Petrota

The village of Petrota is on the national road linking Pentalofos with Ormenio. The village’s name is due to the fact that there is a lot of stone in the area, which residents used to process to manufacture millstones, bowls, stone mortars and others. The old houses of the village were two-storey, with a stone floor and wooden balconies.

Although Petrota used to be a head village and had over 3,000 residents, currently it has around 300.

In the village of Petrota, even today remain the memories of the great artisans of stone. According to the tradition, they settled in the village in the early 16th century to build a big bridge over the Evros River, where lies the current Svilengrad in Bulgaria (“Mustafa Pasha Koprusu”) and they chose to stay in the region for the place and the abundant materials it offered.

One of the last surviving examples of local tradition is the restored mill of Petrota, a pre-industrial building that has been transformed into a cultural space and conference center.

In the center of Petrota has been erected the statue of the stone carver, in honor of the stone artisans of the village.