Background note

 

Although the Byzantine monumental topography has been Unrecorded systematically from that provyzantines positions,evidence of human habitation in the region of Prespa already traced back to the Neolithic era,while recorded and archaeological finds dating to the Bronze Age and Iron Age.The architectural fragments that BRIC scattered on

the island of St. Achilles and inscriptions testify to the existence of a settlement of the Hellenistic-Roman period, probably under the name "Lycaon".The two lakes, which in ancient times are recorded as Little and Large "Vrygiis" were from the 5th century. B.C. part of the territory of the Macedonian state and later became the territory of the Roman province of Illyria. 

From the 9th century. A.D. Prespa within the extraterritorial assertion and competition between Bulgarians and Byzantines. In the late 10th century the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil did  Prespa the focus of his authority, selecting it as the seat of his palace,and founding  the Basilica of St. Achilles in the homonymous island where he transfered the bones of the saint, from Larissa.Basil II was repulsed Samuel and he restored the Byzantine rule in the region and according to the testimony he built two forts in the area, the "Basilides" and "Constantine."

After a period in which the region experienced various invaders and conquerors (Bulgarians, Normans Alamana Franks and Serbs) in the end of 14th century the region passed, as the whole  West Macedonia in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.Administratively Prespa belonged in the beginning at sanjak and later at  vilayet of Monastir  (Bitola) while in the early 19th century spent in the territory of Ali Pasha. As, however, the presence of central Ottoman authority was not particularly noticeable the local rulers exercised sovereignty while developed a long monastic tradition which was documented in the monasteries, temples and hermitages around the lakes.

Since the mid-19th century, while the match against Ottoman rule, national liberation movements are developed and the Greek-Bulgarian competition for Macedonia.In the revolution against Turks in 1878 but also in the Macedonian struggle fighters from the region   like Nick and Stephen Dalipis were emerged from  the mountain village of Sfika , Captain Kotas of the valley of Korestia ,Korestia and many others.During the First World War, the region was under the control of French troops.With the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, the southern part of the lake was enshrined in Greece while the current borders were finalized in 1924. During the same period (1923-1924) four villages of Prespa (Lefkonas, Laimos, Agios Germanos and Pyli)  received refugee families from Pontus.Due to trade with the urban centers but also for income came from immigrants,during the interwar period Prespa experienced a relative edge, which justifies the construction of several houses in the mainly urban-type in the settlement of Agios Germanos. 

During the 40s Prespa experienced dramatic consequences not so much from the period of German Possession but mainly in the period of the Greek civil war when the area was controlled by the rebels of the Democratic Army while-particularly in the final outcome-found very close to the line of hostilities (The Sierra of Grammos and Vitsis). After the civil war, villages devastated (Daseri, Kranies, Agkathoto, Pyxos, Sfyka) while many residents left the area as political refugees.

 While before the war the surrounding villages inhabited almost 7000 (6880 according to the census of 1940) people in Prespa in the 1951 census recorded only 1,500 inhabitants. The colonization of some villages by Vlach shepherds of Epirus, Macedonia and Thessaly, which was in 1953 stimulated the demographic area only temporarily as it was not enough to reverse migration trends and aging population. 

In recent years, however, as the Prespa region has emerged in international interest encouraging the development of alternative economic activities and forms of tourism and attracting more and more visitors, there are early signs of population recovery.