Vasileiada

Vasileiada (Greek: Βασιλειάδα, before 1928: Ζαγοριτσάνη – Zagoritsani;^[2] Macedonian and Bulgarian: Загоричани) is a village in Kastoria Regional Unit, Macedonia, Greece. The community consists of the villages Vasileiada, Agia Paraskevi and Verga.

Originally named Zagorichani, the village had a Slavic speaking population during Ottoman rule. After the rise of nationalism the locals were divided in pro-Bulgarian and pro–Greek community. During the struggle for Macedonia, a massacre occurred and around 80 Bulgarian inhabitants were killed on March 25 (April 7, New Style), 1905 by a Greek bands.^[3][4][5]

After Zagoritsani became part of Greece in 1913, the village mosque was demolished.^[6] The 1920 Greek census recorded 1,105 inhabitants in the village.^[7] Following the Greek–Turkish population exchange, Greek refugee families in Zagoritsani were from Pontus (32) in 1926.^[7] The 1928 Greek census recorded 735 village inhabitants.^[7] In 1928, the refugee families numbered 33 (112 people).^[7]

In 1945, Greek Foreign Minister Ioannis Politis ordered the compilation of demographic data regarding the Prefecture of Kastoria.^[8] The village Vasileiada had a total of 1,136 inhabitants, and was populated by 910 Slavophones with a Bulgarian national consciousness.^[9]