Refugees from Tyroloi, Eastern Thrace

Tyroloi in Eastern Thrace, now Çorlu in the Raidestos (Tekirdağ) province of Turkey, was a mixed settlement in the early 20th century, inhabited by Greeks, Armenians, and Turks. Following the Treaty of Sèvres, from 1920 until 1922, the settlement was under Greek administration, as was the rest of the province of Raidestos, which was known for its agricultural production of grain, tobacco, wine, and fruits. The Greek community of Tyroloi in the early 20th century is noted to have had a kindergarten, a boys' school, a girls' school, the musical society "Orpheus," the philanthropic brotherhood "Saint Charalambos," and two churches: the Dormition of the Theotokos and Saint George. After the Mudanya Conference of 1922, Eastern Thrace came under Turkish control, and following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, most of the Greek refugees from Tyroloi settled in the Serres region, where the village of Nea Tyroloi was founded. Pictured: Greek residents at the train station of Tyroloi where they took the train to Istanbul, before 1922. ©Folklore Association of Kalochorians of Eastern and Northern Thrace “Kaskarka”.