Flampouro (Florina)

Flampouro (Greek: Φλάμπουρο, Albanian: Negovan) is a village in the central part of Florina regional unit, northern Greece, part of the Perasma municipal unit. The original indigenous name for the village of Flambouro is Negovani and means "cold water" (known for its pure mineral water source) The village's year round population is estimated at 500 people, but in the summer it grows to nearly 700. In the surrounding area many other villages can be found, including Aetos, Skopia, Kato Ydroussa, and Ano Ydroussa.

The original village was established in the 1840s by villagers (mostly masons and other tradesmen) who came from Plikati and other villages from Mastorochoria (a region around Mount Gramos) in Epirus. The villagers were Albanians and they settled in an area of West Macedonia that was almost exclusively populated by indigenous (endopi) Macedonians. In the local Slavic dialect, the town is known as Негован (Negovan). There are now three villages in the area that were exclusively settled by Albanians. They are Drosopigi, Flambouro, and Lechovo. In 1842, leading families from Plikati, Epirus purchased the land and forest after negotiating with Osman Ismael Pasha, the Bey from Florina. The village was inhabited many families. The total population at 1900 had reached 1,880.

The villages of Flambouro and Drosopigi were some of the very first villages in its area to have underground tunnels for the Greek Revolutionaries during the Greek Struggle for Macedonia. Many great revolutionaries stopped at Flambouro as place to heal, rest, or hide. The Hellenic Army leader who most symbolized the Macedonian Struggle, Pavlos Melas, other army leaders, and their troops, used these underground tunnels for a quick escape from their enemies. In addition, many Flambouro's locals joined the Greek Struggle as fighters or agents. Moreover Flambouro's men captured a Bulgarian general at the time. Legend has it that the head of this general was cut off and brought back to the village so that Pavlos Melas could see it. This is when the village was also known proudly as Flambouro (also meaning bright Greek flag).

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