As you enter the main square from the road coming from the Folklore Museum, you will see on your left a historic corner that displays some items in a fenced-in enclosure. Until World War II, this structure was a complete building that housed a coffee shop. When the Germans occupied Gavalochori during World War II, they couldn’t get their vehicles around that corner, so they tore down two of the four main walls of the building. You can still see the Turkish fireplace and some items that used to be in the coffeeshop (others are now exhibited in the museum). The four plaques in Arabic on one wall are from the Turkish cemetery, which was located where the old school is now.
A plaque at this site says, “In memory of the hero Ioannis Proestakis, second lieutenant, 1940.” When Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to allow the forces of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to enter Greek territory and occupy unspecified “strategic locations” on October 28, 1940, Italian troops attacked the Greek border with Albania. This marked the beginning of Greece’s participation in World War II. Gavalochori resident Proestakis died in the fighting between Greece and Italy.
As you enter the main square from the road coming from the Folklore Museum, you will see on your left a historic corner that displays some items in a fenced-in enclosure. Until World War II, this structure was a complete building that housed a coffee shop. When the Germans occupied Gavalochori during World War II, they couldn’t get their vehicles around that corner, so they tore down two of the four main walls of the building. You can still see the Turkish fireplace and some items that used to be in the coffeeshop (others are now exhibited in the museum). The four plaques in Arabic on one wall are from the Turkish cemetery, which was located where the old school is now.
A plaque at this site says, “In memory of the hero Ioannis Proestakis, second lieutenant, 1940.” When Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to allow the forces of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to enter Greek territory and occupy unspecified “strategic locations” on October 28, 1940, Italian troops attacked the Greek border with Albania. This marked the beginning of Greece’s participation in World War II. Gavalochori resident Proestakis died in the fighting between Greece and Italy.
