1700-1821
The Miglaris family name from Stemnitsa is first recorded in 1691 in the Venetian Grimani archives of the area, Giannis Miglaris, the priest of St. George. In the 1810’s a band of fighters, including his descendant, Ilias Miglaris, enlist in the Russian army to fight their common enemy, the Ottoman Empire. Having risen to the rank of Captain, Miglaris is initiated in 1817 to the Greek secret revolutionary society, Filiki Eteria, founded in Odessa as one of the earliest members, 20th, in chronological order. In February 1821 he is called to arms by his ex-leader, the Phanariot leader of the first Greek revolt, Prince Ypsilantis, ex-major general of the Imperial Russian cavalry.
Miglaris leads the cavalry in the battles of Sereti and Galatz but after the disastrous battle of Dragasani, Ypsilantis himself escapes to Austria. The last battle of the Danubian revolt takes place in Sculeni by the river Pruth on 17th June. The heavily outnumbered Greek forces, 485 Greek men facing 6000 enemy are cheered on by the Russian forces across the riverbank, but no real help is offered. The Greek general, Prince Katakouzinos leaves the forces and crosses the river to safety to the Russian side. Captain Karpenisiotis refuses to leave despite the dire situation and stays to fight supported by Kontogonis, who leads the army and Miglaris, leading the cavalry.
After an all-day battle, Ilias Miglaris is wounded and, although encouraged to have his wound taken care of, he replied “Oh! coward, my homeland will heal me”. He is killed together with his brother, Vasilis. The battle losses on the Greek side were 300 dead and on the Turkish side 1,600 dead. The bravery of the men inspired Puskin, the famous Russian poet. According to historian G. Finlay, 'nothing could surpass the valour with which the Christians defended their position'. The details are vibrantly narrated by D. Sfikas, Miglaris’ right hand man and survivor, in his memoirs published in 1835. Demetrios Sfikas - Wikipedia
The battle is commemorated every year both in Skuleni, on the border of modern day Romania and Moldova and in Stemnitsa itself. You can walk up the hill and see the names of the 17 brave fighters that fell in battle inscribed on the war memorial in Stemnitsa’s Heroon.
1821-present
Following the 1821 revolution and the death of the Miglari brothers their widowed mother passes the ancestral house to her daughter married to Giorgos Oikonomopoulos, a local lawyer. Their grandson, Giannis Oikonomopoulos, (1848-1941) became the doctor and obstetrician of Stemnitsa.
He marries Marina, a girl from nearby Karytaina, and bases his practice in the house with the village pharmacy, the ‘farmakio’ on the ground floor. The family extent the original ‘L’ shaped house by building out the west corner and creating the Sala, the family sitting room with the well-known vibrantly painted ceiling. He becomes mayor from 1895–1908, but both his wife and some of his children die from the Spanish influenza in the early 1920s. He dies in 1941, in great poverty having shared all his belongings with the villagers in the harsh war years. The house steadily deteriorates and becomes uninhabitable from the early 1970s. Two children survived: Kostas with one daughter, Marina, who spent many summers in the old family house and Sotiris with two children, Marina and Giannis who is pictured by the ruined house in the entry hallway.
Victor Kanellopoulos, his great grandson, and his wife, Katerina Zeliotis, an architect and herself from Arkadia and Scotland, visited Stemnitsa for the first time, on Valentine’s Day in 1994. Sitting under the old walnut tree in the garden they dreamed of bringing the house back to life. Many years later, with the help of his uncle Giannis, a European grant, a great team of local builders and lots of patience the house is ready to be shared with you.
