Nymfaio

Nymfaio Νυμφαίο
The village of Nymfaio.
Nymfaio
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°39′N 21°30′E / 40.650°N 21.500°E / 40.650; 21.500Coordinates: 40°39′N 21°30′E / 40.650°N 21.500°E / 40.650; 21.500
Country	Greece
Administrative region	West Macedonia
Regional unit	Florina
Municipality	Amyntaio
• Municipal unit	28.2 km2 (10.9 sq mi)
Elevation	1,350 m (4,430 ft)
Population (2011)
• Municipal unit	132
• Municipal unit density	4.7/km2 (12/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Vehicle registration	ΡΑ

Nymfaio (Greek: Νυμφαίο, before 1926: Νέβεσκα - Neveska,Aromanian: Nevesca), is a predominantly Aromanian village and a former community in Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. After the 2011 local government reform it became a member of the municipality Amyntaio. The municipal unit has an area of 28.209 km². As of 2011 the village had a population of 132 residents. The village is protected by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture in order to preserve its architectural integrity.

First mentioned in an Ottoman defter in 1481, the village, then known as Neveska, had only six households. The name of the town in Aromanian (Vlach) is Nevesca from the anc. Greek (Doric) νυφεοσσ´ [1], snowy, snowclad.

Nymfaio is a mountain village, situated at 1350 m elevation in the densely forested Verno mountains. It is 3 km north of Sklithro, 5 km west of Aetos, 16 km west of Amyntaio and 17 km southeast of Florina.

Nymfaio, or Neveska as it was called then, was settled around 1385 by Vlach travellers, who fled into the mountains after heavy battles with the Ottomans. The fighters of Neveska capitulated conditionally: they remained armed and autonomous, directly ruled by Valide Sultan (the mother of the Sultan), and paid reduced taxes. Until the early 17th century, their main source of income was raiding the estates in the plains. Around 1630, the village became a centre of silversmithing, known all over Macedonia for the next three centuries.