Kratero

Kratero  is a village located in the Florina regional unit of northwestern Macedonia, Greece.Kratero is located east of the Lake Prespa National Park and is on the slopes of the Eastern Varnous mountain range. The village is at an altitude of 980 meters. Neighbouring villages include Ethniko, Kato Kleines, Ano Kleines, and Akritas. Kratero is about 20 km North of the town of Florina. It is close to the Greek border with Albania, and within one kilometer of the border with the Republic of Macedonia.

Local folklore suggests that the village was first settled in the year 1330 by Christian settlers from the Mat River region of Albania. The village was originally named Rakovo in Slavic. This word comes from Rakoits and means fresh water crayfish, which were plentiful in the nearby streams. The village was named Krateron in 1928 after the Second Balkan War of 1913 when the region became part of Greece according to the Treaty of Bucharest (1913). Many residents migrated from Kratero in the 1950s to start new lives in the United States, Canada and Australia.