March 2022
The journey of Knowledge has arrived in Evros!
A few words about Metaxades
The “Metaxades burg”, of the folklore Thracian song, is a traditional village built on a green hillside of a long range of hills, 120m. high, in the northwest part of the Evros District.
It has been characterized by the PD/19-10-78 as a traditional settlement and under the No. I-4917/10-12-1987 declaration of the Evros District Office as a “settlement of unique architectural characteristics”. It is the most picturesque settlement in the wider area due to its traditional architecture whose main material is stone. A unique feature of the village is the lithopetra (type of stone) used by the residents to build houses. The villages Avdella, Paliouri, and Alepochori share this type of architecture.
Since 1997, the old building of “Kouklospito” (meaning “Dollhouse”), along with its premises, has been recognized as a sustainable historical monument. The late-byzantine church of Agios Athanasios is also one of the sights of the area, built in 1695.
The initial name of the village, “Toukmaki”, comes from the first resident to have ever built a house there, Demetrios Toukmatsis (or Toukmakiotis). Toukmaki is the word used in the area to describe the hammer of the smiths and stonemasons, the technicians working the stone and shaping it, forging things out of it. Besides, as was mentioned above, the village to this day has this distinctive singularity: it is made of stone and unique, declaring thus the occupation of the residents, as well as the stone stock primarily used to construct the external insulation of the village’s houses. The current name, Metaxades (from the word metaxi meaning silk), comes from the abundance of silk produced by the residents’ occupation in sericulture and which has been their main occupation since 1921.
During the Greek Civil War, the crucial interval from the 15th to the 20th of May 1949, the five-day Battle of Metaxades took place there. It was the largest and the last of the great and bloody battles in the Evros District Unit.
To this day, Metaxades count around 500 permanent residents and they are part of the Municipality of Didymoteicho.
A few words about the Elementary School of Metaxades
The building where the Elementary School of Metaxades is housed was founded in 1934. In 1968, it was renovated into a two-floor establishment and is housing the Elementary and the Kindergarten of Metaxades to this day.
Students coming from nine borough settlements of the wider area around Metaxades attend the Elementary School of Metaxades. It is organically and operationally a five-class school, with staff covering all the main courses and specialties (English, Physical Education, Art, Informatics, Music). In total, 54 students attend the school.
The school has implemented an all-day program and offers catered meals to its students (“School Meals” program).
The educational staff of the school is developing good practices and applying innovative actions. Every school year the school operates educational programs of various discourses (cultural, environmental, health educational, etc.).
The school has a large yard with stands, and a green garden.
The Ecumenical Hellenism Foundation implemented the thirteenth shipment to the faraway school of Evros. Specifically, it sent:
- 1 Interactive Whiteboard
- 1 Laptop
- 40 books for the circulating library of the school
The total value of the material sent amounts to 1,300 euros.
For the purchase of the items sent we especially thank the supporters of Ecumenical Hellenism Foundation.
This is how we, at the Ecumenical Hellenism Foundation, envision Greece of the 21st century 200 years after the Greek War of Independence. Along with all of you, we give a boost to knowledge, we support new generations in order to constitute valuable citizens for our country’s future, and we set the example of effective solidarity and social sensitivity for the prosperity of our homeland.
We express our gratitude to you for the support of our activity and we invite you to move forward to the expansion of it to all the outermost schools of Greece.
You are our power!
