Kourenta
Community in Greece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kourenta (Greek: Κούρεντα) is a settlement in Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The community consists of the villages Kourenta and Petsali.
Kourenta | |
|---|---|
  Kourenta | |
| Coordinates: 39°39′8″N 20°36′42″E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Epirus |
| Regional unit | Ioannina |
| Municipality | Zitsa |
| Municipal unit | Molossoi |
| Elevation | 508 m (1,667 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 140 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
The toponym is derived from the surname Kourentas and linguist Kostas Oikonomou states it probably stems from the Albanian noun kurent -i meaning 'stream, torrent', plural kurente.[2] The Albanian word in a metaphorical context can refer to a person rushing, although it can correspond to the soil formation of the region, as the village is located on the left side of a pit at the bottom where a rapid of the Korakolakkos river, a tributary of Kalamas flows in particular during winter.[2]
The name of the village Kourenta is also used for the wider region called Kourentachoria (villages of Kourenta).[2] Scholar Ioannis Lambridis wrote Albanians had settled in Kourenta.[2] Historian Michalis Kokolakis stated the Kourenta area formed an Albanian speech island and some of the Albanian speaking population converted to Islam.[3] In the late 17th century Albanian Muslim converts were trying to convert the villages of Kourenta, while a part of the population migrated to Zagori.[4] Later, the local population expelled the Albanian Muslim converts and the remaining Albanian speakers due to their interaction with nearby Greek speakers became hellenised, including a language shift to Greek.[3]