Die Spirtas : eine familie Klissuriotischer Auswanderer in der jugoslawischen Stadt Zemun während des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

The unfavourable living conditions that prevailed in Macedonia during
the period of the Turkish rule, forced a large number of its inhabitants to
migrate to the northern lands of the Balkan Peninsula, and to Central Europe.
Among these emigrants, the Spirtas family, which originated in the small
town of Kleissoura in Western Macedonia, deserves to be placed in a class of
its own.
The Spirtas settled in the Yugoslav town of Zemun, then one of the leading
commercial towns of the Hapsburg Empire, in 1739. They excelled in
trade, and some members of the family arose to prominent social positions
in the Greek community of Zemun.
In the present paper, the author thoroughly examines the genealogy and
activities of the Spirtas, drawing upon original historical evidence which he
has come across in various archives in the Balkans.