This is the site for village Chereshnitsa in Aegean Macedonia. The postal address is Polykerasos, Kastoria, Greece, 52059. Chereshnitsa is the traditional name of the village before 1936. The name is pronounced Che-RESH-nee-tsa with the accent on the second syllable. Currently the village is called Polykerasos. For more on the history of the village, see the book “Night Time Comes To a Village” by Pando Pappas. This book is included in this site. Just click on the link.

Currently, the village has been designated an historical area and new buildings must conform to the architecture of the past.  With the aid of the European Union, several stone roads have replaced the original dirt roads.  Also the square in front of the church is stone and the old tree which was perilously close to the church has been replaced by a raised flower area.

This site also contains a History section that includes other interesting oral and written village and Balkan history.

The coordinate grids for Chereshnitsa are N 40 35 49.92 and E 21 21 57.6. Google Earth uses coordinates that are a little off, so that nothing is shown for the village. You will have to move the display a little south east to see the village. The satellite picture included on the site (above) shows a nice picture of the village in 2012 looking south from Vicho mountain.

The link to Aegean Villages and Cities is interesting in that both Slavic and Greek names are given for each municipality

The music included in this site has been digitized from 78 rpm recordings that were produced in the 1940 to 1960 time frame, or mp3 files of current Macedonian bands. Quality is of necessity not up to current standards.

The Dances section are you-tube videos of most dances currently done by Macedonian immigrants residing in the USA. They are demonstrated by John Pappas.

Recipes are traditional ones submitted by interested individuals.

The Performing Groups section has you-tube videos of dance groups that have Chereshnicheni as dancers or in leadership positions.

The links section has some other sites that you may find interesting.

Thanks to Wayne Gulden for initial set up, and David Pappas for the “heavy lifting” in preparation and continual upkeep of the site.  Also thanks to the many contributors to the site.

Hard copies of the book “Night Time Comes to a Village”, DVD videos of the dances, and most digitized music are available for a modest fee plus shipping. Please enquire by emailing me at chereshnitsa@ube2.me .

Chereshnitsa is located a little north and east of Kastoria, in the north west part of Aegean Macedonia.