"Kastoria, the fur capital of Europe." a Kastoria Travel Page by JLBG

Kastoria, with a population just over 50,000, is the seat of a “nome” (prefecture) which is one of the most mountainous of Greece. It is located in the northeast of Western Macedonia, which means that it is very close to the Albanian border. Actually, as the crow flies, it is 17 km (38 km by road) from the border and 50 km (91 km by road) from Korcë while it is 140 km (195 km by road) from Thessaloniki and 350 km (565 km by road) from Athens.

For a long time, it had a very mixed population but in 1924 when borders were established between the new states of Greece, Albania and Turkey, most of the Albanian speaking population (mostly Moslem) was expelled either to neighboring Albania or to Turkey while there houses were attributed to Greeks expelled from Asia minor, ie Turkey.

The full name of Skanderbeg (1444-1468), the national hero of Albania, was Georges Skenderbeg Kastrioti, which means “from Kastoria” and he was “king of Epirus and Albania”.

Kastoria stands on a peninsula extending in lake Orestida, said to be one of the most beautiful lakes in Greece and has been announced a "Monument of Natural Beauty " by the Greek Ministry of Culture.

There are several opinions about the etymology of Kastoria. The most widely accepted is that it derives from the beavers (in Greek kastores) living in the lake and that were hunted for their fur.