Fourka

Fourka
Φούρκα (Greek)
Furkă (Aromanian)
Municipal unit
Location within the regional unit
Location within the regional unit
Fourka is located in Greece
Fourka
Fourka
Location within Greece
Coordinates: 40°10′N 20°57′E / 40.167°N 20.950°E / 40.167; 20.950
CountryGreece
Administrative regionEpirus
Regional unitIoannina
MunicipalityKonitsa
Area
 • Municipal unit32.374 km2 (12.500 sq mi)
Elevation
1,360 m (4,460 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Municipal unit
56
 • Municipal unit density1.7/km2 (4.5/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
440 08
Vehicle registrationΙΝ
Websitewww.fourka.gr

Fourka (Greek: Φούρκα; Aromanian: Furkă) is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Konitsa, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 32.374 km2. Population 56 (2021).

Name

The toponym is derived either from the Aromanian furca meaning 'the fork, or distaff' or from a Latin loan rendered as fourka in common modern Greek, stemming from the medieval Greek fourka and originating from Latin furca. The word also exists in Romanian as furca and Albanian as furk/ë with the same meaning.

The linguist Kostas Oikonomou wrote the name relates to the geography of the land, as the village, according to local tradition, was located at Paluhoară, a place resembling a fourka and formed by two pits called Visani and Louri. Local tradition attributes the name to forks placed alongside the road leading into the village, so people would not get lost in fog, snow, or stormy weather.

Demography

Fourka has an Aromanian population and is an Aromanian speaking village. In the early 21st century, elderly people were bilingual in the community language and Greek, whereas younger residents under 40 might have understood the community language but did not use it. Aromanian multipart singing (polyphony) is practised in the village.

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Zitros Publications. p. 147. ISBN 9789607760869. Fourka (Furkă), the most northerly of the Pindos Vlach villages.
  3. ↑ "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  4. ↑ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  5. 1 2 Oikonomou 2002, p. 297.
  6. ↑ Oikonomou 2002, pp. 297–298.
  7. ↑ Oikonomou 2002, p. 298.
  8. ↑ Frost, F. (1988). "A submerged settlement at Skyllaieis". In Raban, Avner (ed.). Archaeology of Coastal Changes: Proceedings of the First International Symposium "Cities on the Sea-Past and Present" Haifa, Israel, September 22-29, 1986. BAR Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 9780860545194.
  9. ↑ Oikonomou 2002, pp. 2, 297.
  10. ↑ Oikonomou, Kostas E. (2002). Τα οικωνύμια του νομού Ιωαννίνων. Γλωσσολογική εξέταση [The oikonyms of the prefecture of Ioannina. A linguistic examination] (PDF) (in Greek). Nomarchiaki Aftodioikisi Ioanninon. pp. 2–3. ISBN 9789608316010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2024.
  11. ↑ Kahl, Thede (2008). "Multipart Singing among the Aromanians (Vlachs)". In Ahmedaja, Ardian; Haid, Gerlinde (eds.). European Voices: Multipart singing in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Böhlau Verlag. p. 268. ISBN 9783205780908.