• Hellenic Republic • Prefecture of Drama

In Drama's surrounding countryside and in particular in the mountainous and semi-mountainous parts of the prefecture one can find remarkable traditional villages lending historical, cultural and architectural interest.

They were formed and took shape over the passage of the centuries as centres of agriculture and animal rearing and commerce. Adapted to the local climate conditions, the morphology of the terrain, the available construction materials, the way of life of the residents and their occupations, they produced a range of types of traditional architecture, examples of which can be found in Pagoneri, Lefkoyia, Perithori, Nevrokopi, Granitis, Kali Vrysi, Kallithea, Kokkinogeia, Prosotsani, Nikiforos, Psili Rachi, Tihos, Kapnofyto, Tholos, Prasinada, Krini and Sterna.
Nikiforos: A two floor residence in Nikiforos with sachnisi and gable crowning the building. Right: Detail of the gable which records the date of construction of the building.

Nikiforos: A two floor residence in Nikiforos with sachnisi and gable crowning the building. Right: Detail of the gable which records the date of construction of the building.

The farmhouse and the tobacco house help us to understand the old communities that lived in this landscape, to get to know the daily habits and routines of the people who lived in the countryside, to appreciate their skills and their way of building.
Ancillary buildings around the farmhouse included the stables, the stores, the washhouse and the bakery.
All the ancillary buildings were located inside the courtyard of the house and were surrounded by high walls. Only the necessary items of furniture were to be found inside the houses, simple and refined in form, made by the residents themselves in most cases. The furniture included built-in wooden wardrobes ("mesandres"), wooden shelves for holding cooking and storage vessels, a chest known as "sendouki", a low table for eating known as "sofras" and sofas strewn with multicoloured kilims woven from wool. Behind the roofed verandah the rooms of the house were set out in order. There were one or more winter rooms with tireplaces depending in the size of the family and a second room, the summer room or the reception 'good' room.

Behind the roofed verandah the rooms of the house were set out in order. There were one or more winter rooms with tireplaces depending in the size of the family and a second room, the summer room or the reception 'good' room.

In addition to farmhouses there are also mansions from the last century, homes of well-to-do families, beys, (local officials in the Ottoman Empire), tobacco merchants and wealthy farmers. These mansions are larger than the usual farmhouses, better built, with careful attention paid to detail and have valuable morphological elements that reveal a great deal about the lifestyle of their occupants and the socio-economic history of the area. As a general rule, the area under the roofed veranda was open, unified with the courtyard while the verandah that stretched along the whole southern side was hemmed in with many windows.
The first floor usually had one or two rooms for visitors that were used as reception rooms or as places to relax. They were built of light brickwork above a stone base and had quite a few windows in all walls, providing residents with interesting views. The ceilings were richly decorated, as were the walls and door and window frames in overt displays of social class and wealth.

In the traditional architecture of the prefecture apart from geographical, social, economic and political conditions, a significant role was also played by the master craftsmen, the unknown artisans, who working in the teams with determination and using skills passed down through the generations, built homes tailored to the needs of daily life in the area. Building in stone and wood, materials abundant in the area, they made homes designed to last, homes with both aesthetic and practical value. Internal walls and often parts of the outer walls were made using a wooden frame and fine brickwork to fill in the spaces

Internal walls and often parts of the outer walls were made using a wooden frame and fine brickwork to fill in the spaces

The doorframes, floors, ceilings, balconies and roof were all made of wood. The roof of the house with four gentle slopes was covered with Byzantine terracotta roof tiles. There is no great variety in the style of windows. However, in a few mansions there are interesting wooden carved gables on the houses. Doors were simple with no special features. Above the main entrance, in the middle of the wall of the main front of the building, it is quite common to find a plaque embedded with the year of construction carved into it.
Finally, it should be pointed out that nearly all of the houses that retain all their architectural features undisturbed are abandoned. It is uncommon to find houses that have survived the passage of time completely untouched. Most have had their initial form changed by the interventions of following generations.