Kastoria - Name

Name

The name "Kastoria" first appears in the middle of the 6th century (550 AD),mentioned by Procopius as follows:"There was a certain city in Thessaly, Diocletianopolis by name, which had been prosperous in ancient times, but with the passage of time and the assaults of the barbarians it had been destroyed, and for a very long time it had been destitute of inhabitants; and a certain lake chances to be close by which was named Castoria.There is an island in the middle of the lake, for the most part surrounded by water;but there remains a single narrow approach to this island through the lake, not more than fifteen feet wide.And a very lofty mountain stands above the island, one half being covered by the lake while the remainder rests upon it."(Procopius "Περί κτισμάτων" /On buildings,book IV,1.3) Although Prokopios refers to it as "a city of Thessaly" the description is undoubtedly that of Kastoria,a city on a promontory in a lake.There are several theories about the origin of the name Kastoria. The dominant of these is that the name derives from the Greek word κάστορας (kástoras, meaning "beaver"). Trade in the animal's fur, sourced from nearby Lake Orestiada, has traditionally been an important element of the city's economy. Other theories propose that the name derives from the Greek word κάστρο (kástro, meaning "castle"; from the Latin word castra) or from the mythical hero Κάστωρ (Kástōr), who may have been honoured in the area. The word is sometimes written with a C, Castoria, especially in older works. From Greek, the name was borrowed into Turkish as Kesriye. The Serbian, Bulgarian and Slavic Macedonian name of the city is Kostur (Cyrillic: Костур). The town features in the Serbian 18th century epic poem "Marko Kraljević i Mina od Kostura" (i.e. Prince Marko and Minnas of Kastoria).