LERIN

The town of Lerin was forcibly made to change its name by the Greek government to Florina. Lerin is on the southern part of the Pelagonija Valley and the western part of the Lerin Plain, about 32 kilometres south of Bitola and 160 kilometres west of Solun. Lerin is at 21 degrees 25 minutes longitude and 40 degrees 47 minutes latitude and 690 metres above sea level. Its area is about 29 square kilometres.

Close to Lerin are the following settled places: to the northwest the village Kabasnitsa, to the northeast the villages Armenovo and Lazheni, to the east Pesochnitsa, to the southeast the villages Kuchkoveni and Maala, to the south the village Nevoljani and to the west Mateshnitsa and Kalugeritsa.

The Lerin River runs through the town.

Before the start of the Greek Civil War in 1945 about 12,562 residents lived in the town of whom the majority were of Macedonian, Vlach, Albanian and Greek background.

The residents were employed in skilled trades, trade as well as administrative and important activities, with a small number involved in agriculture and raising livestock.

During the Greek Civil War in the period 1946-49, the residents were only moderately active in the organization of NOF and the armed forces of DAG while during the time of ELAS from 1941-45 more than 400 active fighters took part. In the period 1941-49, 36 residents from Lerin gave their lives.

They were:

1. Andrulika Gjorgi
2. Blangas Gjeorgis
3. Blangas - his wife
4. Visare Mihail
5. Gevrekidis Marika
6. Gruev Stefo
7. Zebra Taki
8. Joanidis Joanis
9. Kazana Gjorgi
10. Kaitabalov Dimitri
11. Kendro Petro
12. Kovachov Todor
13. Korinas Petros
14. Koroveshov Lazo
15. Micholi Perikli
16. Monatidis Vladiko
17. Monatidis Marko
18. Papadatos Ilijas
19. Pashkjotidi Stefo
20. Pashkjotidi Kula - husband and wife
21. Peiov Gjorgi
22. Petika Gjorgi
23. Plati Golman
24. Poptrandafil Lazo
25. Sehidi Dimitr
26. Sehidi Gjorgi
27. Sehidi Jani
28. Stafilidis Joanis
29. Turkofanos Dimitri
30. Chekiri Niko
31. Chekiri Jani
32. Chobanov Sotir
33. Chochov Stojan
34. Churie Dimitri
35. Shebi Aleko
36. Shopis Joanis

These details were obtained from Tanas Papatrandafilov and Gjorgi Chapanov from Lerin.

Of the fallen fighters who gave their young lives there were 33 men and 3 women.

After the Greek Civil War there was not much change in Lerin's population. In the official census in 1991 it was recorded that there were 12,355 residents.

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