^[2][3][4] is a town in the Kozani regional unit of West Macedonia in northern Greece. A former municipality, it has been a municipal unit of Voio since the 2011 local government reform.^[5] The municipal unit has an area of 238.277 km², the community 22.001 km².^[6] The municipal unit has a population of 3,246 while the community has 2,063 inhabitants (2021).^[1] The community consists of the town Neapoli and village Melidoni.

Neapoli Νεάπολη
Municipal unit
Neapoli Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°18′N 21°24′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Western Macedonia
Regional unit	Kozani
Municipality	Voio
Area
• Municipal unit	238.227 km2 (91.980 sq mi)
• Community	22.001 km2 (8.495 sq mi)
Elevation	669 m (2,195 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Municipal unit	3,246
• Municipal unit density	14/km2 (35/sq mi)
• Community	2,063
• Community density	94/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	500 01
Area code(s)	24680
Vehicle registration	KZ

Name

An original name of modern Neapoli was Lapsista (Λαψίστα).^[7] Linguist Max Vasmer states the toponym was Lěvšišče and cognate with the Serbo–Croatian Lepšić, a personal name derived from the Slavic word lěp meaning "nice".^[8] Linguist Yordan Zaimov associated the toponym Lapsista with the Bulgarian toponym Lapšišta, deriving both from Lubčište in reference to a personal name formed from Lubko, with bč in Slavic rendered as ps (ψ) in Greek.^[8]

Linguist Konstantinos Oikonomou derives the toponym from the Albanian word lafsh/ë referring to the plumage or plume of a rooster.^[8] The term when applied in a geographical context could refer to small mountainous heights.^[8] The word lafsh/ë along with either the Slavic ending or Albanian suffix ishta resulted in the phonetic form l'afšišta/liafšišta through the Albanian l (l'i) and Leafšišta or Leausista (Λεαυσίστα) where i became e near the l.^[9] In the last form of the toponym, the sound ea turned into a and fš became ps (ψ) resulting in Lapsista (Λαψίστα).^[7] Other villages with the name are Ano (Upper) and Lower (Kato) Lapsista in Greek Epirus.^[10]

Under Ottoman rule, the town was known as Nasliç (ناسليچ) in Turkish.^[11][3] In Greek, the form Anaselitsa (Ανασελίτσα), derived from a nearby village Seltsa (modern Eratyra) was also used for the town and the wider area until the late 1920s.^[12][13]

History

Michael Kalinderis lists Leipista as populated by Greek speaking Muslim Vallahades.^[14] The 1920 Greek census recorded 1401 people in the town, and 250 inhabitants (130 families) were Muslim in 1923.^[15] Following the Greek–Turkish population exchange, Greek refugee families in Leipsista were from East Thrace (3), Asia Minor (142), Pontus (85) and the Caucasus (8) in 1926.^[15] The 1928 Greek census recorded 1592 town inhabitants.^[15] In 1928, the refugee families numbered 239 (978 people).^[15] The town mosque was destroyed and some remnants of its masonry were incorporated in the foundations of the Financial Tax Office building.^[16]

References

1. "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. Institute for Neohellenic Research. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Leipsista – Neapolis". Pandektis. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
3. Krüger, Eberhard (1984). Die Siedlungsnamen Griechisch-Mazedoniens nach amtlichen Verzeichnissen und Kartenwerken [The settlement names of Greek Macedonia according to official indexes and maps]. Klaus Schwarz Verlag. p. 386. ISBN 9783112400661.
4. Kravari, Vassiliki (1989). Villes et villages de Macédoine occidentale. Paris: Editions P. Lethielleux. p. 291. ISBN 9782283604526.
5. "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
6. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.
7. Oikonomou 2002, p. 168.
8. Oikonomou 2002, p. 167.
9. Oikonomou 2002, pp. 167–168.
10. Oikonomou, Konstantinos (2002). Οικωνύμια του νομού Ιωαννίνων: Γλωσσολογική εξέταση (in Greek). Νομαρχιακή Αυτοδιοίκηση Ιωαννίνων. p. 166. ISBN 9789608316010.
11. Hanioğlu, M. Șükrü (2001). Preparation for a Revolution: The Young Turks, 1902-1908. Oxford University Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780199771110.
12. Katsikas, Stefanos (2012). "Hostage minority: The Muslims of Greece (1923–45)". In Fortna, Benjamin C.; Katsikas, Stefanos; Kamouzis, Dimitris; Konortas, Paraskevas (eds.). State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830-1945. Routledge. p. 50. ISBN 9781136220524.
13. Kyratsou, Chrysi; Sotiraki, Katerina; Brkljačic, Marko; Prezotto, Joseane (2021). "'Naming the Baby': Music and boundary identities in Zoupanokhoria". Anthropology of East Europe Review. 38 (1): 97.
14. Metoki, Athanasia (2016). Οι ελληνόφωνοι μουσουλμάνοι της Δυτικής Μακεδονίας: η περίπτωση των Βαλαάδων της Κοζάνης και των Γρεβενών [The Greek-speaking Muslims of Western Macedonia: The case of the Vallahades of Kozani and Grevena] (Masters) (in Greek). University of Macedonia. pp. 3, 13. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
15. Pelagidis, Efstathios (1992). Η αποκατάσταση των προσφύγων στη Δυτική Μακεδονία (1923–1930) [The rehabilitation of refugees in Western Macedonia: 1923–1930] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. p. 82. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
16. Stavridopoulos, Ioannis (2015). Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα [Monuments of the other: The management of the Ottoman cultural heritage of Macedonia from 1912 until present] (Ph.D.) (in Greek). University of Ioannina. pp. 288, 386. Retrieved 30 August 2024.